A and E Departments

Meg Hillier Excerpts
Tuesday 21st May 2013

(10 years, 12 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Meg Hillier Portrait Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Secretary of State seems to have decided that changing GP out-of-hours services is part of the solution to the A and E crisis. In the Public Accounts Committee a few weeks ago, we heard from clinical commissioning groups that they fear a single tender just to GPs because of the threat of legal action. We have seen that played out in Hackney, where GPs have been knocked back by the clinical commissioning group. When will the right hon. Gentleman get a grip on his Department and let the CCGs have the freedom to commission local GPs rather than fear the legal action that prevents them from doing so?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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I want them to have that freedom, but they are operating under the same constraints as primary care trusts, which means having to abide by European procurement law. It is the Labour party that is against any changes in our relationship with the European Union.