NHS: Staffing Levels

Philip Hollobone Excerpts
Tuesday 11th December 2018

(5 years, 4 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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None Portrait Several hon. Members rose—
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Philip Hollobone Portrait Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)
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Order. The debate can last until 5.30 pm. I have to call the Front Benchers no later than 5.7 pm. Four Members are seeking to catch my eye. The guideline limits for the Front Benchers’ speeches are five minutes for the Scottish National party, five minutes for Her Majesty’s Opposition and 10 minutes for the Minister, and then Tracy Brabin will have two or three minutes at the end of the debate to sum it up. There are 20 minutes of Back-Bench time before I call the Front Benchers, so there will have to be a five-minute time limit on Back Benchers’ contributions.

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Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond
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I would give way, but I cannot—

Philip Hollobone Portrait Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)
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Order. I call Tracy Brabin.

Tracy Brabin Portrait Tracy Brabin
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If that is the case, the statistics are welcome, but in my constituency we are losing European members of staff. We cannot get away from the overall numbers—there are staffing shortages of 10%. In my constituency and in my trust they cannot recruit, because of various issues. I am grateful that the Government listened when I raised the question of tier 2 visas with the Prime Minister, when we wanted to bring over a paediatrician but could not because the visa took so long that he got another job. I welcome that when it comes to nurses, too, but we have to accept that there are things such as the bursary—