"It was totally unguarded. I am extremely grateful, as I am sure all clinicians and all those who work in the NHS in Dorset will be...." Richard Drax - View Speech
"I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the calm and dignified way he is dealing with this debate, as compared with the Opposition. May I put in a plug for local community hospitals, not just in my constituency but right across the country, and how vital their retention is for …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"Does my right hon. Friend agree that patients get better in a cosy environment in community hospitals, and can he give me an assurance that he will love and maintain them for as long as he is in post?..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to address the Chamber under your chairmanship, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is also a pleasure to see in his place my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Health, who is a very able Minister.
"I entirely concur. As I said at the start of my speech, I am not here to condemn the Government, because they have the most appalling situation to deal with, given rising costs and all the things we know about the health service. Yes, more integrated systems, which the Government …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is very generous in giving way, especially after I had so much time. I have just one question. Yes, my natural instinct is against targets; I do not like them, but I understand why we have to have them. When ambulance trusts or hospitals are fined for …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"May I offer my support to my right hon. Friend. I have never heard him vilify the doctors, as he was accused of doing. That language was not appropriate in this debate. Is he aware—I have heard this from one chief executive—that hospitals have been told not to speak to …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to speak in this debate and to follow the hon. Member for City of Durham (Dr Blackman-Woods). I thank the Backbench Business Committee and the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) for securing this debate, which I have co-sponsored. My name would not usually appear …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"Whatever the arguments in this case, I can think of no one more honourable, decent and honest to run the negotiations than my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. It is reported that graduating medical students applying to be foundation year 1 and 2 junior hospital doctors are seeking …..." Richard Drax - View Speech
"We all have huge admiration for all the staff who work in the national health service. Visiting two community hospitals in my constituency in the past week, I saw that work at first hand. However, we are baffled by the bureaucracy that still exists in the NHS. Does my hon. …..." Richard Drax - View Speech