A and E Departments

Thérèse Coffey Excerpts
Tuesday 21st May 2013

(10 years, 12 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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I can assure the hon. Gentleman that many more walk-in centres would be shut if we had to cut the NHS budget, which is what the Labour party wants to do.

Thérèse Coffey Portrait Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)
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The issue of out-of-hours care and the additional pressure on A and E has been present in Suffolk since before the election. Just last Friday, I was in Felixstowe to meet the four patient participation groups there, and yet again out-of-hours care was identified as a real problem. I welcome the reforms that might be announced later this week, but can we ensure that patients realise that we are on their side and that we want them to be back with their family doctor?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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Absolutely. It is extraordinary that in this debate in Parliament today, Labour Members have their heads in the sand about the low public confidence in out-of-hours GP care, which is a major driver of the problems in A and E departments. We are going to sort out that problem—[Interruption.] If they do not want us to, they are just going to have to watch while we do it.