Feryal Clark
MP for Enfield North · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for her response. Our world-class bus drivers are the backbone of London’s bus service but have borne the brunt of the extreme heat that the city has been experiencing.”
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s actions to protect children from online harm, especially the harms-based approach she is taking. I have heard evidence from educational digital content creators, whose resources are a lifeline for young people.”
“I welcome the Minister to her place. My constituency was one of the lucky ones that was awarded a banking hub two years ago, and I worked with Cash Access UK to secure a temporary place in the council library. Two years on, it has failed to secure an accessible permanent site and is refusing to engage with me.”
“One of the issues that set Labour apart from other parties is the sheer number of new jobs we are creating in priority areas such as tech, defence and our green industries in constituencies such as mine, Enfield North, as well as across Wales and the rest of the UK.”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for visiting Enfield Wash in my constituency last week. After 14 years of Conservative cuts, Enfield lost around 60% of its funding, hitting vital services such as adult social care, youth services and our high street.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that the measures are so sweeping that it is not just asylum seekers who are caught by them, but, as my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) mentioned, those who arrived under the ECAA route, also known as the Ankara agreement?”
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“In 2021, Menopause Support revealed that 41% of UK medical schools did not have mandatory menopause education on their curriculum. Healthcare professionals are not adequately trained to give women the right solution and treatment or even to identify menopause in the first place. When it comes to treatment, hormone replacement therapy is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a first-line and proven treatment for menopause symptoms, but that is only if patients can get it. We have heard today about the recent shortage of HRT. It is reported that the Health Secretary knew of the shortage as early as October 2021, and yet he did nothing. It took until May—seven months on—for the Government to allow pharmacists to make swaps to women’s HRT prescriptions to deliver the care they need.”
“As we have heard from hon. and right hon. Members throughout this debate, too many menopausal women are suffering unnecessarily in silence. This remains a national health scandal. Too many women are still being dismissed and told that menopause is a natural part of life—that they just need to put up with it. That is simply not good enough. Women should not be made to put up with it. I am pleased to say that, seeing the recent campaigns and hearing Members speak today, I am confident that it will not continue for too long. Change needs to start with ensuring that healthcare professionals are properly informed and have the confidence to give women the advice and treatment that work for them. We know that, at present, that is simply not the case. As we have heard today, women are still being fobbed off and given the wrong treatment.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Robertson. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for securing the debate. She has gone above and beyond in pursuit of this cause, empowering women across the country to stand up against a system that is simply not working for them. She inspires me and so many others in this place, and I am proud to call her a colleague and a friend. I thank all Members for their passionate and important contributions, especially those who have shared their experience and the experiences of their constituents. I praise the work of campaign groups such as Menopause Support and Menopause Mandate, which do great advocacy work and provide women with the information and support they need in what are often incredibly difficult situations.”
“Seven hundred and fifty-one: that is how many people died within 28 days of a covid-positive test in my borough of Enfield. Those people are not just numbers; they represent hundreds of families who are grieving the loss of loved ones and want answers. They should not have to fight and struggle to get those answers. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I join my hon. Friend in asking the Minister to do the right thing by those families, including those in Enfield, and ensure that the inquiry reports back as soon as possible.”
“The people affected by the legislation are often more isolated in their workplaces, without the benefit of a robust and easily accessible professional support network, so I would appreciate it if the Minister outlined how she will ensure that those affected by these changes are properly informed about them. We are always looking to make further strides in the area of patient safety, and the orders are by no means the end of the road on this issue, but they are a welcome step. I look forward to the Minister announcing further improvements in the area in due course.”
“There are a number of outstanding points that I would appreciate the Minister covering in her reply. There is particular concern about the reporting process for dispensing errors, which at present is at risk of letting too many fall through the gap. Only 5% of dispensing errors made each year are reported, making it very difficult for us to get a proper picture of the potential harm they are causing. Is the Minister therefore concerned that the 2017 legislation designed to increase protections has been largely unsuccessful in encouraging honesty among pharmacy staff? I would be grateful to hear what plans she has to ensure the number of errors being reported increases. Furthermore, what steps will the Minister take to ensure pharmacists feel safe to come forward if they have made a dispensing error?”
“There remain a number of offences that do not have a corresponding statutory defence laid out in the SI. Will the Minister put on record the offences for which no statutory defences are provided and the reasoning behind the decisions about them? A key facet of the SI is the greater culture of transparency that providing security to pharmacists should hopefully foster, as set out by the Minister. Rather than creating a point-and-blame culture, we need a system that recognises errors in dispensing and preparation of medicines and puts active steps in place to ensure that they are not repeated. It is, however, absolutely right that the SI focuses on inadvertent errors. Where errors are made deliberately through staff acting in a negligent way, they will and must continue to face criminal prosecution—something we fully support.”
“The Pharmaceutical Journal recently found there had been an approximate doubling in pharmacists reporting feeling “stressed” compared with previous years. As they often work in pressured circumstances, it is right that we protect pharmacists, who are often people’s first point of contact with the healthcare system and are too often victims of abuse, from unintended mistakes. Ensuring the right to legal defence against prosecution in cases relating to inadvertent error will undoubtedly remove some of the fears these clinicians feel in admitting errors, helping to prevent and reduce patient harm through taking the wrong medication or dosage. We welcome the greater clarity that the SI provides about how those legal defences are applied, but we have some concerns.”
“Given the vast numbers of prescriptions being dispensed, the error rate is remarkably low and pharmacists should be applauded for that. However, that does not mean we can sit back and relax, as more can and must be done to ensure patients are protected. As well as patients, it is right that the statutory instrument looks at the effect on pharmacy staff. Most healthcare professional groups do not face criminal conviction and potential imprisonment for an inadvertent dispensing error, and it would be wrong for pharmacists to be the only group to do so. Therefore, it is welcome that the SI extends legal protections to pharmacists working in a range of locations, such as prisons, hospitals and care homes. Pharmacists working in those settings are often under increased stress, which has been exacerbated by the challenges of the pandemic.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. It is the first duty of any Government to keep people safe, especially through the safe and secure running of our health service. Pharmacies play a crucial role in our healthcare system across the country, so it is vital that we put measures in place to ensure they are run with the safety of patients front and centre. Any steps that the Government take to do that are to be welcomed and, for that reason, we will be supporting the statutory instrument. Managing and securing the pharmacy dispensing process is a significant challenge. More than one billion prescriptions were dispensed last year; with numbers like that, it is impossible to completely eradicate all errors.”
“Since 2016, the Serious Fraud Office has convicted just five fraudulent companies, but it has negotiated deferred prosecution settlements with another 11. Does the Solicitor General share my concern that when the SFO detects corporate fraud, its instinct is to negotiate instead of prosecuting and convicting those responsible?”
“High streets in my constituency continue to be blighted by gambling venues that prey on some of the most vulnerable in society. I asked the right hon. Gentleman’s predecessor when the review of the Gambling Act 2005 would report, and was met with no answer. The report is now nearly eight months late. May we therefore have a debate in Government time on the damaging effects that these venues are having on vulnerable people, and what action will be taken to ensure that they cannot continue to buy up our high streets with such ease and break up our communities?”
“My borough of Enfield has the 11th highest rate of child poverty in the country, and one in five people are on low pay. While the Chancellor has been dragged kicking and screaming to an inevitable outcome, families have been suffering for months. The measures today are welcome, but they need to be delivered efficiently and effectively. Can the Chancellor therefore outline what steps he will take to speed up the painfully slow council tax rebate, which is causing significant distress to my constituents?”
“I am sure the pupils have put a lot of work into their preparation, and that they will make themselves, their teachers and parents, and Her Majesty proud. Events like these show the warmth and respect the people of this country have for Her Majesty. Like all Members, I hope the strong community spirit we are seeing ahead of the celebrations may long continue. Finally, on behalf of myself and my constituents of Enfield North, I send our very best wishes to Her Majesty as she celebrates her platinum jubilee. Long may she reign over us.”
“My constituency of Enfield North has a number of celebrations taking place to mark Her Majesty’s platinum jubilee. My diary includes street parties across the Borough of Enfield, a civic reception at the town hall, and parties at Totteridge Road Church and the Nursery on the Green. I am sure all of them will be fantastic events that bring our community together on this very special occasion. I am particularly looking forward to my visit to Bush Hill Park Primary School tomorrow afternoon to join pupils and teachers in their jubilee celebrations. The pupils have been learning about the incredible changes we have seen over Her Majesty’s reign, and will be commemorating the occasion through parades, poetry and song.”
“It is an honour and privilege to speak in this Humble Address to Her Majesty. I echo the words we have heard from right hon. and hon. Members across the House, and wish Her Majesty the very best on the occasion of her platinum jubilee. The warmth and affection towards Her Majesty from Members on all sides, in a place where we often disagree, show how important a figurehead she has been for her country over the last 70 years. There has been incredible change in that time, but one of the few constants throughout has been Her Majesty’s steadfast service, despite the many challenges that she and our country have faced. It is not too fanciful to say that she has become the metaphorical mother of the nation. Her commitment to our country has been truly unwavering, and we all owe her a debt of immense gratitude.”
“A set of schools that are usually forgotten are the pupil referral units that take on pupils with extensive special educational needs and disabilities. Tackling such a challenging set of needs requires a multidisciplinary approach, but PRUs throughout the country do not have set criteria for how they should teach students or support children back into mainstream schools, and nor do they have sustained funding. Will the Minister look at the fantastic model for multidisciplinary and multi-agency education that is delivered at Orchardside School—the Department is aware of its work—in my constituency? Perhaps he can come to see the work being done there and how sustained investment can make a difference.”
“They simply cannot afford to live with dignity. Many are living through this nightmare, feeling like they have been totally abandoned by the Government. Labour’s plan for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies would take up to £600 off household energy bills and put it back in people’s pockets. I am sure the Minister will have heard yesterday, and many times before, that that will make a real difference to people on dialysis. It will make a difference now. Many Ministers have been asked this, but I am asking the Minister today: will she back Labour’s plan for a windfall tax? Patients on dialysis deserve better security and the respect of the support they are entitled to. It is time for the Government to deliver. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.”
“Some do not even have the luxury of having the option of a reimbursement scheme discussed with them; they are simply left to fend for themselves. There are some wonderful charities supporting patients living with kidney disease and on dialysis. The work they do to support patients is incredible and invaluable. Kidney Care UK handed out more than half a million pounds-worth of grants to patients and their families in 2021. In that time, they saw a rise in demand of 47% for their immediate hardship grants of £300. Patients are having to rely on charities to be able to fund their bills to pay for treatment, because the Government are not implementing their own policy properly. This is simply not acceptable and it must be changed. Millions of our disabled, elderly and vulnerable neighbours are at the sharp end of this crisis.”
“What assurances can the Minister give to dialysis patients who face those added pressures that they will be protected from the cost of living crisis, here and now? Some 30,000 people in the UK rely on dialysis to stay alive. They cannot afford to wait. Just yesterday at Prime Minister’s questions, we heard the Prime Minister reassure patients that the NHS is responsible for covering the costs for at-home dialysis patients. Sadly, that simply does not chime with the experiences of dialysis patients up and down the country. Although the NHS service specification advises that NHS trusts reimburse the additional costs of home dialysis, reimbursement is inconsistent across the country. Many patients receive no or very little financial support to pay for the additional costs of carrying out treatment at home.”
“People with chronic kidney disease, for which there is no cure, already experience financial difficulties because of barriers to employment and additional costs of disability. With utility bills soaring, people have to shut off their heating or skip meals just to be able to afford to continue their vital treatment, as colleagues have mentioned. Figures from Kidney Care UK show us that the additional cost for a dialysis patient doing five overnight sessions a week is £1,454. That was before the energy price cap increased in April. As hon. Members have already set out, that is a stark increase in bills. Energy prices are already soaring and are set to rise even further when the cap rises again in October.”
“We know that people from lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to develop and die earlier from chronic kidney disease. We also know that when people from those groups experience kidney failure, they have poorer survival rates on dialysis and fewer are treated with peritoneal dialysis. That inequality extends to lower rates of kidney transplants and increased rates of transplants being affected by episodes of rejection. Those inequalities are stark and cannot and should not be tolerated. We can and must do more to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, can access the treatment that works best for them, including being able to dialyse at home. For too many people, at-home dialysis is just not an option.”
“Research led by Kidney Research UK has shown that new developments in treatment, such as high doses of intravenous iron, can make a real difference to patients. Sadly, such new developments are not being delivered uniformly across the UK, leading to the kind of postcode lottery that affects so many long-term conditions. It is no surprise that those who are already the most vulnerable are the worst-off when it comes to being able to access treatment at home. The hon. Member for Strangford highlighted that point, and we place further emphasis on it because of the stark health injustice facing people in this country. The rate of patients receiving at-home treatment was almost 23% in the most affluent areas of England, compared with 15% in the most deprived areas.”
“In the UK, some 3.5 million people, and rising, are living with kidney disease, so we cannot afford to ignore the issue. We know the debilitating effect that living with kidney disease and undergoing dialysis can have on patients. As the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said, it is not just the disruption that it causes to their everyday lives that we must consider, but the physical and mental consequences of living with a long-term condition. Unlike treatments for conditions such as cancer and heart disease, treatments for kidney disease, such as dialysis, have barely changed in the last few decades. For patients living day in, day out with the effects of dialysis, that lack of progress is simply not good enough.”
“It is a pleasure to have the Minister in her place. It is the first time we have had an exchange in a debate in Westminster Hall, so I welcome her today. I pay a huge tribute to the fantastic advocacy undertaken by charities such as Kidney Care UK and Kidney Research UK. They are great champions for patients and will no doubt have been a support to colleagues in their preparation for the debate. As we have heard, today’s debate is particularly timely, given that tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the law that changed organ donation to an opt-out system. That change has made, and will continue to make, a massive difference for patients with kidney disease and other conditions, and it is right that we recognise that.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir George. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this important debate and on his continued advocacy on the issue. He is a voice for issues that often do not get enough time in this place. I thank the hon. Gentleman for sharing the experience of his nephew, Peter, because experiences help to paint a picture of how these conditions impact on real people’s lives. Yesterday, I was delighted to meet two kidney patients, Dale and Tejal, through Kidney Research UK, who told me about their experience of suffering with kidney disease and of dialysis, and about the impact that is having on their life. I praise the important contributions made by the hon. Members for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) and for East Lothian (Kenny MacAskill).”
“I thank the Minister for giving way. The issue with a lot of the reimbursements is that renal patients are having to wait months—three or four months, in some cases—for that reimbursement. They are being treated as if they are a company that has put in a claim to the trust. Will the Minister ask NHS England to look into that and see if it can reduce that wait, or have a set time, so that people are not having to wait three or four months to be reimbursed? In this cost of living crisis, they need the cash back in their pockets quickly.”
“The Government have been promising to scrap section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which has caused thousands of private tenants in my constituency and across the country to be evicted for no fault of their own. My borough of Enfield has the highest rate of section 21 evictions in London, and the people of my borough cannot afford any ministerial can-kicking on this issue. With the cost of living crisis hitting so many people, the effects of section 21 evictions are only going to get worse. Can we therefore have a debate in Government time on what steps will be taken, at pace, to ensure that this shameful piece of legislation does not continue to blight the lives of people in my constituency?”
“That means that boroughs such as mine are not getting the funding that they so desperately need to deliver preventive measures for their communities. It is unfair that my borough receives £39 per head, when the borough next door receives £139 per head. The disparity is ludicrous and there is no good reason for it. This was an opportunity for the Government to provide a fair funding formula, so that the residents of Enfield are not let down, but they have failed to do that. This Government do not fail to disappoint. The levelling up Bills do not deliver for Enfield, and, as I have said, everything that has been set out in the Queen’s Speech is just really disappointing.”
“With thousands on the housing waiting list, it was very surprising that the Secretary of State for Transport intervened to stop a housing development on the car park next to the station, in order to protect parking facilities. It is absolutely beyond belief. Not only do the Government not have a plan to tackle the housing crisis, but they are actively preventing local authorities from dealing with the crisis; it is really disappointing. This Government continue to fail Enfield North residents on everything from housing to levelling up. Finally, local councils, including mine, are doing a great job of delivering public health programmes focused on preventive measures. However, the funding formula for public health spending in local authorities was devised in 2013 and has not been reformed since.”
“Under this Government, it means paying lip-service to communities up and down the country, while continuing to hoard power in Whitehall. Enfield, like the rest of the country, cannot carry on with more of the same. We need action to deal with the cost of living crisis now. We need a far more fundamental rethink of our economic settlement, with real power handed to communities. We need much better than what this Government are offering to the people of Enfield North and to the whole country. As I have mentioned, the Government have been talking about abolishing section 21 for many years, but we are still waiting. Thousands of people in Enfield North are being evicted from their home for no good reason, and that puts pressure on local council housing lists.”
“With more than 88% of the towns fund being allocated to areas with Tory MPs, is it any wonder that people in my borough are somewhat cynical about the Government’s agenda? The levelling up Bills in the Queen’s Speech are still desperately lacking in ambition, and as thin as the White Paper. The substance amounts to little more than the Government marking their own homework; there is nothing by way of new money or new ideas. Power could not be further away from the communities who are having to compete with each other over pots of funding sporadically handed out—or not, in Enfield’s case—by Tory Ministers. If levelling up is to mean anything, it should be about empowering local communities to take decisions in their own interest.”
“It smacks of total arrogance to talk about a “Medici-style renaissance” of our town centres when inflation is at a 30-year high. Only by our getting money back into people’s pockets will high streets and town centres, such as mine in Enfield North, be able to thrive again. When it comes to levelling up, it is as if Enfield was the land that time forgot for this Government. Since 2018, Enfield Council’s budget has been cut by £70.2 million. The council has tried to work with central Government to help make up some of that shortfall through applying for the towns fund, the levelling up fund, and the community renewal fund. The result? A grand total of zero extra funding for Enfield—not a single penny. Frankly, after the emptiness of the Queen’s Speech, what hope do we have of that changing any time soon?”
“My constituents in Enfield North want a Government who deliver for them. They want the financial security they need in the face of the cost of living crisis, the prosperity of a thriving high street, and the respect of properly funded local services that can deliver for them. The Queen’s Speech offered none of those things. It is wrapped up in an empty slogan that provides nothing to the people of my borough—a borough that has the 11th highest rate of child poverty in the country, and where one in five workers is on low pay. Enfield also has the highest rate of private rental evictions of any borough in London, mainly due to section 21 notices, which the Government have been promising to reform for years, but have failed to—yet we are still ignored. It has become abundantly clear that the Government will not be levelling up this country.”
“NHS dentistry is in crisis. Patients are stuck with either a never-ending wait for an NHS appointment or footing the bill for going private, which is simply not an option for most families suffering rising bills and taxes. With a third of the population experiencing untreated tooth decay, when will this Government, who have had 12 years to do so, finally come up with some practical solutions that put patients’ needs first, rather than the half-baked, unworkable ideas we have heard to date?”
“That security and respect is all that the families who suffered so much at Shrewsbury want, and it is all that the women who put their own and their babies’ lives in the hands of the NHS want.”
“Only 10 months ago, as a first-time mother, I experienced just how stretched to the limit maternity services are. The NHS is now losing midwives faster than it can recruit them. A recent CQC survey shows that almost a quarter of women were unable to get help when they needed it during labour. Hundreds of pregnant women were turned away from maternity wards last year because staff were not available to care for them. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the NHS recruits the midwives it needs? What is he doing to keep the midwives we have in post? It is only with the necessary workforce that the NHS will be able to ensure that women receive care that meets their needs and prioritises their safety.”
“Patient safety must be a priority for health professionals and Ministers, so I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State has today committed in full to ensuring that the local actions for learning are taken by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and to all the immediate and essential actions in the wider system that are recommended. Will the Secretary of State come to the House later this year to update us on the progress of those actions? The report makes it clear that a safe service cannot be run without a culture of transparency and accountability, so will he set out how he intends to ensure an open culture in the health service with a willingness to learn within maternity services and identify future failings far more quickly? Underpinning issues in maternity care, as is the case across so much of our NHS, is workforce.”
“We are where we are today because of the persistence and resilience of those families and their refusal to give up the fight to expose those failings. The only comfort we can offer them is that their voices have been heard, and that we are committing today, across this House, to ensuring that those failings are never repeated. For far too long, patient safety issues and the voices of women have been an afterthought in health; that has led to the kind of crises that we saw in Shrewsbury. This needs to change.”
“The Ockenden report lays bare the harrowing truth of what those families had to face and why their fight for justice has been such a fierce one: cries for help going unheard; parents having to try to resuscitate their children because there was no one there to help; and women and babies dying needlessly because they simply were not listened to. The fact that women were silenced and ignored at their most vulnerable, when they were relying on the NHS to keep them safe, is shameful. No woman should have to face not knowing, when she goes into hospital to give birth, whether she and her baby will come out alive. These were not one-off or isolated incidents of negligence. This was the institutional failure of a system that failed to take up many opportunities to realise that it had a serious problem.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I am pleased to respond today, not just as the shadow Minister for patient safety, but as a woman and a new mother. I thank Donna Ockenden and her team for the report. I also thank the families who have come forward; we would not be here today without the persistence and resilience that they have shown for more than 20 years in their fight for justice. Today marks an important milestone for hundreds of families who have been seeking justice.”
“For statutory patient representation not to be embedded within the advisory board is simply not good enough. It is the lack of patients’ voices that has led to many of the scandals that we have seen, and the breakdown of trust for many. For patients’ voices to have been an afterthought once again for the Government does not bode well for the future, so what reassurances can the Minister give to patients that the role will do what it says on the tin, and be a commissioner for patients? Although the SI has our support, the Government must not see this as the end of the road. Patients will continue to make their voices heard, and I will not stand for anything less than a commissioner who will put them and their safety at the forefront of the Government’s approach to healthcare.”
“What would be the purpose of the commissioner providing a business plan if they were not held accountable for its contents? Can the Minister therefore outline what accountability functions will exist to ensure that the commissioner delivers on the plans that they will set out? I would also like to hear what opportunities will be available for Parliament to scrutinise the contents of the report when published. Lastly, I will focus on the provision for the advisory panel, which will “provide the Commissioner with advice and assistance...and encourage good practice in involvement with patients.” The SI goes on to state: “The advisory panel must consist of persons who…represent a broad range of interests which are relevant to the Commissioner’s functions.” In this instance, the clue is in the name: the patient safety commissioner.”
“Member for East Yorkshire mentioned, rather than five years as for similar roles such as the Children’s Commissioner. As it is a new role, and we have to get an organisation up and running, I share the concerns that such a short period is setting the commissioner up to fail. I would be grateful if the Minister outlined how the decision on length of tenure was reached and what further provisions will be made to avoid a revolving door of commissioners. She mentioned an additional three years, but I would like to hear more about that. We welcome the obligation on the commissioner to lay an annual report before each House of Parliament; however, the additional obligation for the commissioner to publish a business plan at the start of each year is not mentioned within the obligation to publish an annual report.”
“An independent patient safety commissioner will take steps to ensure that patient safety is a top priority and will act as a voice for all those who have suffered for far too long. It will be a crucial step in ensuring that the entire health care sector is responsive to the steps that need to be taken and listens properly to the voice of patients; however, there remain a number of questions for the Government to answer on the function of the role, and how it will deliver the change that we need. The role cannot simply be a token gesture to those campaigners who have given so much; it must be a fierce champion of patients, willing to speak truth to power. A particular concern raised by Baroness Cumberlege is the tenure of the commissioner being three years, as the Minister and the right hon.”
“Their unwavering determination is truly admirable, and I look forward to working with them as they continue their fight to ensure that patient safety is not treated as an afterthought. Despite the fight of so many to improve patient safety, the Government continue to lag far behind where we can and must be. The Cumberlege review has given hope to thousands who have gone through decades of pain and suffering; however, it cannot remain as another review that sits gathering dust on the desks of Ministers. While we support the steps taken today, where is the progress on the remaining recommendations of the Cumberlege review? The Government cannot take a pick-and-mix approach to patient safety. Unless reform is viewed as a whole package, patients will not see the speed and breadth of progress that is urgently needed.”
“Too many people are still having to take up that fight for justice, and it is for them we must speak out. I know that there are many champions of this issue here and in the other place. I pay particular tribute to the passionate and determined work of Baroness Cumberlege. Her report has been a landmark in the fight to improve patient safety, and thanks to her vital work we have made the progress that brings us here today. I also praise the work of a number of campaign groups in this area that I have had the pleasure of meeting in recent months. Whether it be on sodium valproate, Primodos or surgical mesh, they have stood up on behalf of thousands who have suffered because patient safety has not been taken seriously enough.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. Although the Labour party welcomes the provision that the statutory instrument makes for a patient safety commissioner, and we will support it, we have a number of concerns. Keeping people safe should always be the first priority of any Government, and healthcare is no different. When people, often at their most vulnerable, put their trust in the hands of healthcare professionals, they rightly do so with the expectation that their safety will be of paramount concern. Sadly, on far too many occasions that has not been the case. Not only has patient safety been an afterthought, too often, where incidents have occurred patients have been made to jump through hoop after hoop in their fight for justice.”
“I welcome Baroness Cumberlege’s amendment to the Bill to require the regular publication of health and care workforce projections. Will the Minister take this opportunity to reassure us that the amendment will not be overturned when the Bill comes to the Floor of the House? I look forward to working with Members across the House to keep the workforce issue at the forefront, ensuring that prostate cancer patients and others have the support that they need. I am keen to hear from the Minister what plans the Government have to ensure that staff are trained and retained in a sustainable way so that prostate cancer patients can always access care. People living with prostate cancer need an NHS that has the time and resources to support them as we emerge from the pandemic. It is about time the Government delivered on that.”
“Without a robust workforce strategy, our NHS will simply not be in a place to provide the support that prostate cancer patients need as we emerge from the pandemic, and beyond, but Ministers continue to bury their heads in the sand. They have failed to bring forward a long-term workforce strategy, and with weeks to go until the end of the financial year, there is still no clarity on Health Education England’s budget. In fact, all the Secretary of State can say is that the NHS has to find money from existing budgets to address the workforce shortage. That is really unhelpful. Does the Minister really think that is good enough? I want to take this opportunity to praise the work of colleagues in the other place in championing workforce issues in their consideration of the Health and Care Bill.”