Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-10-23
Topic: Health
Questions: A constituent has just written to me saying that his diabetic care has been moved from John Coupland Hospital to Lincoln Hospital under the mistaken bureaucratic belief that bigger is better. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which covers Lincoln Hospital, is struggling. It is treating only 69% of people in A&E within four hours, when the figure should be 95%. What is the Minister going to do to ensure that large rural areas get the best and the same healthcare as large cities?; North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust spent £30 million in the past three years on private ambulances. Does the Minister agree that that money would have been far better spent on the recruitment and retention of NHS ambulance staff?; I can personally testify to the passion, the care and the professionalism of staff at Hillingdon Hospital. They do a fantastic job, but, sadly, too much of the physical environment in which they work is no longer fit for purpose. I invite my right hon. Friend to visit and see it for himself and to commit to providing the medical facilities that my constituents will need for the long term.; I welcome Baroness Cumberlege’s ongoing review of the impact of the use of Primodos pregnancy tests, but for the families affected to have confidence in this review they must be given sufficient time to give evidence. Will the Health Secretary ensure that that happens?; The NHS diabetes prevention programme, which was one of the first of its kind, has helped many people since 2016. As someone who has been diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic since that point, it is of particular interest to me. Will the Minister assure me that when the long-term NHS plan is published, we will be even more ambitious?; Will the Minister provide an update on the revised capital bid by Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to provide Halton General Hospital with a secure future?; Spina bifida is one of the most prevalent causes of infant mortality and disability, and a campaign has been running for quite a long time to try to fortify flour to prevent it. Successive Governments have ducked the issue, so will we now please seize it?; The recent report from the Royal College of Physicians, “Hiding in plain sight: Treating tobacco dependency in the NHS”, made clear the cost savings and health benefits there would be if doctors identified smokers and referred them to smoking cessation services, so will next month’s plan include that, particularly for pregnant women and mental health patients?; What is it, precisely, about the NHS’s management and leadership that means it seems to be unable to achieve consistent excellence in its hospitals, such as happens at the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust? Why is it so hard for lessons learned to be better disseminated?
Owen Smith (Labour, Centre-left): Every week in this country, two children are born with spina bifida or anencephaly, and I am delighted that the Minister has just announced the consultation on the fortification of flour, which could stop 70% of those birth defects. Can he tell the House how quickly he hopes to bring about the conclusion of the consultation?