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Category: Health

  • Humza Yousaf – 2021 Comments on NHS Dental Services in Scotland

    Humza Yousaf – 2021 Comments on NHS Dental Services in Scotland

    The comments made by Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Health Minister, on 10 June 2021.

    The remobilisation of the NHS is one of our number one priorities and the Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that NHS dental services emerge from this pandemic well-placed to care for the oral health of the population.

    This new funding is an important step in ensuring the continued remobilisation of NHS dental services and to ensure more patients can be seen safely. We will also continue to fund free PPE for the dental sector and, from July, we will increase it by up to 50 per cent.

    We are continuing to work with the sector to provide much-needed support to fully remobilise dental services.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Patient Safety Commissioner

    Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Patient Safety Commissioner

    The statement made by Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health, in the House of Commons on 10 June 2021.

    I would like to inform the House of the launch of a public consultation on proposed legislative provisions governing the appointment and operation of the patient safety commissioner for England.

    As my colleagues will be aware, on 14 December 2020, the Government tabled an amendment to the Medicine and Medical Devices Bill to establish an independent patient safety commissioner for England. The Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 (MMD Act) achieved Royal Assent on 11 February 2021 and on 11 April established the commissioner position and its main duties and powers.

    The introduction of a patient safety commissioner also acts on the second recommendation of the independent medicines and medical devices safety review, “First Do No Harm”, published in July 2020 by Baroness Cumberlege.

    The patient safety commissioner will add to and enhance the existing work that has been done to improve patient safety by acting as a champion for patients. Listening to our patients is integral to our healthcare system and the commissioner will help to make sure patient voices are heard.

    The core duties of the commissioner are to promote the safety of patients in the context of the use of medicines and medical devices and to promote the importance of the views of patients and other members of the public in relation to the safety of medicines and medical devices.

    Under the MMD Act 2021, (paragraph 6 of schedule 1) the Secretary of State is able to make legislative provisions about the appointment and operation of the commissioner, for example, the terms of office, finances and other support for the commissioner. As is required by the MMD Act, the Department has launched a public consultation to gather views from interested persons on the detail on the appointment and operation of the commissioner. Consultation responses will be carefully considered and will feed into the required secondary legislation.

    This consultation will help to ensure that the provisions governing the appointment and operation of the patient safety commissioner are as comprehensive as needed, so that the commissioner will be able to work for, with and in the best interests of patients.

    I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the House that the Government continue to prioritise work on this initiative. The launch of this consultation represents good progress in setting up of the commissioner.

    The consultation can be accessed using the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-appointment-and-operation-of-the-patient-safety-commissioner.

  • Alex Norris – 2021 Comments on NHS Patient Data Collection Delay

    Alex Norris – 2021 Comments on NHS Patient Data Collection Delay

    The comments made by Alex Norris, the Shadow Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, on 8 June 2021.

    This is a welcome decision, but it was only achieved after overwhelming pressure from patients, and health professionals alike.

    This must now mean that all elements, including the opt-out, are delayed and there must be a full public consultation about this issue before the data collection is resumed. Labour will continue to raise this with Ministers to ensure this is the case.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on 40 Million Receiving First Vaccine

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on 40 Million Receiving First Vaccine

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister, on 5 June 2021.

    Our vaccination programme, the biggest and most successful in NHS history, has now delivered over 40 million first doses into arms – a fantastic achievement.

    I am incredibly proud of everyone involved who have worked tirelessly to help us reach milestone after milestone. It is time to redouble our efforts on the second dose, to ensure everyone has maximum protection.

    The offer is open to everyone over the age of 30, so when you get the call, get the jab. It could save your life and protect your loved ones.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on 40 Million Receiving First Vaccine

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on 40 Million Receiving First Vaccine

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 5 June 2021.

    It is an astonishing achievement to deliver over 40 million first doses in just 6 months. In all 4 corners of the UK, people are stepping up when their time comes to protect themselves and the people around them.

    It seems with every day we pass another major milestone on the road back to recovery. Over three-quarters of adults have received a first dose and over half of adults have now been vaccinated with the life-saving second dose.

    I pay tribute to the tireless work of the NHS and armed forces in building this momentum – but our work is not yet done. I encourage everyone who is eligible to join the millions who have the fullest possible protection from this virus by getting their jab when the time comes.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on the Health Security Chain

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on the Health Security Chain

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 3 June 2021.

    Globally we are only as strong as the weakest link in the health security chain. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

    We need to make better use of advances in our ability to collect, analyse, and share health data from all aspects of life, enabling faster collaboration to respond to health security threats and stop diseases in their tracks.

    The UK and our partners in the G7 have a strong track record of working together to support each other and protect the most vulnerable. As I gather with my ministerial counterparts, we have an opportunity to learn from this pandemic to collectively build back better and safeguard our global health security.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Foreign Health Workers Paying for Visas

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Foreign Health Workers Paying for Visas

    The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 2 June 2021.

    What does the Home Secretary have against NHS and care workers? Conservative plans to slap a stealth tax on frontline heroes, who have risked their own health to keep us safe through this pandemic, is shameful.

    The Prime Minister made a personal promise to remove the Immigration Health Surcharge for overseas workers. Now, what he gave with one hand, he seeks to take away with the other.

     

  • Richard Fuller – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    Richard Fuller – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    The speech made by Richard Fuller, the Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire, in the House of Commons on 27 May 2021.

    I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on securing this debate, and I welcome my hon. Friend the Minister to her place. It is clear with the breathless endorsements from the Opposition that the Government, if they wish, can fully get their way with these proposals, but I worry.

    I worry that an opportunity for a determined and modern policy based on empowering individuals has instead been replaced with a rather tired, top-down, bureaucratic approach. I worry that the Department of Health and Social Care algorithm has resulted not in an intelligent group of products, but a confusing and ill-targeted group of products, as my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) said.

    I worry that the policy is literally treating adults like children, particularly with its full-scale transfer of the nutrient profile model. Worse, I worry that the policy targets those who are poor, ethnic minorities and the elderly, who are most likely to be obese or overweight, and it connotes with it a rather condescending attitude that the Government know best for those particular groups of people.

    I worry that the evidentiary base is flimsy. The Minister mentioned the sugar tax, and the sugar tax may have been successful, but that is not what is in this policy. In fact, the policy being proposed is very different from the sugar tax. I worry that success is not defined or measured. Essentially, the policy remains a matter of hope, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) pointed out.

    I worry about the haste of implementation, adding new efforts and responsibilities on businesses just as they are recovering from the impact of lockdowns. In particular, I worry about the impact on Jordans in my constituency and the farmers who are supporting that business. I worry that the Department has chosen to silence the power of businesses and the power of their brands, rather than enhance them in the efforts they wish to undertake.

    I worry that the policy is blunt where it could be smart. For example, it prefers an outright ban to using technologies in advertising online that would help achieve the Government’s goals. I worry about the unintended consequences for people with eating disorders. I worry about timing. Many people are already anxious about their health post covid, and these measures will do nothing to avert those anxieties.

    I worry about the social credit system of points that Sir Keith Mills may come up with in his review, with all of its potential ramifications. I worry where all this may lead—potentially we will have an NHS app. As we walk down the street and pass a restaurant or a bar, it will beep to tell us, “Please input what you have eaten.” Perhaps we will reach there one day. In fact, we are already there. Those apps are already under trial by the NHS.

  • Robbie Moore – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    Robbie Moore – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    The speech made by Robbie Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley, in the House of Commons on 27 May 2021.

    The challenge of obesity has of course been magnified by the last year’s events, and the evidence is clear, as ever, about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and eating well. I welcome the national food strategy’s putting a better food system at the heart of the covid-19 recovery. It is worrying that one in three children who leave primary school is overweight and one in five is obese. It is crucial to rethink the food that young people are being given, and the right education is the key to the answer.

    I recently met and had a great discussion with Ruth Hall, a constituent in Addingham and a former home economics teacher, about ensuring that people know how to prepare healthy food. She showed me her old lessons plans, which included guidance on making nutritious meals at an affordable price. The people she taught over her 36 years as a teacher were given the right skills to cook, and I am sure their children are better informed about healthier eating.

    I worry that home economics as a subject for all at an early age in our schools is now lost, and I fear that a generation have now missed out on acquiring these skills, which I believe is a key reason for the worrying statistics I have mentioned. It is therefore vital for the Government to act to make sure that young people are equipped with the adequate training on and knowledge of nutrition and how to cook a decent meal—a decent, wholesome meal.

    There is a much wider discussion to be had about where people’s food comes from. I regularly speak to farmers and those working in the food production sector, who are frustrated by the lack of knowledge about that nationally in the wider population. It needs to be at the heart of our good food strategy. The Government’s intentions to change how food is advertised, displayed and promoted in shops will undoubtedly create purchase behavioural change, but I am yet to be totally reassured of the absolute benefits that will have.

    As my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Andy Carter) and the Minister have said, there is no silver bullet. However, of course, in this place we cannot ignore the fact that this issue disproportionately affects those in deprived communities. Currently, children in those communities are twice as likely to be obese than those in less deprived areas. That must be addressed. I am pleased that the Government have pledged to halve childhood obesity and close that gap by 2030, but our approach cannot just be Government-centred; communities must be key, active players, and parents must take more responsibility for what they feed their children and the consequences of that. Of course, that loops back to education.

    I know that the NHS long-term plan has ring-fenced £4.5 billion to help local GPs, pharmacists and others deal with issues such as obesity, but I am sure that home economics, food nutrition, and teaching children and parents how to cook good, wholesome food will be a great start.

  • Andrew Lewer – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    Andrew Lewer – 2021 Speech on the Obesity Strategy

    The speech made by Andrew Lewer, the Conservative MP for Northampton South, in the House of Commons on 27 May 2021.

    With more than half the adults in this country classed as overweight, which has well-known associated health impacts on society and the NHS, I understand why the Government want to tackle this issue. Much of the strategy on public health education is not objectionable, unlike the proposals about the advertising of two-for-ones and where shops can display their wares, which I believe fall foul of the core Conservative principles, which are the reason I am in politics, of promoting freedom and the liberty of our citizens.

    There is much evidence that suggests that such proposals will not work anyway and will be heavy-handed. That is why these ideas, thankfully, never came to fruition in two former Prime Ministers’ Administrations. The legislation will essentially nationalise the content of food advertising, which will be chosen by the Department of Health and Social Care in Whitehall. It is redolent of EU regulations about whether Jaffa Cakes are biscuits or cakes and Harold Wilson’s selective employment tax; instead we should trust citizens to make decisions for themselves and concentrate on education so that those choices are informed.

    The proposed advertising ban on high-fat, salt and sugar products before 9 pm on TV and online in its entirety will not only catch those foods that we commonly think of as junk, but target foods such as ready-made sandwiches, butter and jam. Speciality businesses such as wedding cake shops or artisan producers of sausages will not be able to promote their products on the primary advertising mediums of the 21st century. We are a party that claims to stand behind business, but the financial impact across the food, advertising and broadcasting industries, in stifling entrepreneurship and competition, will be enormous. All these proposals, by the Government’s own admission, will reduce children’s calorie intake only by an unnoteworthy amount. Research from Mondelez International states that restricting promotions will lead to an average daily reduction of only 8 calories for adults.

    An obesity strategy as a concept and one that empowers my constituents in Northampton South is fine, but proposals towards a nanny, banny state, which are contrary to years of the Prime Minister’s own writings and to core Conservative principles, are not at all fine. They exemplify the politician’s syllogism from the 1988 edition of “Yes Prime Minister”: “We have a problem. Something must be done. Well, here’s something, so let’s do that.”