I beg to move, That this House is concerned about the Government's approach to managing risk in the NHS; notes that the Government is still to respond fully to the Francis Report, despite the Prime Minister promising on6 February 2013,Official Report, column 281, a detailed response by the end of March 2013; believes that the Government is in danger of ignoring the lessons of recent failures by cutting thousands of nursing staff; is concerned at recent reports revealing pressure to roll out the NHS 111 telephone service despite serious concerns about it not being safe to do so; is further concerned at recent reports that plans are not in place to avert an Accident and Emergency Crisis next winter; recognises that the 14 Trusts investigated by Sir Bruce Keogh have seen increasing problems since May 2010; further believes that the Government's failure to implement the key recommendations of the Francis Report, combined with the disruption of the recent NHS reorganisation, risks making it more likely that failures of care will happen in future; further notes the Government's recent commitment to openness and transparency in the NHS; therefore calls on the Government to publish the NHS transition risk register as ordered by the Information Commissioner and Information Rights Tribunal; and further calls on the Government to bring forward urgent implementation of key Francis recommendations to improve patient safety, including a duty of candour, benchmarks on safe staffing and the regulation of healthcare assistants.
It has just come through the worst Crisis in Accident and Emergency for more than a decade and it is only months away from another winter which, if nothing changes, will most likely be just as bad or possibly worse for patients.
Does the Prime Minister believe that the Accident and Emergency Crisis in the NHS has anything to do with the fact that he has cut 6,000 nurses since coming to power?
Can the Prime Minister guarantee that there will not be an Accident and Emergency Crisis this winter?
If we consider the issue in the context of the Crisis in Accident and Emergency, we can see that there will be absolute meltdown.
As we know, we have an Accident and Emergency Crisis across the country, and that is partly because of the impact on social care.
In fact, the College of Emergency Medicine's president, Cliff Mann, has today said that any Crisis in Accident and Emergency is “behind us”.
There is a Crisis in Accident and Emergency, and it is getting harder to see a GP.
In his attempt to gag hospitals over the growing Accident and Emergency Crisis, the Secretary of State has sanctioned guidance that “we must avoid reputational damage”.
With the Accident and Emergency Crisis, over which the Secretary of State has presided, more and more police officers are queuing outside fewer A&E departments in ever-lengthening queues.
On Sunday, independent experts, the King's Fund, the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation, had this to say about the coming winter: “Expect the inevitable: more people dying on lengthening waiting lists; more older people living unwell, unsupported and in misery; and a Crisis in Accident and Emergency.