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Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries (Amendment)
Mr. Archy Kirkwood accordingly presented a Bill to require the Government to consult interested parties on whether to designate the coastal waters off Berwickshire as Scottish internal waters and to report to Parliament; and for connected purposes: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time on Friday 23 July, and to be printed [Bill 145].
3.50 pm
Madam Speaker: I have selected the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister.
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring): I beg to move,
- That this House notes the failure of the Government to deliver improvements in the provision of health care in the United Kingdom, resulting in increased waiting times for patients, plummeting morale in the medical and nursing professions, distortion of clinical priorities and the increasingly widespread rationing of drugs and treatments; and believes that repeated announcements, soundbites and photo opportunities are no substitute for a coherent and effective health policy.
As of this morning, two thirds of the trusts and half the health authorities expect underlying recurrent expenditure to exceed income by the end of the year. More than one third of trusts intend to cut direct service provision this year to balance their budgets.
The debate is about the widening gap between the growth in expectations and the ability of the service to deliver quick results.
Mr. Geraint Davies (Croydon, Central):
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Dr. Fox:
I can deliver quick results, but not that quick. No thank you.
The debate is also about the competence of a Government who make announcements about the same spending over and over again and engage in gimmicks and soundbites to hide the intellectual vacuum in a Department that denies that rationing in our health care system even exists.
Mr. John Swinney (North Tayside):
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Dr. Fox:
A surprise appearance. I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Swinney:
The hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of competence and I want to probe that issue further in the context of the motion. The motion is about health care provision in the United Kingdom, but with effect from 1 July, control of health policy was devolved from this Parliament to the Scottish Parliament. How competent is the Conservative party to move a motion about health care provision in the United Kingdom, when that is a matter over which this Parliament no longer has the power to exercise control?
Dr. Fox:
I am sure that had the motion been out of order, you would have ruled it out of order,
Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington):
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Dr. Fox:
No, but I will in a little while.
It is interesting to note how the disappointment that now exists among large sections of the electorate came about. On 1 July 1996, in "The Road to the Manifesto"--which for her was to be a short road to the Back Benches--the right hon. Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) wrote:
In December 1996, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who was then Labour health spokesman, said in a speech on "A Health Service for a New Century":
Far more important than the Government's broken promises is the plunge in morale in the national health service to which Ian Bogle referred in his speech. That plunge, which has happened throughout the country, is clearly evident to those of us who visit hospitals and is
nowhere more visible than in the destruction of junior doctors' morale. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister told the House that when the Government
What do those figures tell us? They tell us either that the Prime Minister does not speak to the Secretary of State, or that the Secretary of State does not know the figures. Perhaps neither of them really cares about the figures.
The truth is that our junior doctors are starting to work more hours than they did before. Rules govern the length of time that a person can drive a lorry or fly an aeroplane, but the Government do not appear to mind the number of hours that people can guddle around with a scalpel in a patient's insides. The Government propose that there should be no limit on junior doctors' hours for the next four years and that the transition to 48 hours a week will take 13 years. When that was decided, the Secretary of State called it "good news for doctors".
Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South):
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Padraig Flynn, the former European Union Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, said that he was "very, very dismayed" at the decision. He said that it was unacceptable for patients to be treated by doctors who are exhausted, and that such a long transition period was
Rev. Martin Smyth:
At a time when a senior consultant has been accused of failing in his duty because of overwork, is it not even more dangerous that junior doctors, who are often a patient's first line of defence, work even longer hours than some consultants? Northern Ireland has the highest rate of junior doctors working hours that are too long.
Dr. Fox:
When I was a senior house officer in obstetrics, I worked one weekend that began on Saturday
"Labour will cut NHS waiting times".
The facts are a little different. In March 1997, 30,100 patients had waited more than a year to be seen. By the end of May this year, 48,300 people were in that position--a 61 per cent. increase.
"I am particularly conscious of the need to avoid upheaval yet again within the Health Service. Change is needed, but it must happen in a sensible and phased way, and it must never become change for change's sake."
However, not only has everyone who works in the national health service been avalanched with paper by the Government's attempts to make the system ever more centralised, but Dr. Ian Bogle, in his first speech as chairman of the British Medical Association, attacked the Government, saying that the pace of change was "frightening", and that doctors were
"apprehensive and fearful for their future".
He continued:
"Congratulations, Mr. Blair, you have managed to alienate the whole profession."
Then there is the question of political appointments. The then Labour spokesman also said:
"We want greater accountability and transparency for the planning and funding decisions made by health authorities, hospitals and GPs. Solely political appointments made to non-executive directorships on the boards of trusts and authorities must end."
However, the figures show that 189 Labour councillors have been appointed as chairmen or non-executive directors on NHS trusts since the general election--posts that can boost their incomes by up to £19,000 a year. By contrast, only 25 of their allies in the Liberal Democrat party, 11 Tories and three independent councillors were chosen in the same period. What a bunch of phoneys the Government have turned out to be.
"came to office, 6,500 junior doctors were working more than 56 hours a week--an unacceptable figure."
He was correct. He then said:
"Now the figure is 4,800."
That is wrong. The figure is now 8,508; 26 per cent. of junior doctors work beyond the new deal limits. The Prime Minister added:
"I am pleased to say that only one junior doctor in six works now for more than 56 hours a week"--[Official Report, 7 July 1999; Vol. 334, c. 1024.]
That is incorrect. Only the Prime Minister's arithmetic can turn 26 per cent. into one in six. For the rest of us, the figure means that one in four of all junior doctors in this country are not complying with the new deal. That is an increase of 78 per cent. over the previous non-compliance figures of 30 September 1998. If the Minister thinks that those figures are wrong, I hope that he will give us the correct ones.
"not politically feasible or morally acceptable. It does not take 13 years to improve work organisation in European hospitals."
Notwithstanding the interference that may come from Brussels on this matter, it is surely right that the Government should ensure that no junior doctor works more than 56 hours a week by the end of this Parliament. I look forward to the Secretary of State giving that commitment this afternoon.
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