§ 6. Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new proposals he has to improve patient care. [18727]
§ Mr. RedwoodI set out my proposals for improving patient care in my recent speech to the Welsh Grand Committee. Today, I have announced further measures to improve cancer care in the years ahead.
§ Mr. FlynnIs the Secretary of State proud of the Tory do-it-yourself health service in Newport, where last week two infant victims of accidents were forced to wait two and three hours respectively for treatment? One infant had sliced off the top of a finger almost entirely and the other infant had severed her big toe almost entirely. At the end of that long wait, the families were informed that no treatment was on offer and that they would have to travel themselves 60 miles to Morriston hospital.
Is it sensible or safe to expect distraught parents to act as ambulance drivers and travel to strange towns? Is the Secretary of State concerned about the fact that one family were told that it was too late for their child to undergo microsurgery? They were then told that they could find their own way back to Newport or wait 16 hours for transportation by ambulance. Is that patient care or patient neglect?
§ Mr. RedwoodThose cases sound very worrying indeed. Of course I will look into them specifically, immediately following Question Time and I will provide the hon. Gentleman with a written answer. That is not the kind of thing that I wish to hear. Many hundreds of thousands of people receive very good treatment from the 509 NHS in Wales and we must make sure that that is true of everyone. Like the hon. Gentleman, I am rather worried by that story.