Accident and Emergency Departments

HC Deb 05 December 1995 vol 268 cc121-2

1. Mr. Gapes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to visit Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority to discuss the situation in local accident and emergency departments. [2172]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. John Horam)

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to do so.

Mr. Gapes

Is the Minister aware that there is a serious crisis in accident and emergency departments in Redbridge and Waltham Forest health authority, that Whipps Cross hospital closed on 14 November and told doctors not to send people there, that King George hospital has regularly told ambulances to go away, and that some of my constituents have had to wait on trolleys for 10, 12, 14 or, in one case, 24 hours? In one case, a constituent was questioned about an incident by the police in front of other people in the area. Is not that a disgrace? When will the Government do something about the crisis in accident and emergency departments in Redbridge and Waltham Forest?

Mr. Horam

I understand the hon. Gentleman's point clearly because there are problems in those two hospitals in his constituency. However, he has exaggerated the problems. I can tell him that both the trusts involved are looking at the situation closely. They are taking short-term measures, and, to deal with bed management, are recruiting additional staff and so forth to cope with the problems. The problems are caused by a higher demand for A and E treatment throughout north London, which is also being examined by the trusts. The hon. Gentleman can be assured that things are improving.

Sir Michael Neubert

I welcome my hon. Friend to the Dispatch Box in his new responsibility. Is he aware that the A and E service in the adjacent Barking and Havering area is already under strain as a result of the decision to concentrate casualty at Harold Wood rather than at Oldchurch hospital in my constituency? If the service at King George hospital, Ilford—the hospital to which many of my constituents will in future have to turn—is also to be terminated, that will result in an unacceptable reduction in standards of access in an emergency.

Mr. Horam

Again, I understand my hon. Friend's point. I would be very concerned if the A and E department at King George hospital were to close. I have no information to that effect. On the contrary, I understand that there is no intention of closing the A and E department at King George hospital.

Mr. Barron

Does the Minister accept that the picture which has just been painted is a national one? Accident and emergency departments are currently closing their doors because of a shortage of beds, and patients are waiting hour after hour on trolleys in corridors. The Minister should recognise that A and E departments are twice penalised by the internal market: a lack of bed space means that they cannot meet patient charter times, but because they cannot meet those times, purchasers are withholding payment. The Secretary of State has announced this morning the Government's so-called blitz on bureaucracy. Given that the Government created the internal market, will his announcement be followed by an apology to people who work in health and to the British people about the mess, and will he listen to what the British people want from the NHS, that is, proper patient care and not the privatisation that is creeping in at hospitals throughout Britain?

Mr. Horam

That sounded like a statement of Labour party policy in a nutshell. Labour Members have nothing more to say. The fact is that the hon. Gentleman in his calmer moments will surely realise that he is exaggerating. The hon. Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) was rightly referring to a situation in his constituency and that was perfectly fair, but in London as a whole 35 A and E departments are open 24 hours a day. Some £37 million have been spent over the past five years and things are definitely improving.

Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman

Does my hon. Friend accept that this is by no means a national situation, and will Opposition Members appreciate that there are some hospitals in the country that run their affairs efficiently? I have today heard from the head of the accident and emergency department in Lancaster that we have no problems because we treat our staff well and we have a good reputation. Other hospitals might try doing likewise.

Mr. Horam

I am delighted to hear it. As a Lancastrian, I am delighted that Lancashire is once again leading the country.