§ 1. Mr. Peter Luff (Mid-Worcestershire)What representations he has received from community health councils in Worcestershire about the provision of health services in the county; and if he will make a statement. [42174]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. Alan Milburn)My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received letters from Kidderminster and district and Worcester community health councils on the subject of Worcestershire health authority's strategic review. The health authority has now agreed an extension for the consideration of responses to the consultation. I know that negotiations are progressing and given the spirit of co-operation that we are seeking to encourage in the NHS and the progress made so far, I hope that a local agreement can now be reached about the future of local health services.
§ Mr. LuffI sincerely hope that the Minister's optimism is borne out by experience. If a decision falls to the Secretary of State on this matter, will the Minister ensure that he is reminded that the proposals have the full support of the larger community health council in Worcestershire, the Worcester and district health council, Bromsgrove community health council, the Worcester Royal Infirmary trust, Wychavon district council, Malvern Hills district council, the ambulance trust and—perhaps most significantly—the community trust, which recognises that only proposals such as these can safeguard the community hospitals of Worcestershire and enable a fine hospital such as Evesham to develop its services in a cost-effective manner to serve the people of South Worcestershire into the next millennium?
§ Mr. MilburnI understand the hon. Gentleman's concerns, and the concerns of the local community about the future of community hospitals. I hope that the decision does not come to Ministers. It would be far better if the situation could be resolved locally and amicably. Given the progress that has been made so far, I am optimistic that a local consensus will be achieved.
§ Mr. David Lock (Wyre Forest)My hon. Friend will appreciate the anger of my constituents, who are the net 154 losers in these proposals, as they see their hospital—which received a charter mark last year—decimated by the proposals of the health authority. Does he accept that that anger was aggravated when the 12,000 local people who took to the streets were dismissed out of hand by the health authority? Will he ensure that the health authority knows that the Government think that local opinion is important in making health care decisions?
I am grateful that my hon. Friend referred to the negotiations in which, as he knows, I have been involved. Will he ask the health authority to go the extra mile, to improve its offer and—most of all—to clarify its proposals so that the volunteers on the community health council, who all do valuable work for nothing, know precisely what is, and what is not, on offer to the people they represent?
§ Mr. MilburnI pay tribute to all those who have been engaged in the negotiations locally, including my hon. Friend and other hon. Members from both sides of the House. There are difficult decisions confronting the health authority in Worcestershire. I understand that progress is being made and that further meetings have been held this week. It is important that everyone concerned does everything in their power to reach local agreement so that patient services in Worcestershire are protected and we get the best health care for the county's people.
§ Mr. Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton)There are some important decisions to be taken about the future of Worcestershire's hospitals, but, in the meantime, their waiting lists are growing. The royal infirmary's list is longer; Kidderminster's list is longer; the Alexandra's list is longer. The people of Worcestershire are learning fast about the people's waiting lists. Will the Minister offer this House a simple guarantee—that, in his panic to put right the waiting list betrayal we have seen from the Government, we will not see any other NHS performance indicator pushed in the wrong direction instead?
§ Mr. MilburnI welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new responsibilities. I hope that he has more success in his new role than in his last one, when he was charged with the responsibility for shoring up the Conservative party's fortunes following its election defeat on 1 May. Given his track record on that issue, I am sure that my hon. Friends will wish him a long tenure as Opposition health spokesman.
I will not—no Labour Member will—take any lectures from the hon. Gentleman on waiting lists. Under the previous Government, waiting lists rose year after year. Under this Government, waiting lists will come down—not only for one year, but year after year.
I tell the hon. Gentleman that the Government have made a good start. Now—for the first time since hospital records have been collected—no one is waiting more than 18 months for hospital treatment. We have also decreased—for the first time in two years—the number of people waiting 12 months. I guarantee him that, in one year, waiting lists will be lower than the record level we inherited from the previous Government.
§ Mr. Michael J. Foster (Worcester)The Minister will be aware that the six options under consideration in the health review conducted in Worcestershire all include 155 provision of a new district general hospital. Will he reassure both me and the people of Worcestershire—who, after all, have now been on a promise for 40 years—that he will do his utmost to deliver a new hospital? May I also express to him the gratitude of the people of Worcestershire for the extra £2.8 million recently announced to deal with waiting lists in the county?
§ Mr. MilburnI hope that we will not keep the people of Worcestershire waiting for too much longer, if it has been 40 years. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the role that he has played in assiduously campaigning for a new hospital in Worcester. As he knows, progress has been made on the private finance initiative.
I urge all those concerned, including the private sector consortium, to meet the very tough deadline that the Government have imposed. It is important that that deadline is met, and I am sure that it will be. Worcester is a very important part of the new hospital building programme that the Government have announced, and has the biggest new hospital building programme that the national health service has ever seen. The programme also symbolises our commitment not only to investing in the national health service, but to modernising it.