Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine has challenged the Government over the future of local cancer services in Parliament.
Speaking in the House of Commons (on Monday 31 January 2011) during the 2nd Reading debate of the Government's flagship Health & Social Care Bill, Steve said Ministers must act to ensure specialist cancer services are safely transferred to new GP consortia. Family doctors will assume control of the NHS budget locally under proposals contained within the Bill which Mr Brine told MPs he enthusiastically supported.
"The Bill promises to take day-to-day power and responsibility out of the hands of Ministers and managers and to put it firmly into the hands of GPs. This means that decisions about NHS care will move closer to the patient and away from the remote organisations of which few people whom I and others represent have heard.
"In an extremely tough financial climate, even for the NHS, we are talking about removing the bureaucracy of the primary care trusts and strategic health authorities and investing that money in patient care. As I have said in my constituency more times than I care to remember, I am concerned only about protecting the services that my constituents rely on. If they are threatened, I will dust down the placards, but I am not going to rummage around in the shed for one that reads, 'Save the PCT'."
He said he warmly welcomed changes to public health provision and the creation of new locally based Health & Wellbeing Boards as part of the Bill and focused on the fight against breast cancer in particular; "Encouraging greater breast awareness is and must be an important part of that", he told MPs. "When it comes to screening, we have to do much better in this country. This change in public health must give a strong impetus to local authorities, many of which are big employers of women, as well as to GPs and local employers to come together and make sure that we do better. Women should be given time off work to attend breast screening appointments and providers must recognise that access to screening that works does not always mean nine-to-five, Monday to Friday."
But he warned Ministers they must act to safeguard the future of Cancer Networks as changes to the NHS take effect in the coming years. Winchester is covered by the Surrey, West Sussex & Hampshire (SWSH) Cancer Network, based at the Cancer Centre in Guildford, which is responsible for commissioning as well as providing cancer and palliative care services. It has only be guaranteed funding until 2012 while GP consortia will not be fully up and running until 2014.
He said; "More than two million people are living with or after cancer in this country, and by 2030 there will be 4 million. Cancer is a set of 200-plus different diseases, most of which have highly complex care pathways. I have concerns about the low level of GPs currently with a specialism or particular interest in cancer compared, for instance, with diabetes or mental health. I urge Ministers to look again at the transition period and protect the cancer networks until GP consortia are in a position to make better decisions about the support and expertise they require. Solid action from the Government in this regard would reassure many cancer charities, patients and Members."
Steve supported the Bill for a 2nd Reading and will now serve on the influential Public Bill Committee which will take evidence and scrutinise the legislation clause by clause.
Pictured; Steve makes a point from the famous green benches.
More information ...
You can view Steve Brine's full contribution in the debate (from Jan 31 2011) here.
The Bill's page on Parliament's own website is via H&SC Bill pages.