Women being denied labour beds to give birth

Last year, almost 4,000 women in England gave birth in a location other than a designated labour bed in a hospital.

Hospitals also gave examples of babies being born in midwife offices, lifts, toilets and a caravan. Some of these births will have been genuine emergencies and unavoidable, but many are because services are overstretched.

"New mothers should not be being put through the trauma of having to give birth in such inappropriate places", Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said. "It is extremely distressing for them and their families to be denied a labour bed because their maternity unit is full".

Lansley added that the fact that mothers are getting this sort of sub-standard treatment despite Gordon Brown’s tripling of spending on the NHS reflects the incredible waste of resources in recent years.

He also pledged that under a Conservative Government would make sure every woman who wants a single hospital room will get one, and also that it would make sure the money follows the patient "so that if more women are giving birth then more money is available".

Lansley slams Labour for failing to tackle hospital infections

Andrew Lansley has condemned Labour's failure to tackle hospital infections after official statistics revealed that there were 5,931 deaths from C. difficile and 1,230 deaths from MRSA in England and Wales in 2008.

The Shadow Health Secretary described the number of people dying from hospital infections - three times as many as are killed on the roads each year - as "appalling".

Andrew called on the Government to adopt our "zero tolerance" policy to tackle hospital infections, including our pledge to double the number of single rooms in NHS hospitals so that all patients who need to be isolated can be, and added:

"Despite years of repeated warning, many hospitals are still treating patients in crowded wards and lack basic facilities to isolate patients who have an infection so that it doesn't spread."

Lansley attacks Labour's "dithering" over swine flu

Andrew Lansley has warned that Labour’s “dithering” over the preparations for swine flu has left the NHS unable to respond effectively to the outbreak.

The Shadow Health Secretary said, “According to the Government’s own planning document, a full National Flu Line should have been up and running over a month ago, and managing the distribution of drugs and information in a coordinated way across the country.”

“Now, as vital weeks have passed and the number of cases has surged, it is clear that the Government’s dithering has damaged the ability of the NHS to respond coherently to the outbreak.”

Andrew stressed there was still “far too much confusion” amongst the public about what to do when people experience flu symptoms.

And he attacked the Government for not taking measures to deal with the expected increase in demand for intensive care beds as the virus spreads:

“The Government now project that up to 1500 extra people a day will need hospital care by the end of August. I can see no evidence that they’ve created the extra bed capacity or trained the extra staff that will be necessary to cope with this sort of demand. This sort of dithering is unacceptable, and does not inspire confidence that Andy Burnham is in control of the situation.”

Lansley calls on Government to resolve swine flu confusion

Andrew Lansley said it is “vital” the Government acts quickly to resolve the confusion around swine flu, after the number of people contacting their doctor increased by nearly 50% last week.

The Shadow Health Secretary stressed, “It is deeply concerning that people are confused about what to do when they experience flu symptoms.”

“It is not helped by the Government’s failure to secure a national flu line when they promised to do so, which would have managed the distribution of drugs and information.”

Andrew called on the Government to implement a national flu line capable of undertaking diagnosis and enabling the collection of anti-viral treatment from a nationwide network of collection points.

He also demanded clarity on when a vaccine will become available in Britain, and asked the Government to publish the scientific advice it has received on priorities for vaccination.

Lansley calls for a decision on long-term care

Andrew Lansley stressed we need serious, costed proposals on long-term care rather than more debate following the publication of Labour's Social Care Green Paper.

Labour's Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, refused to confirm how any of their proposals would be paid for, saying, "At this stage we're talking about the principle rather than the detail of these models."

Andrew, the Shadow Health Secretary, warned, "All we have today is yet another document, long on options and short on costs and conclusions, published late, in the hope it will see them through to an election when it will no longer be their problem. It isn't good enough."

He stressed, "We don't need to start another debate. One debate always seems to roll into another with this Government. We need a decision, and we need serious, costed proposals to be the basis of that decision."

Andrew called for a "partnership approach" to long-term care which enables the creation of a sufficient pool of contributions and risk:

"We need a system where people can be sure their care needs are supported; a system which raises the quality of care in people's homes; a system which reverses the decline in productivity in the social care sector; a system which ends the scandal of people being forced to sell their home or lose their lifetime savings - simply because they are unfortunate enough to need long-term care; a system which guarantees our older citizens the care and dignity they deserve."

Lansley questions Labour's handling of swine flu

Andrew Lansley has questioned the effectiveness of Labour’s containment strategy for swine flu after it was revealed that surprisingly few anti-virals have been given out.

New information released in response to a Parliamentary Question shows that for 7,447 swine flu cases, only 6,138 courses of anti-virals were distributed.

Although there would have been some cases that were diagnosed too late for anti-virals to be effective, this would have been outweighed by the fact that anti-virals would also have been given to people with suspected - not just confirmed - swine flu.

In addition, anti-virals should have been given to anyone who had been in close contact with a swine flu victim. However, just 10,363 courses of anti-virals have been given out to contacts of people with swine flu – which is fewer than two confirmed contacts of each swine flu victim.

Andrew, the Shadow Health Secretary, said the Conservatives had supported the Government’s containment strategy, but stressed he would have expected all confirmed and suspected victims of swine flu to be given anti-virals, as well as anyone who had been in contact with them.

He described the anti-viral figures as “worrying” and stressed, “(They)suggest that the Government’s containment strategy was not anything like as effective as it should have been.”

Lansley challenges Labour to match NHS spending commitment

Andrew Lansley has called on the Government to come clean about their spending plans after it was revealed that the NHS has been asked to plan for efficiency savings of £15-20 billion against its 2010-11 budget.

The Department of Health has refused to confirm whether these savings will be available for reinvestment in the NHS - if they are not, it will equate to a real terms annual cut to the NHS budget of 2.3 per cent.

Andrew, the Shadow Health Secretary, said, “NHS staff and patients have an urgent need to know whether Labour will match the Conservative commitment to real terms increases in NHS spending after 2011.”

“If Labour will not match our commitment, then these ‘efficiency savings’ are hypocritical and code for ‘cuts’.”

Andrew stressed, “We are determined to drive greater efficiency in the NHS and we welcome any genuine savings but these will be reinvested in the NHS as we increase health spending year by year. At the moment it sounds disturbingly like Labour are planning to cut the NHS budget.”

Lansley warns "shocking" number of children addicted to alcohol and drugs

Andrew Lansley has accused Labour of neglecting a “forgotten generation of children” after it was revealed that 11,294 under-16-year-olds were treated for alcohol and drug dependency last year.

The Shadow Health Secretary, who uncovered the figures, called on the Government to take action to tackle the problem “before it’s too late”.

And he said it was a “sad indictment of our broken society” that so many children are turning to things like drug and alcohol abuse at such a young age.

The new information shows that in 2008:

• 6,075 under-16-year-olds were treated for cannabis dependency - with 102 of those under 12
• 4,005 children under-16-year-olds were treated for alcohol dependency - with 57 of those under 12
• 93 under-16-year-olds were treated for heroin dependency - with 10 of those under 12

Andrew said, “Tackling these problems has been low on (Labour’s) priority list and their irresponsible decision to roll out 24-hour drinking on our towns and communities has not helped.”

And he stressed that the NHS needs “a robust strategy” to improve public health – and that more must be done to tackle the wider causes of social breakdown.

Labour's "extraordinary" infections boast attacked

Andrew Lansley has attacked an “extraordinary” boast from Labour's new Health Secretary, Andy Burnham the day new figures revealed that cases of both Clostridium difficile and MRSA are on the rise.

Responding to Andy Burnham’s claim that he is “proud” of Labour’s record on tackling infection rates, Mr. Lansley said:

“These figures expose Labour’s complacency and their failure to tackle this blight on our hospitals.”

The Shadow Health Secretary also criticised Labour’s lack of real action on infections, highlighting gimmicks like Gordon Brown’s flawed “deep-cleaning” programme, and he added:

“A Conservative Government would take a zero tolerance approach to hospital infections. We are committed to doubling the number of single rooms in NHS hospitals so that all patients who need to be isolated can be.”

Lansley outlines proposals to cut youth smoking

Andrew Lansley put forward proposals to reduce the level of youth smoking during a House of Commons debate on the new Health Bill.

He outlined measures to remove vending machines from the public areas of licensed premises and outlaw proxy purchases of cigarettes by adults for young people.

Both of these proposals will be put forward as amendments to the Bill.

Andrew, the Shadow Health Secretary, stressed, “Smoking is one of the largest avoidable causes of premature mortality. Our public health strategy must do all that we can, which the evidence supports, to reduce smoking rates, especially amongst young people.”

And he said, “I am determined that we should continue to bear down on the prevalence of smoking amongst young people, which remains much too high.”

New reforms to give one million more people an NHS dentist

Andrew Lansley has announced a series of measures to restore access to an NHS dentist to the million people who have lost it under Labour.

The Shadow Health Secretary attacked the “terrible dental legacy” that Labour is leaving, and warned that it will be “difficult to fix”.

“Over a million people have lost their NHS dentist in just three years and dentists are fed up with the flawed, system of perverse incentives that Labour have introduced.”

Andrew outlined a series of reforms to allow more patients to access an NHS dentist:

• Slashing costly bureaucracy and cutting out waste to restore access to an NHS dentist for the million patients who have lost it under Labour
• Creating new incentives for dentists to spend more time on preventative dental care, improving oral health and reducing long term costs
• Using money currently spent on unnecessary treatments to reintroduce dental screening for children in schools
• Giving dentists the freedom to charge patients who repeatedly miss appointments
• Ensuring taxpayer-trained dentists work for the NHS for at least five years

Andrew promised to make preventative treatment “a real priority” in order to improve the nation’s dental health.

And he stressed, “Our plans will create real incentives for dentists to help people avoid tooth decay, so that we can cut the shocking rise in the number of people needing to have their teeth pulled out.”

Lessons must be learned from failings of Mid-Staffs NHS Trust

Andrew Lansley has condemned the poor standards of care at the Staffordshire General Hospital after an inquiry found deficiencies at “virtually every stage” in the care of people admitted as emergencies.

The Healthcare Commission found that around 400 more people died at the hospital between 2005 and 2008 than would be expected - and Andrew, the Shadow Health Secretary, warned that the Government must learn from the mistakes made by the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust.

He attacked the prioritisation of targets over patient care, saying, “It is unacceptable that the pursuit of targets – not the safety of patients – was repeatedly prioritised, alongside endless managerial change and a ‘closed’ culture, which failed to admit and deal with things going wrong.”

Andrew stressed that “the number one priority” for every NHS organisation must be to provide excellent care for patients and achieve the best possible outcomes from treatment:

“Organisational changes, financial pressures and Government-imposed targets must not distract management away from that focus.”

And he called on the Government to use data on heath outcomes to actively investigate where results are poor, and to provide health staff with the training and equipment they need:

“Resources must not be consumed in bureaucracy and administration; they have to get to the frontline.”

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