Opposition Day — [15th Allotted Day] — Access to NHS Services — 3 Jul 2007 at 19:20

I beg to move,

That this House reaffirms its commitment to equitable access to high-quality NHS care, based on need not ability to pay; regards local access to NHS services as an important aspect of quality of care; urges the development of practice-based commissioning to incentivise primary care access and the integration of GP services, out-of-hours care, urgent care and NHS Direct services; calls on the Government to publish its review of walk-in centres and patient access survey results; notes the continuing threat to community hospitals, local accident and emergency and maternity services; calls for the preparation of evidence-based service models which seek to maintain local access to accident and emergency services, and to maintain community-based treatment and diagnosis and maternal choice; and further calls on the Government to ensure the fair allocation of resources, relative to burden of disease, to secure equitable access to NHS services.

I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to end and add:

"supports the Government's trebling of investment in the NHS by 2008 and welcomes the recent confirmation of an extra £8 billion for 2007-08; congratulates the staff and the medical professions for their hard work and commitment in helping progress towards this Government's historic maximum 18 week wait from GP referral to treatment; welcomes the extra choice available to patients with new services more convenient for their lives including around 90 NHS walk-in centres and the £750 million programme for developing community facilities providing care closer to home; recognises the achievement of the NHS in delivering a wide range of quality personal services convenient for patients including NHS Direct, 23 new independent sector treatment centres increasing choice; further welcomes the 280,000 extra staff working for the NHS since 1997 including 80,000 more nurses and 35,000 more doctors; further welcomes the fact that over 85 per cent. of all GP practices have used Choose and Book to refer their patients to hospital and that over three million Choose and Book appointments have been made so far, allowing patients to choose appointments that are at convenient times to fit in with their lives; and recognises the need to ensure that the views of NHS staff and patients are paramount and that Government must engage fully in a dialogue with them about the future of the NHS.".

Question put, That the original words stand part of the Question:-

The House divided: Ayes 193, Noes 292.

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