Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Community Hospitals

Tuesday 25 March 2025 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions focused on community hospitals and service shifts on 2025-03-25.
  • The Government plans to move services closer to people's homes to provide faster diagnosis and better care.
  • Government officials expressed sympathy for the need for community health services in towns lacking dedicated facilities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lloyd Hatton Lab South Dorset
NHS
Context

Community hospitals in South Dorset have seen a reduction in services due to the previous Conservative government's policies, impacting local access to care.

Question

In South Dorset we urgently need to restore clinics and shift services back into our community hospitals in Weymouth, Portland, Swanage and Wareham. Sadly, the previous Conservative Government hollowed out those community hospitals, meaning that services left our towns to go further and further up the road. Combined with poor transport links, this means that many local people in my patch find it difficult to access the care they need. With that in mind, what steps is the Secretary of State taking to restore clinics and services in our community hospitals, and will he support my campaign to restore the chemotherapy clinic at Wareham community hospital?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)

The big thrust of our 10-year plan will be to deliver on the three shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We believe that by moving services closer to people’s homes—and, indeed, into their homes—we will be able to provide faster diagnosis and faster access to treatment, which will be better for patients and for taxpayers. Through the reforms we are making to the structure of NHS England and the governance of the NHS, we are also presiding over the biggest devolution in the history of the NHS, with more powers and decisions taken closer to the communities they serve. In that spirit, I urge my hon. Friend to make representations locally to his integrated care board, as I know he is doing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide specific steps or assurances about restoring clinics and services in community hospitals or supporting the reopening of a chemotherapy clinic at Wareham.

How: Urges Local Representation, Refers To Devolution

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Q2 Oliver Dowden Con Hertsmere
NHS Community Security
Context

The government's decision not to fund Watford general hospital’s refurbishment has increased the importance of providing community care facilities.

Question

Following the Government’s regrettable decision not to fund Watford general hospital’s refurbishment in this Parliament, providing community care facilities in a town such as Borehamwood in my constituency—a significant town without its own dedicated facilities—is more important than ever. Will the Secretary of State undertake to use his offices to urge the ICB and others to get their act together so that we can finally have those facilities in Borehamwood?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I am very sympathetic to the argument that the right hon. Gentleman makes about the importance of neighbourhood health services in Borehamwood, and indeed in towns and communities across the country. What I am not sympathetic to is a former Deputy Prime Minister complaining about the state of the NHS, which he played a key part in creating when he sat around the Cabinet table.

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide any assurances or commitments regarding community care facilities for Borehamwood.

How: Personal Attack

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Q3 Rachael Maskell Labour (Co-op) York Central
NHS
Context

One in three hospital admissions occurs within the last year of life, highlighting the need for home care options.

Question

One in three hospital admissions occurs in a person’s last year of life, and 43% of people will die in an NHS hospital. Clearly, that is not acceptable when people are at their frailest. What is my right hon. Friend doing to invest in virtual wards so that we can keep those people at home, and in the district nurse workforce to ensure that district nurses have a proper career structure and that theirs can be a profession of choice once again?

Answer from Wes Streeting

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the innovation and the impact of virtual wards. I have seen at first hand the impact they can have—not just in providing better value for taxpayers and freeing up hospital beds for those who genuinely need to be in hospital, but in providing what everyone wants, which is to receive high-quality care in the comfort of their own home wherever possible. That will be a big part of our 10-year plan, and of course, it will be underpinned by really good community nursing and community healthcare teams.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide specific details on investment or career structures for district nurses.

How: Refers To The 10-Year Plan

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Q4 Lisa Smart Lib Dem Hazel Grove
NHS
Context

Stepping Hill hospital has a large repairs backlog and patients face difficulties accessing care due to parking issues, flooding, and power cuts.

Question

Stepping Hill hospital in Hazel Grove has a huge repairs backlog. Patients are having to park miles away to get to the hospital, corridors have been flooded and there have been frequent power cuts. Alongside Stockport council, the local hospital trust and the community, I am calling for an additional site in Stockport town centre, whether that is a diagnostic centre or otherwise. What assurance can the Health Secretary give my constituents that they will be able to get the health services they need closer to them, and what support can he provide?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I am well aware of the challenges at Stepping Hill hospital and the need for support and investment in services in Stockport, not least thanks to the representations of my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra). We are looking carefully at this situation and are committed to working with leaders locally to try to improve the quality of and access to services to give local people what they deserve.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide specific assurances or timelines for improvements in health service provision.

How: Refers To Ongoing Assessment

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Q5 Andrew Cooper Lab Mid Cheshire
NHS
Context

A new surgical centre is opening in Northwich, which will provide better care options and reduce pressure on major hospitals.

Question

A new state-of-the-art surgical centre is set to open at the Victoria infirmary in Northwich in the next few weeks. The new facility will be a centre of excellence and a regional hub for outstanding cataract care, and it is an excellent example of how we can reduce pressure on our major hospitals, while making the best use of facilities in the heart of our communities. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the Mid Cheshire hospitals trust on completing this project? Can I invite him to join me on a visit to the centre in the coming months?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the local trust on the work it is doing and the impact it is having, and I would be delighted to pay a visit as soon as my diary allows.

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Q6 Julia Lopez Con Hornchurch and Upminster
NHS
Context

The new St George’s NHS hub in Hornchurch has freed up space to remodel the accident and emergency department at Queen’s hospital.

Question

The new St George’s NHS hub in Hornchurch has freed up space in Queen’s hospital in Romford to remodel the accident and emergency there. Will the Secretary of State now fund that remodelling, so that our constituents can get better emergency care?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising the need for investment in the accident and emergency at Queen’s hospital in Romford. As she alluded to, that department serves my constituents, too, so this will be a rare occasion at the Dispatch Box where I urge and encourage her to lobby the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), because in such decisions I must recuse myself.

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not commit to funding or provide assurances regarding remodelling of A&E at Queen's hospital.

How: Recusal, Urges Lobbying

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