Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Hospital Trusts: Performance

Tuesday 14 April 2026 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Jennifer Craft (Thurrock) (Labour) welcomes the Secretary of State's efforts to improve the NHS but highlights ongoing issues in Mid and South Essex NHS foundation trust.
  • The Secretary of State reports on steps taken by the Labour government to improve the NHS, including an additional 26 billion investment and the opening of 100 community diagnostic centres.
  • James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Conservative) notes the progress at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King's Lynn, including the delivery of 2,000 additional elective activities through the elective sprint.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jennifer Craft Lab Thurrock
NHS
Context

The MP is concerned about the performance of certain NHS trusts, particularly those in her constituency which face significant challenges and have a history of issues affecting healthcare delivery.

Question

I welcome the Secretary of State's work in improving the NHS and turning fortunes around, but as he has said, that is unfortunately not the case in every area of the country, including my own. Mid and South Essex NHS foundation trust, which looks after constituents in my area including at Basildon university hospital, has been named as one of the challenged trusts in the intensive recovery programme, which I strongly welcome. The issues with the trust are not just recent but historical—they sometimes go back decades—and quite frankly, my constituents are not getting the healthcare they deserve. Will the Secretary of State set out what the recovery programme looks like and how my constituents can be assured that they will get the level of healthcare they deserve?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and for the work that she has been doing on behalf of the people of Thurrock to speak up consistently for improving services and to expose failures at her local trust. As I told listeners to BBC Essex this morning, I will always report back on the things that this Government are doing well but I will also acknowledge where we are not seeing improvement fast enough. I am sorry to say that Mid and South Essex is one such trust, despite the best efforts of frontline staff. That is why we announced that Mid and South Essex is one of the first providers to be put in the new intensive recovery programme. We are sending in teams of clinical experts to identify the root causes of failure and a new chief executive will take up post shortly and get a grip on the issues at the trust so that we deliver for patients.

Answered
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Q2 Jennifer Craft Lab Thurrock
NHS
Context

The MP is concerned about the performance of certain NHS trusts, particularly those in her constituency which face significant challenges and have a history of issues affecting healthcare delivery.

Question

What steps he is taking to improve underperforming hospital trusts.

Answer from Wes Streeting

Under Labour, the NHS is on the road to recovery: with an extra £26 billion invested, 2,000 extra GPs and 100 community diagnostic centres now open weekdays and weekends, waiting lists are coming down and patient satisfaction is going up—lots done, but so much more to do to ensure that that improvement is felt everywhere. Where trusts underperform, we will send crack teams of top clinicians into those struggling trusts to cut waiting times faster. No more turning a blind eye to failure: this Government, unlike our predecessors, will do whatever it takes to improve the NHS in every part of the country—lots done; lots more to do.

Answered
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Q3 James Wild Con North West Norfolk
NHS
Context

The MP is concerned about the ongoing performance of Queen Elizabeth hospital in King's Lynn, where nearly half of patients are waiting more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment and the trust is part of the national improvement programme.

Question

At the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King's Lynn, nearly half of patients are waiting more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment and the trust is now part of the national improvement programme. Last month's elective sprint delivered 2,000 additional elective activities, with evening and weekend working. Will the Health Secretary ensure that additional support is provided so that increased level of activity continues in the months to come?

Answer from Wes Streeting

I think that was a rare acknowledgment from the Conservative Benches that things are finally moving in the right direction, thanks to the work of this Labour Government. I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman's support. He is absolutely right that we need to provide digital support. That is why we have the biggest capital allocation in the history of the NHS and we continue to press on with the technological improvements and data infrastructure that is needed to provide the improvements that staff are working so hard to deliver.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request for additional support was not directly addressed, focusing instead on digital support and capital allocation in general terms without concrete commitments for Queen Elizabeth hospital specifically.

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