Andrew Lansley

Now I can see the point that the Secretary of State was making. He suggests that our being in favour of maximum waiting times is the same thing as agreeing with his targets. It is not. We are in favour of patients having access to quality services. If a patient is admitted to hospital with a fractured neck or femur, 18 weeks is an irrelevance-they should be treated within 24 hours. If an acute stroke patient arrives at a hospital, they should have a CT scan within 24 hours maximum. Then there are patients with a cardiovascular condition, such as the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner). I have no doubt that there was a point when the hon. Gentleman needed treatment in much less than 18 weeks. Maximum waiting times make sense, but a single 18-week target does not.

— from debate entitled “Education and Health”

The three speeches/headings immediately before

  1. 1 earlier: Andy Burnham

    I shall take that as a yes.

    Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition stood at the Dispatch Box and said that our proposals to turn targets into rights were things that "everyone wants". We are told that the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire is one of the favoured few who is guaranteed his job if the Tories win, but it does not look good for his boss to stand at the Dispatch Box, as he did yesterday, and rip up the hon. Gentleman's policies on the Floor of the House. It was staggering to watch.

  2. 2 earlier: Andrew Lansley

    Carry on.

  3. 3 earlier: Andy Burnham

    A few minutes ago, the hon. Gentleman asked where the choice was in end-of-life care. I have launched a consultation on extending to people the right to die at home. Where was he before I proposed that right? I did not hear him calling for it. I have opened that consultation-if people want to make that argument I will listen to it, but it is the Government who are making the proposals. We are also saying that people should have the right to access a personal health budget and to have more control and power over their health care.

    The NHS constitution, which was recognised in law just last week, sets out the rights of patients to guaranteed waiting times. Again, we are consulting on this. Waiting lists should be 18 weeks for elective treatment and two weeks to see a specialist for suspected cancers. Let me get a few things straight today. The Leader of the Opposition said yesterday from the Dispatch Box that the Conservative party first proposed the NHS constitution, but the first mention of it in any Tory document was in June 2007-a full nine months after I proposed the creation of an NHS constitution in a pamphlet in September 2006. Check the facts.

    There have been complaints today that there is no NHS legislation. Only last week, the Health Act 2009 received Royal Assent. Let us take that further immediately, by taking patient rights further-the consultation I mentioned a moment ago.

    Let us get to the main point: the complete and utter confusion on the Opposition Benches about our proposed patient rights. The shadow Health Secretary has constantly said that he opposes the targets that form the basis of our proposed rights-the 18-week target and the two-week cancer target- and has said that he prefers outcome targets. Right or wrong? He has consistently opposed those targets?

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