EU Working Time Directive (NHS)

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 5:27 pm on 26 April 2012.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Charlotte Leslie Charlotte Leslie Conservative, Bristol North West 5:27, 26 April 2012

Thank you, Mr Howarth, for allowing me to speak.

I look forward to the Minister’s further reply in writing. I should like to take this brief opportunity to thank him and hon. Members for furnishing this debate with such insight and, in many cases, experience. Ian Paisley used the F-word and is a true advocate of Cillit Bang for the gold-plating that this country seems to put on every piece of legislation that we have.

I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friends the Members for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) and for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) for sharing their first-hand experience and knowledge. They talked about vocation and the meaning of that word in terms of professionalism. My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes proposed some constructive solutions about how we can mitigate the effects of the European working time directive, right here and right now.

We heard an account of first-hand experience from Kate Hoey, who talked about the director of St Thomas’s hospital and warned that the formal view of events is often far better than the real situation, which is often a lot worse and not always represented in formal evidence that is given.

I also give many thanks to my hon. Friend Jeremy Lefroy, who gave yet more first-hand evidence from his wife and talked cogently about the recruitment lag that we are facing. He also gave evidence from the Association of Surgeons in Training about the two years of surgical training time that is lost.

Many other Members made extremely valuable contributions. I fear that I cannot mention them all because of the limit on time, but I must mention my hon. Friend Chris Skidmore, who provided a great deal of experience from the Health Committee. I know that other Members would have contributed immensely if they had been able to make a speech today, particularly my hon. Friend George Eustice.

I was encouraged that Andrew Gwynne acknowledged the challenges that we face, but I am slightly cautious about the fact that he did not acknowledge the urgency of the situation or the strength of doctors’ evidence. One of the reasons why the new deal failed is that it did not bring on board the views of doctors as a whole. It failed because it did not bring doctors with it. I warn against ignoring doctors’ evidence on this front. I am very encouraged by the Minister’s remarks, but I hope that he will forgive me and other Members if we carry on campaigning and do not let this issue drop.

Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(11)).