Lords
Committee Stage
10 September 2026
Railways Bill
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, had hoped to be here today but found himself with other commitments, and therefore asked me to move his Amendment 22A, which I also support. This is a probing amendment on whether the provision in the Bill which enables Great British Railways to enter into pa…
Lords
Proceedings
9 September 2026
2 contributions
NHS: Agency Medical Staff
My Lords—
My Lords, CQC inspections repeatedly warn that caring for unmonitored patients in hospital corridors carries severe safety risks. What assessment have the Government made of the use of agency staff in corridor areas and the clinical risks of deploying such staff in non-designated care areas?
Lords
Proceedings
8 September 2026
Integrated Care Boards: Access to Services
My Lords, more than 600,000 people are waiting for hospital eye appointments, yet on our high streets there are optometrists who can provide urgent and minor eye care services, ensuring faster, more convenient access for patients. Will the Government require all ICBs to commission these basic commun…
Lords
Proceedings
7 September 2026
Neighbourhood Health Services
My Lords, if neighbourhood health services are to succeed, more care will be delivered through general practice and community settings, yet NHS funding allocated to general practice has fallen over the last decade. Will the Government consider introducing a primary care investment standard to ensure…
Lords
Proceedings
2 September 2026
Childbirth-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
My Lords, given that six out of 10 maternity units have been assessed as unsafe by the Care Quality Commission, it is not surprising that this research identifies thousands of women experiencing birth trauma. Will the Government now guarantee one-to-one midwifery care during labour and a consultant …
Lords
Proceedings
22 July 2026
Healthcare Sector: Clinicians
My Lords, in a growing number of hospitals, clinicians are using at-home bladder cancer testing to reduce the number of cystoscopies and speed up diagnosis. Can the Minister expand on how the Government will help clinician-led innovations such as this to spread across the NHS, so that access does no…
Lords
Proceedings
20 July 2026
People with Learning Disabilities: Acute Illness
My Lords, specialist training in the care of people with a learning disability is critical to reducing avoidable mortality. Will the Government fund dedicated senior clinician roles in learning disability medicine across community, acute and mental health settings to provide the leadership that is n…
Lords
Committee Stage
9 July 2026
Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Weir of Ballyholme, for tabling this Question for Short Debate and for his comprehensive opening words which set the tone for this short but perfectly formed debate, giving us the opportunity to consider what the modern service framework for dementia a…
Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
Fracture Liaison Services
My Lords, people from deprived areas have a 25% higher risk of fractures, spend longer in hospital recovering and die in greater numbers after hip fractures. The rollout of fracture liaison services is important to help tackle health inequalities. The Minister mentioned 2030, but how can this be rol…
Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation
My Lords, this is another week and another traumatic and difficult-to-read report about the state of maternity services. Behind it are thousands and thousands of women and families deeply affected by these service failures. I thank them all for their contributions to this report, as well as the nobl…
Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Services
My Lord, recent analysis from the charity Young Minds shows that, for the eighth month in a row, the average waiting time from referral to specialist support for young people was more than 300 days, and in the worst case it was two and a half years. Will the Government commit to using the forthcomin…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
IVF Treatment
My Lords, the reality is that patients in England are struggling to access publicly funded IVF, with only two out of the 42 integrated care boards in England complying with NICE fertility guidelines. Can the Minister advise whether the Government are considering following Wales and Scotland in centr…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Extreme Heat: Resilience of NHS Infrastructure
My Lords, aside from the estate, patients on medications known to cause issues in extreme heat are not always being given specific advice on adjusting use of these during extreme weather and, as a result, have been admitted to hospital. What work is the department doing, particularly given that we h…
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services
My Lords, the Statement before us today from the Secretary of State in the other place is distressing reading, as is the report by Donna Ockenden. This review shocks us all to the core and must shake the Government into real action at every level of our health service and its regulation. Staff conce…
Lords
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Healthcare Services: Acute, Primary and Community
My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, with her first-hand expertise and experience as a GP, and her description of the service that we all would like to see. I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Janke for introducing this vital debate. The relationship between acute se…
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2026
Resistant Hypertension
My Lords, while innovative treatments have an important role, uncontrolled high blood pressure remains one of the leading drivers of stroke, heart attacks and kidney failure. What work are the Government undertaking to improve prevention and management of high blood pressure, particularly in communi…
Lords
Proceedings
22 June 2026
NHS: Dementia Treatment Trials
My Lords, dementia is projected to reach 1.4 million people by 2040, yet Alzheimer’s Research UK reports that up to 45% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed. Will the Government commit to a national dementia public awareness campaign to support risk reduction and healthier ageing?
Lords
Proceedings
18 June 2026
Prostate Cancer Screening: AI
My Lords, AI has the potential to significantly improve options for patients, but this will be possible only if NHS staff have the right skills, time and infrastructure to be able to test and use such tools. How will the Government invest in staff to help drive this innovation and improve outcomes f…
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
2 contributions
Integrated Care Boards: Budgets
My Lords—
My Lords, since last year the number of patients waiting more than a year for basic community health services has shot up by a staggering 32%. What specific actions will the Government take to ensure that patients receive timely community health services?
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Compassionate Use Medicine Schemes: VAT
My Lords, compassionate use and early access schemes are often the only way for patients with rare cancers to access life-extending medicines. What assurance can the Minister give that HMRC’s approach to VAT will not result in patients losing access to these vital treatments? What discussions about …
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Rare Cancers: Diagnosis and Treatment
My Lords, in January, the Government announced faster access to clinical trials via the NHS app for rare cancers. Is that live yet? If not, by when will patients be able to use this innovation to take part in suitable drug trials? And how will those who are digitally excluded have access?
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Mental Health Conditions: Diagnoses
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Maclean, for securing this important debate. There were around 1.8 million people waiting for mental health services in quarter 1 of this year, and long waits for access to mental health services seem to have become normalised. But rather than looking at th…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
Alzheimer’s Disease: Diagnosis and Access to Experimental Drugs
My Lords, new research shows that finger-prick blood tests, alongside online brain tests, could revolutionise dementia diagnosis and offer a low-cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. What are the Government doing to support research in this area to e…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Prostate Cancer Screening
My Lords, the proposed limited screening programme is a disappointment to many campaigners. It is clear that the key to screening is accurate ways of testing, so what further investment are the Government planning to help develop more precise prostate cancer screening tests other than PSA?
It was about testing for PSA.
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, this has been a really important debate on three fundamentals to our society: health, housing and transport. My noble friend Lady Thornhill talked in detail about the housing aspects in the gracious Speech and about concerns that the proposed legislation does not go far enough and that the…