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Tuesday Volume 645 24 July 2018 No. 177 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 24 July 2018 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2018 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 847 24 JULY 2018 848 22. [906629] Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab): House of Commons May I congratulate the Secretary of State on his new appointment? Another new technology that really matters is MRI scanners. We have had a big Tuesday 24 July 2018 fundraising campaign in Bishop Auckland for ours, but the problem with such fundraising campaigns is that The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock they are of course easier in wealthy areas than in poor areas. Will the Secretary of State pay attention to evening out this uneven distribution of resources? PRAYERS Matt Hancock: Yes, of course I will. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her work to raise funds for the MRI [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] scanner in Bishop Auckland, which benefits from great levels of philanthropy in some areas. The whole purpose Mr Speaker: On today’s Order Paper it is noted that of having a national health service is that, wherever on 27 July 1918, Major Francis Bennett-Goldney, Royal people live in the country, they can get high-quality Army Service Corps, Member for Canterbury, died from healthcare, free at the point of delivery, according to injuries sustained in a car accident while serving as need. I stand by that principle, and I honour it. honorary assistant military attaché in Paris; and that on 22August1918,Captainthehon.OswaldCawley,Shropshire Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con): I welcome the Yeomanry and 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Secretary of State to his post. He will know that no Battalion The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, Member regulator is prospectively examining the safety and for Prestwich, was killed in action near Merville, France. effectiveness of diagnostic apps in use in the NHS. I We remember them today. wrote to his predecessor recently following concerns that were raised with me about Babylon’s apps, which could be missing symptoms of meningitis and heart attack, for example. What steps will the Secretary of State Oral Answers to Questions take to ensure that, as these technologies are rolled out, patients have can have absolute confidence that they have been properly evaluated for safety and effectiveness? Will he set out how he will take that forward? HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Matt Hancock: The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee makes a really important point. There The Secretary of State was asked— is no greater enthusiast for technology than me—as you NHS Services: Online Access well know, Mr Speaker—but the thing about new technology is that the rules sometimes need to be updated to take changes in technology into account. The response 1. Alan Mak (Havant) (Con): What recent progress when there are challenges such as the one my hon. has been made on providing patients with online access Friend raises is not to reject the technology, but the to NHS services. [906605] opposite: to keep improving the technology so that it gets better and better, and to make sure that the rules The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care keep up to pace. I spoke to Simon Stevens at NHS (MattHancock):Itisagreathonourtobehere,MrSpeaker. England about this only this morning—we have had a There is good progress in patients using online services series of conversations in the past couple of weeks since in the NHS—about a quarter of patients are now I have been in post—and he is reviewing this exact registered to access general practitioner online services, question. I am absolutely sure that we will get to the up from about a fifth a year ago—but there is much right answer. more to be done to use technology in the NHS for the benefit of patients and clinicians alike. Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): Is the Secretary of State familiar with the “GP at hand” online service? Alan Mak: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his It is a partnership between a private company and a appointment. Healthcare delivered by app is increasingly Fulham GP surgery, and it has poached thousands of popular with patients in Havant and across the country. profitable patients from GPs all over London, to the Will my right hon. Friend reconfirm his Department’s alarm of the British Medical Association and of GPs commitment to the first ever NHS patient app, and generally.My clinical commissioning group is investigating update the House on the timetable for its roll-out? it, and in the meantime CCGs have blocked Babylon’s expansion to Birmingham on safety grounds. This is Matt Hancock: The roll-out of technology right across creating a two-tier system for GPs, so will the Secretary the NHS and, indeed, social care is good for patients of State investigate it? and good for clinicians. I have seen countless examples of that in just my first two weeks in this job. I pay Matt Hancock: I am acutely aware of the question tribute to the Centre for Policy Studies report, which that the hon. Gentleman raises, not least because I am a was launched by my predecessor and authored by my user of the Babylon service myself—it is my GP. The hon. Friend, which demonstrates how apps can be important thing is to ensure that the rules are kept up to useful for making healthcare easier to access for patients. date so that we can get the benefits of the new technology, Apps are popular with patients, and I cannot wait to but make sure that it works in a way that ensures drive that forward. everybody gets high-quality primary care. 849 Oral Answers 24 JULY 2018 Oral Answers 850 Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con): Warm Steve Brine: The truth is that we work together. In congratulations to the Secretary of State. July 2017, the Government published a comprehensive Whether it is online consultations or more traditional, new drugs strategy, setting out what we think is a face-to-face ones, will the Secretary of State join me in balanced approach that brings together the police, health, thanking all the NHS staff who do fantastic work in and community and global partners to tackle the illicit taking care of my constituents in Chipping Barnet? drugs trade, and to protect the most vulnerable in our societies who are struggling with drug dependency and Matt Hancock: I certainly will. I pay tribute to the NHS help them to recover and turn their lives around. I know workforce and the social care workforce who, every day the hon. Gentleman takes a very different view, but that of their working lives, give up their time to serve their is our approach. community, to serve their fellow man and woman, and to ensure that we have the healthiest nation we possibly Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con): My nine-year-old can. I love the NHS, as does everybody in the House. constituent is currently having up to 400 epileptic seizures Almost everyone is touched by the NHS at some of the every week, and his family believe that medicinal cannabis most difficult times in their lives. I pay tribute to the may be beneficial. Will my hon. Friend update the workforce. House on what progress is being made regarding the use of medicinal cannabis for epilepsy sufferers? Julie Cooper (Burnley) (Lab): I, too, welcome the Secretary of State to his new position. I note his intention Steve Brine: Obviously, our thoughts are with my hon. to extend online NHS services, but I hope that he will Friend’s constituent. A two-part review is going on. In provide more detail about how he intends to guarantee the first part, the chief medical adviser considered the patient safety, given that the Care Quality Commission evidence available for the medicinal and therapeutic benefits reported this year that 43% of online GP and pharmacy of cannabis-based medicinal products,and found conclusive services are currently unsafe. Will he reverse the cuts to evidence of the benefits of those products. Part 2, which capital funding so that safe technology can be installed? will be led by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Furthermore, what steps will he take to ensure that Drugs, will provide an assessment, based on the balance elderly and vulnerable patients, who find it difficult to of harm and public need, of whether we need to do access online services, will still have the certainty of anything regarding the misuse of drugs regulations. sustainable community surgeries? While the review is under way, we have established, as an interim measure, the expert panel of clinicians to advise Ministers on any licence applications from senior Matt Hancock: Those are really important questions. clinicians, which helped Alfie Dingley, for example. On funding, I announced only last week £487 million to improve technology and technology services to ensure Sir Vince Cable (Twickenham) (LD): What action is that they can be as high quality as possible. On patient the Minister taking with colleagues in the Home Office safety, the key is to keep improving technology so that it in respect of the drug Xanax, which is reputedly freely gets better and better. On universal access, we must use available at very low prices, and is more addictive than technology in such a way that patients who want to heroin? What action is he taking to raise awareness and access services through technology can do so, as that deal with rehabilitation? frees up resources so that more can be done for those who do not want to use technology, meaning that we Steve Brine: We are very aware of this drug and its preserve universal access.