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Key Events
'This is where the battle really begins'
Mr McCartney concludes: “This is where the battle really begins...
“We have clinical evidence and reasoning to persuade these GPs on the CCG to keep the A&E at HRI.”
He adds: “We will fight this all the way...
“Hands off HRI. We will keep the A&E at HRI.”
Jason wrapping up the debate
Jason McCartney is wrapping up the debate and thanking Mr Gummer and Mr McCartney’s neighbouring MPs.
Lack of quality’ in CCG management
Mr Gummer says there has been a ‘lack of quality’ in CCG management.
He says the Government is bringing in CCG scorecards.
Need for 'middle-grade' doctors
The number of doctors in training has gone up. A shortage of ‘middle-grade’ doctors has been a particular problem for HRI and CRH. -Ben Gummer, health minister
PFI is 'very carefully worded’
Mr Gummer: We have unpicked a number of PFI deals.
But this, one of the earliest deals, has been ‘very carefully worded’.
PFI not the 'determining factor'
Mr Gummer says the PFI is ‘not the determining factor’ in what the CCGs are planning to do.
Terrain can be 'difficult'
Mr Gummer accepts that the terrain around Huddersfield and Halifax can be difficult to travel through and could affect travel times.
'157 additional deaths' figure is 'confused' figure
Mr Gummer says ‘157’ extra deaths a year if Huddersfield A&E closes is an ‘erroneous’ and ‘confused’ figure.
'Brave and controversial' but can be successful
Minister Ben Gummer is summarising the case for the CCGs.
He’s talking about the case of Northumbria where three A&Es were reduced to a specialist emergency care hospital which now has, he says, the ‘finest outcomes in Western Europe’.
He says the proposal was ‘brave and controversial’ at the time.
Mr Gummer says there should be a ‘sensible reconfiguration of services’.
More from Barry's speech earlier
The clinicians talking to us in hospitals are saying they don’t want this. It is GPs jumped up into management that do...Listen to the clinicians and we will have A&Es in both Huddersfield and Halifax. - Barry Sheerman
Health minister Ben Gummer speaks
Health minister Ben Gummer thanks Jason McCartney, Barry Sheerman and other local MPs for their ‘earnest intentions’ and cross-party efforts.
Staff stress
Shadow minister refers to high use of agency staff and stress among staff at NHS across the country.
Government have 'lost control'
Shadow minister mentions PM David Cameron’s pledge to ‘sort out’ Calderdale Royal Hospital ‘PFI mess’.
He says Government have lost control of money on NHS.
Longer ambulance journeys
Shadow minister refers to paramedic quoted in Examiner who warned how much longer ambulance journeys will be.
Listen to the people
“Let’s listen to the people of Huddersfield and Halifax and get this right. At the moment the suggestion for closing Huddersfield A&E is not right and Halifax as the only alternative is not either. Let’s get that rigorous, thoughtful appraisal and find out what the hell is going on. - Barry Sheerman
Huddersfield is 'vast and complex'
Barry says Huddersfield is a ‘vast complex area’ and that he doesn’t feel the area has been considered properly.
Barry is not impressed
I’m not impressed by the quality of my local Clinical Commissioning Group. - Barry Sheerman
Kirklees faces challenges
Kirklees is one of the biggest urban areas in Britain which means we face real challenges. - Barry Sheerman
Barry wants the best for Huddersfield patients
We want the best possible healthcare for all the people in our patch. - Barry Sheerman
We were in good shape
Until recently our health trust was in comparatively good shape - Barry Sheerman
Amateur hour?
Barry says PFI entered into with ‘amateur’ people representing local health trust and City people representing the investors.
