Wes Streeting MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am delighted that, as well as announcing the £10 million needed to purchase the new site for the Royal Berkshire, we are investing in the existing estate; that is what local residents deserve. I was delighted to make that announcement last week with our brilliant Labour Reading council team. It once again underlines that Labour councils work much better with a Labour Government, and people should remember that on 7 May.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the units on their work. I appreciate concerns about sickle cell services, which we must maintain. I am aware of some of the other challenges we have had to address in London, where we have got to a good place. It is so important that we work together—that Labour’s investment and modernisation works alongside NHS leaders and those promoting public health—and work with great Labour councils, like my hon. Friend’s.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Government’s approach has been consistent. We recognise that resident doctors suffered years of pay erosion and worsening conditions under the Conservatives. We came in and sought to address that substantially with a 28.9% pay rise and an offer on the table that would have gone further on pay, gone further on training places and cancelled exam fees, which is the best deal that anyone will have got in the entire public sector. Resident doctors have rejected that approach, but the shadow Secretary of State reminds the BMA that however much it might disagree with this Labour Government, the alternatives are far worse. It is far better to work with us than against us, but we will not cave.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Yes. It reflects very poorly on the BMA and the cavalier way in which it has inflicted disruption and a £300 million bill on the country in straitened times. It was also unnecessary. Although the resident doctors committee chose to reject a generous offer, that did not mean that it needed to rush out and announce six days of strike action the very same day. With the BMA, strike action is a first resort, not a last resort. It needs to change its tune, because the country cannot afford to fund its reckless behaviour.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I know the Minister for Secondary Care has met the right hon. Gentleman. I know that the ICB will have been disappointed. There will be further ways to do this, and it should keep trying.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Hospital Trusts: Performance · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and for the work that she has been doing on behalf of the people of Thurrock to speak up consistently for improving services and to expose failures at her local trust. As I told listeners to BBC Essex this morning, I will always report back on the things that this Government are doing well but I will also acknowledge where we are not seeing improvement fast enough. I am sorry to say that Mid and South Essex is one such trust, despite the best efforts of frontline staff. That is why we announced that Mid and South Essex is one of the first providers to be put in the new intensive recovery programme. We are sending in teams of clinical experts to identify the root causes of failure and a new chief executive will take up post shortly and get a grip on the issues at the trust so that we deliver for patients.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Hospital Trusts: Performance · Hansard source

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  Under Labour, the NHS is on the road to recovery: with an extra £26 billion invested, 2,000 extra GPs and 100 community diagnostic centres now open weekdays and weekends, waiting lists are coming down and patient satisfaction is going up—lots done, but so much more to do to ensure that that improvement is felt everywhere. Where trusts underperform, we will send crack teams of top clinicians into those struggling trusts to cut waiting times faster. No more turning a blind eye to failure: this Government, unlike our predecessors, will do whatever it takes to improve the NHS in every part of the country—lots done; lots more to do.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Hospital Trusts: Performance · Hansard source

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  I think that was a rare acknowledgment from the Conservative Benches that things are finally moving in the right direction, thanks to the work of this Labour Government. I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s support. He is absolutely right that we need to provide digital support. That is why we have the biggest capital allocation in the history of the NHS and we continue to press on with the technological improvements and data infrastructure that is needed to provide the improvements that staff are working so hard to deliver.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to present those issues and to be honest about the challenges that have been raised in his local trust. I assure him that following an inspection by the CQC, NHS trusts take action to address the recommendations cited in the report. Already, £40 million in funding has been allocated to Wythenshawe hospital to ensure that safety issues are addressed, with work scheduled for completion by 2028. [ Official Report , 27 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 4WC.] (Correction) In addition, through the new maternity and neonatal taskforce, the first meeting of which I have already chaired, we will act swiftly to translate the final recommendations of the independent investigation into a new national action plan so that services improve in my hon. Friend’s part of the country and across the whole of England.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  We are investing in the maternity estate, and I am always ready to acknowledge improvements, but for the avoidance of doubt, I am not here to protect the professional blushes of NHS leaders and staff where services fall short. I am here to protect patients, and in this area, over and above any other, I will continue to put that principle first.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  There is so much evidence to underpin the importance of continuity of care. I do not want to get ahead of the recommendations of the Amos investigation, but there is much to commend what the right hon. Gentleman says. Even with the best planning, the challenge for maternity units is that they are often both elective and emergency, with women arriving when they are not necessarily expected to, so we have to bear those considerations in mind, but the idea of women and partners knowing the team that will be responsible for their care in advance is a compelling one.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that absolutely horrific case; my sincere condolences go to the family for the loss of this poor baby. No patient should ever believe that someone is a trained professional, only to discover that they have no formal qualifications. This Government are protecting the professional title of nurse, so that no other families have to endure the suffering of his constituents. We will shortly be seeking widespread input to get that right, and we will be making changes in this Parliament. We will absolutely be addressing the issues that have been raised as a direct result of this tragedy.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for raising this issue. I do not want to pre-empt the Amos investigation. I think there is an issue with the presence of consultants and other staff who are meant to be on-call and available, and we need to address that. The purpose of the investigation is to produce a strong evidence base and then a clear set of actions to provide much-needed clarity in an area that has been drowning in recommendations and needs clear direction. I would be surprised if the issue of appropriate staffing were not mentioned by Baroness Amos.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  I remain deeply concerned by the state of the maternity services that we inherited. Although the majority of births go well, I know through the courage of families and concerned staff of the devastating impact that comes from failures in care. That is why I asked Baroness Amos to chair an independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care. However, that has not stopped us from acting now, with an extra 2,000 midwives, over £149 million invested to address critical safety risks on the maternity and neonatal estate, and a £25 million boost for trusts to tackle causes of maternal death, enhance bereavement services and improve triage services. We are already making progress—lots done, but I would be the first to say on this issue: so much more to do.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Muslims: NHS · Hansard source

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  It is vital that all forms of discrimination in the NHS are tackled, including Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred. As a former chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, I am delighted that the Government have adopted a definition of anti-Muslim hostility that we will use to tackle this prejudice across the NHS, including in training for the NHS’s 1.5 million staff. My hon. Friend will know that I have serious concerns about the effectiveness of regulators in tackling racism, and we will be taking further action to ensure high standards, conduct and behaviour are upheld, so that the NHS is safe for all staff and patients.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Muslims: NHS · Hansard source

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  Those statistics are shocking and a stark reminder that the NHS is not immune from the prejudices at large in wider society. All Muslim staff and patients—indeed, people of all faiths—should feel safe and confident as patients and staff in the NHS. As my hon. Friend knows, I am awaiting the review being conducted by Lord Mann. As well as looking at antisemitism, it will include recommendations that I have no doubt will apply in tackling Islamophobia and racism more generally. I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend and I do meet, and would be very happy to meet again, the BIMA to discuss how we tackle this pernicious hatred in our national health service and what more may need to be done, in addition to any recommendations Lord Mann makes.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Muslims: NHS · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is right. I only wish that I could tell him that it was the case that Jewish patients and staff are always being treated in the way that they deserve to be, but unfortunately I have heard first-hand accounts of Jewish people being afraid to disclose their race and faith when completing forms. That is not just a question of indignity; it is a question of safety because risk factors, particularly those related to genetics, need to be taken into account by the NHS, and it is about the provision of things that lead to people having a dignified and high-quality experience, such as the provision of food. I am afraid to say that I have also heard about shocking racism experienced by Jewish staff in the NHS from patients and from other NHS staff. That has got to stop. Finally, all staff in the NHS have a right to speak and express opinions in a democracy, but all of them must always ask themselves, especially when writing on social media, “Will a particular comment or a particular action make my patients feel more safe or less safe in my hands? Will they question my commitment to treating all people fairly and equally or not?” That is the standard on which too many doctors have fallen short, and that is before I get to the explicit, vile racists whom we are taking on.

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, and join her in congratulating Stephen and the whole team at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton trust on their hard work to drive down waiting lists and waiting times. We are not complacent; we have set ambitious targets and invested in modernisation to simplify pathways, increase clinical capacity and improve patients’ experience. We have managed to cut waiting lists despite resident doctors’ strike action—I fear we may have to continue doing that. Through our investment and modernisation, waiting lists and waiting times are coming down, and we have shown that the NHS is on the road to recovery. Our foot is on the accelerator, with lots done, but lots more to do.

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we need to see more services moving out of hospital and into the community. That is why I am proud that we are announcing a new wave of community diagnostic centres and expanding lots of existing provision, as well as improving same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centres in hospitals. He has raised the issue of the Melton Mowbray site; I am sure the local commissioners responsible for that will want to look at it, but I also know that I owe him a meeting, so I will follow up with him directly.

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  The Chair of the Health Committee raises a very important point, and—not least given the timeliness of the issue—I would be very happy to meet her very soon.

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  We inherited from the Conservatives an NHS facing the worst crisis in its history, with waiting lists at a record 7.6 million and public satisfaction at record lows. This Labour Government are getting the NHS back on its feet and making it fit for the future. We have delivered record numbers of appointments, tests and surgeries. Since we took office, waiting lists have been down to the lowest level in nearly three and a half years, and we are driving modernisation through our 10-year plan. Lots has been done, but there is so much more to do with a Labour Government.

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all the work he is doing, including with our Labour team in Worthing, to improve the health of people across his constituency. I congratulate staff at University Hospitals Sussex on the progress that they have made in bringing waiting lists down. To help them to go further, I am delighted to announce that my hon. Friend’s local community diagnostic centre in Southlands hospital will benefit from a new multimillion-pound MRI scanner to drive down waiting times, including for MSK patients. We are combining investment with modernisation to send crack teams of top clinicians to MSK community services, drive down waiting times and improve outcomes. That is the difference that a Labour Government make.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Resident Doctors: Industrial Action · Hansard source

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  It is frankly breathtaking hypocrisy. It rather looks like doctors in their ivory tower saying one thing, and lecturing us about what is and is not affordable, but when it comes to how their subs are spent and how their own union behaves towards its own staff, not being prepared to pay them. I have been very complimentary about the officers who have been engaged with Ministers and my officials in recent weeks to try to get this deal over the line; so have BMA staff. I am stunned by the BMA’s unwillingness to practise what it preaches. I will not be joining resident doctors on the picket line. I should have declared, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I am GMB member, so if there is one picket line that I will be visiting during the doctors’ strikes, it may well be that one.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Resident Doctors: Industrial Action · Hansard source

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  If the committee had ever taken me up on my offer to meet the entire committee, I might be able to answer the question, but since it has never done so, I do not know. It is for resident doctors to decide, based on what I have set out, if the committee’s rejection of this offer is reasonable. Given the material benefits that the offer would bring to resident doctors in a matter of days—an additional 1,000 jobs and significant pay uplifts—and what that would mean for the next few years, I have to be clear that this is our best and final offer. We cannot go any further. If I may say so, we are at a point where the public would judge that we have gone as far as we can; I think quite a lot of people in the country who are watching would say that we have gone further than we should. I do not take that lightly. Resident doctors should not look a gift horse in the mouth, and I hope that they will make those representations to their committee.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Resident Doctors: Industrial Action · Hansard source

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  The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee is absolutely spot on. I am relieved to report that I was doing exactly what she mentions only last Friday; I was walking the corridors of Queen’s hospital in Romford. I was there in January as well, seeing the worst of the situation. I have been spending time on the frontline in the places that were under the most pressure, just as I did last winter. I went along, not to look down my nose at people, but to listen, and to see at first hand what was happening, why it was happening, and what we need to do differently. The team at Queen’s hospital can really take pride in what they have achieved, but we have to sustain that progress. Last week, there were no trollies on the corridor, and in February they saved 10,000 corridor hours. That is thanks to brilliant frontline staff and senior clinical leadership on the front door, and we will see that again during strikes. There is a certain irony about the fact that during resident doctors’ strikes, urgent and emergency care improves, because we have more experienced, senior clinical decision makers in urgent and emergency care. There is something to learn from that. I do not say that to denigrate resident doctors for a moment—they are learning and building their experience, and we do not want to lose that—but we are seeing that improvements can be made, and have to be made everywhere. We have to see this as a priority, because corridor care can never be the safest care, and it is never dignified care.