Kings Langley Villager Article, October 2008

My role as Shadow Minister for Health

Having just come from the stage at Conservative Party Conference where I took part in a discussion session with the Shadow Health Team, I thought now would be a good time to update you on my role as a Shadow Minister for Health.

It was a great honour when David Cameron appointed me a Shadow Health Minister in a reshuffle in June last year. I am one of four Shadow Ministers in the Commons who together with one in the House of Lords support the Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley MP.

My brief encompasses a very wide range of health provision – to be honest I could hardly believe the scale of it when I first saw it – and it is my job to head the Opposition response to any legislation proposed by the Government in these areas and to scrutinise the implementation of the new legislation.

Since my appointment I have visited numerous hospitals, surgeries and other NHS organisations all around the country to talk with service providers and users about their experiences…and, of course, we have first-hand experience of some of the problems locally in the West Herts NHS Trust particularly.

One of the main areas that I have responsibility for, and that is currently causing a lot of concern, is NHS Dentistry and the controversial new dentists’ contract.

Another, perhaps less high profile, area is NHS Chaplaincy and a couple of weeks ago I launched an all-party multi-faith consultation on the provision of chaplaincy and spiritual care within the NHS.

My full brief includes:
Foundation Trusts; the independent sector; urgent care (out-of-hours services, NHS Direct); Ambulance Trusts; NHS dentistry; the NHS Business Services Authority; NHS Supply Chain; the Food Standards Agency; hospital chaplaincy; prison health services; liaison with defence medical services; elements of public health and emergency preparedness.

In addition each Shadow Minister has geographic areas of responsibility and I am responsible for scrutinising healthcare in London and the North-East.