Westminster Hall

16 juin 2026

Sommaire mis à jour le 16 juin 2026

Dr Roz Savage opens the Westminster Hall debate, sets out evidence of rural access problems, service erosion and workforce shortages in community hospitals, illustrates the impact through the progressive downgrading of Cirencester and Gloucestershire maternity services, draws on international models to criticise the NHS 10‑year plan, and culminates in five specific requests to the Health Minister on protecting and defining the role of community hospitals.

Chamber mar. 16 juin 2026 House of Commons

00:21 - 00:28

Intervenant 2

Order. Good morning, everyone. I call Dr. Roz Savage to move the motion.

00:28 - 02:04

Intervenant 1

Thank you, Chair. It's a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, and I'm grateful to have secured this debate. I'd like to thank my begin, even, by thanking Joe Posnett and Dr. Helen Tucker from the Community Hospitals Association, who've been an enormous help in preparing for this debate. And I'd like to welcome Joe, who is here in the gallery with us today. Last year, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, around 15,860 patients died in NHS A&E departments in England while waiting for care that could have saved them.

That's roughly 1,300 people every month, nearly 10 times the figure recorded in 2015. Every week, over 300 people died preventably simply because they waited too long. Those numbers are shocking, but behind every number there is a real-life tragedy, and let's remember that human aspect throughout this debate. And I'm sure that I don't need to point out to colleagues that in rural areas the situation is often even more challenging. The ambulance takes longer to reach you, the journey to A&E is longer, and when a community hospital has been reduced to a limited number of services, as is happening in my constituency at the moment, there may be no early safety net to catch the patient before the crisis becomes a catastrophe.

02:04 - 02:39

Intervenant 3

I thank my honorable friend for giving way and for her passionate speech on community hospitals. In my constituency of Stratford-on-Avon, we have a fantastic community hospital with a minor injuries unit, but the minor injuries unit is only open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays on reduced hours, and which could treat thousands more patients each year. Does my friend agree that the opening of minor injuries unit, extending those hours, would also help relieve pressure on A&E departments in acute hospitals?

La suite de la transcription est réservée aux clients Pro

Débloquez la transcription complète, le chat et toutes les fonctionnalités d'analyse avec Polyfact Pro.

Posez une question sur cette vidéo — j'analyse sa transcription pour vous répondre.