Yesterday at the Health and Social Care Committee meeting, Lucy asked the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, questions scrutinising his new vision for cancer and improving outcomes. The Health Secretary stated he was working on this to Lucy in the House of Commons on 18th January 2022 after she asked him a question on improving cancer diagnoses and survival rates in the UK in the House of Commons.
The Health Secretary said that in his new long-term plan on the ‘war on cancer’ every level of being a cancer patient will be looked at - from detection, diagnosis, treatments currently in place and the development of new treatments. Lucy has welcomed this new approach to cancer as many constituents have contacted Lucy directly to complain about the unsatisfactory care when dealing with cancer diagnoses. A key part of this new plan are community diagnostic hubs, and Lucy has warmly welcomed the introduction of a Hub at the Princess Royal Hospital.
Lucy also asked the Health Secretary about mandatory vaccines for NHS workers. Lucy understands the importance of being fully vaccinated as she herself is and encourages people to get vaccinated as well but does not believe that it should be mandatory. The Health Secretary stated that patient safety is at the centre for this decision but also understands that when this decision was made, Delta was the main variant and as with all other Covid policies, remains under close review.
You can watch Lucy’s questioning here. Lucy’s section begins at 17:34:51.
