Valerie questions the Health Secretary during an Urgent Question on the pressure on A&E Departments

On Tuesday 10 September 2013 the Opposition was granted an Urgent Question asking Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his plans to alleviate pressure on accident and emergency departments.

Valerie Vaz asked:

“The Royal College of Physicians, the College of Emergency Medicine and others have already come up with a 10-point plan for what to do about emergency care. That is the professional view. When will the Secretary of State act on it?”

The Secretary of State for Health replied:

“The royal colleges have come up with a number of important and good ideas. I hope that the hon. Lady has seen from my announcement today that we are making some profound changes to address the underlying problems in A and E which incorporate much of their thinking, but there are other ideas. We will continue to engage closely with the royal colleges because they can give us a lot of help in ensuring that we get the right answer.”

Valerie’s question and the Secretary of State for Health’s response can be viewed on the Official Report here: