Speeches by Beales.

“It might be worth reflecting on what that role is, because I have not really heard compellingly what it is to drive pace and transformation. When will the NHS be paperless? When will pagers, fax machines and mountains of letters going between primary and secondary care be a thing of the past? Is there a date by which t…”

“In a spirit of cross-party collaboration, I praise the shadow spokesperson, the hon. Member for Orpington (Gareth Bacon), for expertly outlining some of the logistical challenges of Heathrow expansion. It is a surprise and a shame that the Tories did not answer those questions before voting for expansion in 2018 when i…”

“Should they be a mandatory part of the programme?”

“I think it is both. Sorry to labour the point, but if you are in a roadshow delivering a check in a supermarket, I imagine that you would not necessarily have access to GP-level patient data to enter that live into the system. That is certainly what I have seen in my experience; that is what I think the NAO report is i…”

“That is not what the NAO said. At the moment, a lot of it is manual letters being sent that may or may not be entered, or there might be data error.”

“Building on Anna’s point, you have touched on the value you see in there being a variety of providers and new routes into the Health Check system to reach those who are not reached. We heard slightly different views earlier from general practice colleagues. The NAO report highlights the lack of consistent data-sharing …”

“To finish up, because time is short: the amount of variation in the programme is not currently acceptable. It is not about localism, from what I am seeing. As my colleague Deirdre said, we are not reaching the right people. The variation in performance is unacceptable, I would say.”

“Are those standards mandatory or are they advisory guidance?”

“We will ignore the Isles of Scilly—no offence to them—but a large amount are below 5%, compared with 22%.”

“This is just a follow-up question, because I do not think I heard a clear answer about dealing with failures in the programme. I use the word “failure” because the NAO report shows that in some former CCG areas, 0.1% of the eligible population took up the check, compared with 22.6% in the best areas. I cannot think why…”

“It might be possible, then, to allow other providers to enter data?”

“I do not want to revisit that, but I think you were suggesting that you were concerned about the accuracy of data from other providers feeding back into the primary care system. I am just pointing out that the system is moving to allow patients to enter their own data, and I support that personally, but it seems kind o…”

“Just to challenge you on a point, you had concerns about healthcare providers entering patient data and the accuracy, but the system is moving to allowing patients to enter blood pressure measurements. I just point out that if a community healthcare provider, a voluntary sector organisation, a nurse or a pharmacist has…”

“That sounds really positive, but I am wondering why that is not common practice. You have highlighted data-sharing arrangements as overcoming some of the barriers to the Health Check system. How have you been able to navigate those barriers locally that other people face, where there are not data-sharing arrangements i…”

“Sir Sam, Tower Hamlets was mentioned in the NAO report as somewhere where data-sharing arrangements are in a good place. Do you have any reflections on that?”

“Are there issues with people’s records not being updated, so they may be at higher risk of cardiovascular issues that are not followed up?”

“How does your system currently work if that is not used? When those external providers carry out checks, how does the data flow back to primary care records?”

“From a patient perspective, the GP is important, but they are not the only part of the system. Many people unfortunately do not access GP care, so perhaps a range of providers would be helpful to reach beyond those you already reach. You mentioned the GP Connect app, which other clinicians can view. Can community provi…”

“I just want to challenge that assumption. I am picking up from your previous comments, and from what you just said, a hesitancy about other providers being involved—you called it outsourcing—and a concern about a digital version of Health Check through the app. As you highlighted, capacity in general practice is limite…”

“The NAO report, which is the focus of today’s meeting and is the motivation behind today’s session, particularly highlighted failings around the patient journey and data-sharing arrangements. Dr Wrigley, you talked about providers not being able to connect with the broader system and about data, once checks have been c…”