Speeches by Hamilton.

“So they have no fatigue risk management in the NHS.”

“Good morning all. My question is about nurses and the wider staff in the NHS. Nicola, I have read the survey—it is absolutely brilliant—but could you tell me how nurses are feeling at the moment in that environment, with everything that is going on?”

“Are you trying to say that staff cannot talk to management about how they are feeling and what is going on?”

“Nicola, you will be able to bring out all of this, but I have been told my time is up, so I am going to say thank you all and hand back.”

“I rise to speak on a Bill that is both necessary and difficult. Let me start by saying that I support its intention to tackle a Crown court backlog that has more than doubled since the pandemic, leaving victims waiting years for justice. Let us be clear what the backlog means: as the Victims’ Commissioner has warned, s…”

“I absolutely agree. That does back up what I am saying. I am not suggesting that our judiciary is biased, but perception matters, so I ask the Minister for two specific assurances. First, the Bill contains no clear statutory review, and there is no start or end date. Clause 3 allows the new provisions to be brought int…”

“I agree absolutely. Unless we work together to sort this out, we will not get a decent Bill that everybody can be happy with. To just throw it out at this stage would serve no purpose for anyone. The crisis in our courts demands action, and the Government are right to act. I urge the Minister to commit today to strengt…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. For ethnic minority communities, that right has been seen as a vital protection against fear of bias, whether conscious or unconscious. A diverse jury of 12 brings the common sense of the community into the room; a single judge, however learned, does not offer that same rep…”

“I am sure that every Member in the Chamber has a local hospice that they really appreciate and cannot do without. I thank my hon. Friend for giving his local hospice a shout-out. I am sure it will be appreciated. Palliative care is a core medical need and it requires core funding. Let us look at the numbers. It is esti…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell), who I love dearly, for leading this important debate. Palliative care is about dignity. I saw the value of this care every day during my 25 years as a nurse in the health service. I still see it now in representing my constituency, particularly throu…”

“Councillors are the bedrock of their communities, working tirelessly on behalf of residents. I know this from my own time as a local councillor. Waseem Zaffar was an outstanding and much-loved Birmingham councillor, who served his constituents with passion and distinction, and his recent passing at the age of 44 is a g…”

“I am going to follow on from Greg. We held a number of roundtables a few weeks ago. I am sure you would agree that health professional training is absolutely key, but a number of the people at the roundtable felt that that was lacking. Many of them felt that health professionals’ knowledge of weight management was very…”

“Before I move on to Kath, I should say that I am struggling with all this because I have been reading everywhere, and in the notes, that obesity is definitely like diabetes—it is a problem. Doctors probably see more obese people than people that are not living with obesity, so why is it not seen as a priority to at lea…”

“I am no longer a nurse; I am a retired nurse, but I was a nurse for many years. I never had any training or guidance on the subject. I know GLP-1s have just come out—in the last 12 to 18 months they have become the big new thing—but this is about more than just the GP. Across the health service there seems to be a prob…”

“Dr McCullough, you have literally come in ahead of me, because my last point is that I believe it is not holistic enough. You have got some phenomenal pharmacists out there, and there are some excellent practice nurses and others. How could the system be more joined up? I will start with you, Dr McCullough, and then Dr…”

“Dr Stewart, I will go back to the Government lens. What role do you feel the Government have in supporting healthcare professionals to have more effective and evidence-based conversations with their patients?”

“That is a very good point. My next question follows on from that: do you think that Government have a role in this? Should we be legislating that more needs to be done, or should it be done through an ICB lens—or just through the NHS? Where should the pressure come from?”

“Can I butt in there? It is not just GPs.”

“I will go to you, Dr McCullough.”

“Good morning. Before I start, I have to declare an interest. I have met and worked quite closely with John through the sickle cell stuff that I have done. I have worked in sickle cell and I have also led the sickle cell voluntary service in Birmingham, chairing it. I have a lot of history in the area, and that is how m…”