JEN Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock, has begun work as a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee in Parliament, having recently been elected to the position.
The Committee is responsible for scrutinising the work of the Department of Health and Social Care, examining the policy and spending on the NHS and social care services across the country.
On Wednesday (20 November), Lord Ara Darzi, the author of the landmark independent review into the NHS published in September, gave evidence to the Committee in its first public session.
Responding to questions from Mrs Craft about care for children and young people, Lord Darzi laid bare the extent of the crisis in the NHS, telling the Committee that 100,000 two-year-olds waited over six hours in A&E last year.
Mrs Craft pushed Lord Darzi on how this crisis should be addressed, asking whether we “should be putting more investment into services for children and young people”. In response, Lord Darzi highlighted the formative years of children and young people as “the most important years”, commenting that “if we do not invest in them, there is something wrong with our societal values”.
The Committee will continue to scrutinise the Government’s work as it attempts to deliver on its promise to reform the NHS and reduce waiting lists. This follows the Government’s announced in the Autumn Budget of an additional £22.6 billion of funding for the health service in the coming year.
Speaking to YourThurrock, Jen Craft MP said:
“I’m delighted to be starting work as a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee. The NHS is relied upon by all of us, yet is currently failing in its promise to be there for patients when they need it.
“When I speak to people in Thurrock on the doorstep, the NHS is regularly one of their main concerns. The challenges in our local health services are plain to see, with the most acute GP shortages in the country and stark health inequalities.
“As part of the Committee, I’ll be in a position to highlight these issues and make a real difference to the lives of people in Thurrock, ensuring the Government’s plans to build an NHS fit for the future deliver for communities across the country.”
