Speeches by McIntyre.

“We would be interested to see the data on where third parties are involved, the numbers for that and who is responsible, because we would be very happy to take that up with other third parties. The numbers I have in front of me show that, at Q2 2024-25, 760 cases had been open for more than a year. We have established …”

“I am conscious that we are about to have a vote, so I will leave my questioning there. I very much look forward to seeing the data that you can share with the Committee. I am sure we will be able to follow up afterwards.”

“At the moment, from the details in front of me, we have several cases now that are more than a year old. The time taken to deal with some of these cases is increasing—that is correct, isn’t it?”

“Okay. The point I am trying to draw out is that we have a system where we have 13,000 concerns—I appreciate that some of those will be more substantiated than others—and 1,000 doctors investigated a year, some of whom have cases open for 156 weeks or above, which is longer than three years, but the percentage of cases …”

“To go back to the point made about interim orders tribunals, the fact that they are independent and how people go to them, I think all in the room agree that sexual predators should not practise as doctors. You will recognise the point that the GMC has to play across the practices, because if someone is being reported …”

“I declare an interest. In my previous role, before I came into this House, I was a lawyer acting for healthcare providers up and down the country, often in relation to misconduct by senior clinicians and sometimes involving cases that went to the GMC. I will not be referring to any of those cases, but to be clear, I do…”

“Secondly, what work is being undertaken by the GMC to get the standard of the representations made in the interim orders tribunal improved? If someone is a sexual predator, surely that is a pretty slam-dunk case for some restriction of practice. Is the issue that the GMC is not making appropriate representations to the…”

“How many referrals does the GMC receive on fitness-to-practise grounds each year?”

“There are 13,000 concerns, but we have agreed that there is a high bar for referral to the GMC in the first place.”

“How many of those cases resulted in a restriction on practice or a suspension of duties pending investigation?”

“If you could please write to the Committee with the details.”

“Yes.”

“In the last five quarters, the number of cases that had been open for more than a year has gone up quarter by quarter; is that correct?”

“Last Friday, I went on a visit to my fantastic local GP service, Hadwen Health. The team there are already using technology and AI to make sure patients get the right care that they need, but they told me that there is currently no technological solution that allows patients to both be triaged and directed to their har…”

“Moving on to death literacy, the panel found in its report that society generally has quite low levels of it, meaning that there is very limited understanding and—as my wife will attest to—a reluctance to engage in conversations about death and dying. Is this an area that the Government are planning to do any work on?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but presumably, if someone has an advance care plan in place, they will have been identified fairly early, yet they are still not being provided with the service intended. So what is the gap there? We can fall back on commissioning, but if they are advanced enough to have an advance care plan, they …”

“Moving on to advance care plans, the expert panel found that, even when advance care plans were in place, people were often unable to access their preferred services due to limited resources or inflexible clinical pathways. What are your visions for the future of advance care planning?”

“Thank you. To return to my last question, how do bereavement and other support services fit in with the modern service framework?”

“I think one of my colleagues will come on to the workforce later in the session. To move on slightly, how do you see bereavement and other support services for families, loved ones and carers fitting into the framework for palliative care going forward?”

“I must have a bit of amnesia in the new year, because I cannot seem to recall any circumstances in which the shadow Secretary of State raised in the House the 143 abscondments that happened on his Government’s watch—perhaps it is only when a leadership bid is in the offing that he cares about this issue. Will the Minis…”