Speeches by McKenna.

“This is to anyone, really: is there anything more that the Government could be doing?”

“Margaret, is that the case in primary care as well?”

“I want to look at diagnosis, diagnostic tools and treatments that are available. Kate, tell me a bit about what diagnostic tools are coming along and what progress has been made on them, and about new treatments.”

“I am horrified to report to you and to the House that last night in Swale borough council there were violent scenes, as people wearing balaclavas in the public gallery violently intimidated councillors. They were threatening them and pelting them with eggs and missiles from the gallery. This is an attack on democracy i…”

“Thank you, that was all really fascinating. I just want to think about stuff that is being done more actively, not just understanding, and then the “what should be done” part. How would you evaluate the Government’s approach up to now on social mobility?”

“I have worked so many Christmases and new years as a nurse in the NHS, and I know the weary dread with which so many colleagues are facing this threat of strike action, particularly against the background of a spike in respiratory illnesses. It will be devastating. In a good year without strikes, it would be bad enough…”

“I am sure that, as GPs and doctors, you should be recharging academy chains anyway for that training. Chella?”

“Vulva.”

“Before I was doing this job, I was a nurse, so I am very tuned in to the fact that lots of euphemisms are used even within the clinical professions, and we have had lots of battles down the years trying to de-euphemise what we do. Cutesy euphemisms such as passing water instead of urination are used, but sometimes it i…”

“Are you getting any pushback from clinical colleagues?”

“Moving on to RSE and health education, and the curriculum in particular, Kerry, what is your assessment of the latest updates to the RSHE curriculum on menstrual health?”

“There are two things that arise from it being built into teacher training. How much extra would that be adding on to the teacher training course to really build this in? And then what do we do about the older cohort of teachers who have already been trained? How do we get retraining into the system?”

“How much money do we think they need, roughly?”

“I have just one more thing. I will probably go back to you, Kerry, in the first instance. Obviously, there have been calls for education to address racial equality around menstrual education. What are your thoughts on that? Are we meeting that yet or not?”

“Do other people on the panel think that is the right approach, or do we need to do something else or more?”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond, and I commend the hon. and gallant Member for securing this debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) and I were the two who went along to that meeting—it is disappointing that our names were not added to that letter. I would like to contri…”

“It remains a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. Again, I congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) on bringing forward the debate. Further down the Thames from the idyllic picture that he has portrayed of his constituency of Spelthorne, my constituency sits at the mouth…”

“I have a lot of affection for NHS England and, because I have worked there, I have a lot of insight into what did not work well, so it is interesting that you said that. What could the Government do to reassure you all that this will work and can be made to work? What do you need to hear from the Government?”

“Should roles like the women’s health ambassador and the national clinical director for women’s health be kept, or is this an opportunity to maybe change them?”