L

Lord Kamall (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 8 September 2026

Debate

Integrated Care Boards: Access to Services

Contribution

My Lords, when I speak to primary and community health providers, they often speak of two hierarchies that they face. At the ICB level, they say that large trusts dominate, whereas at the primary care level, they say that it is GPs who dominate, often at the cost of the voices of pharmacists, dentists and optometrists, who can take on more work, as the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, said. Underneath all these clinical hierarchies sit patients, who in some ICBs struggle to be heard. Given that the Government’s plans to rewire the state include abolishing local Healthwatch organisations, how will they ensure that independent patient voices—and I mean independent, not part of DHSC or from local authorities—are listened to and acted upon at all levels?

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