Contribution
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions.
The hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) set the ball going with his contribution. He referred to the 600,000 people in and around his constituency and the need to have the helicopter and air ambulance available. The Minister was kindly in her positive response to that intervention.
The hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) referred to safe routes for air ambulances coming into helipads. She rightly set the marker down in raising the impact of future development. Again, the Minister responded to that point, and we thank her for that.
I thank the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) for her contribution. She shared personal knowledge of how her local air ambulance is an essential part of the NHS, and spoke about quality of access, planning and development.
The hon. Member for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) referred to the air ambulance headquarters in his constituency. He is doing extremely well for the air ambulance. He spoke of access to uneven terrain, clifftops and dispersed moorland, and described it as the “flying doctor service”. That is what it is.
The hon. Gentleman also gave two supreme examples of how the air ambulance saved young 15-year-old Lewie and three-year-old Mia. My goodness, if we ever need a story to illustrate the case, it is the examples Members give from their constituents. Those are lives saved. I could give similar examples of my own constituents —all Members probably could—because we all know people who are alive and walking around the streets in our constituencies today, still with their families. I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. He also referred to better NHS and air ambulance co-ordination, with partnership structures in place. All those things are incredibly helpful.
The hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) shared examples from his own life, including the supreme example of his niece, who is alive and well today because of the air ambulance. Examples like that convince us all of why we are here and the importance of these debates. He also referred to country roads, how different hospitals have different needs, how we need clearer approval for helipads and how trusts need to work together with the air ambulance.
The hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) shared the problems she is having with her own trust. She said that the NHS should work better with the air ambulance. I always say that it is our job to find solutions, and the hon. Lady referred to solutions. Helicopters need helipads. It can often be a problem for an ambulance to reach an incident safely by road, but there would be no need for that if there were a helipad. The hon. Lady gave the figures for that too.
The shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), is always very kind with his comments. We are all here for the same purpose: to try to help our people. His air ambulance service has flown 907 missions this year, including eight times in one day. My goodness, them guys are on overtime, if there is any in the air ambulance, though there probably is not. The right hon. Gentleman illustrated the cost of running the service in his constituency. We need a plan for helipad funding in the next year. To be fair, the Minister gave the shadow Minister some of the answers he sought. We appreciate that. He also requested a clear standard and financial support.
I will move on to my conclusion, Sir Alec. I am mindful that although I have 14 minutes to speak, usually we only get two minutes to wind up no matter how long is left, so you have been very kind. I thank the Minister incredibly much for her positive response. I do not want to give her a big head, but she always tries to encourage us all. We come here as MPs to fight battles on behalf of our constituents. That is the job that they task us with. I am always at peace whenever a Minister gives us some of the answers that we sought, and today, the right hon. Lady did that.
The Minister referred to the importance of air ambulance charities across England, and the 50,000 missions flown each year. She also referred to fuel resilience for air ambulances, and the ongoing discussions among air ambulances and the NHS. On air ambulance access to helipads and the national approach, work has started to address some of the outstanding improvements. The Minister then gave us the one that we really hoped for: the national review of air ambulance services, their resilience and helipads. We thank her for that.
The Minister referred to the new planning policy framework, and the hon. Member for North Cornwall sought the timescale; although not responsible for that, I know that the Minister will seek to get a timescale. Whenever I go to a meeting, whether it be with the roads service or hospitals, they always tell me what they are going to do and I say, “When will it happen?” That is the question. Today, we ask, “When will it happen?” but we have been very privileged to have had such a responsive Minister. I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions. As always, I thank the civil servants who keep the Ministers right, and I thank the Hansard Reporters for their patience with this boy from Northern Ireland who speaks at 100 miles an hour.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered the potential merits of mandatory safeguarded 24/7 helipads at major trauma centres.