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NHS Staffing

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend, who is now the very distinguished Chairman of the Procedure Committee. He was also a very distinguished Minister. The shortage of physiotherapists and speech therapists has been mentioned by at least two speakers in the debate. Those therapists are critical in the treatment of people who have suffered a stroke. If we are to give people a meaningful life after a stroke, physiotherapy and speech therapy are critical to their rehabilitation. In an intervention on my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring), I touched on the subject of mental health. This, too, is a subject in which I take a considerable interest. During my time working on health and social security matters, we undertook an in-depth inquiry into adult mental health and mental handicap. There is a shortage of skilled professionals in mental health, which is critical because for too long this has been a Cinderella area of health care. I hope that the Minister will be able to give us an assurance that money will be available for the employment of the staff who are so essential to the success of this Cinderella area of the national health service.