Our Local NHS
As a result of financial mismanagement, the NHS was in crisis last year, with deficits and cutbacks affecting frontline services – in particular community hospitals and birth centres, which help women greater choice to give birth in a less medicalised environment. The number of managers and administrators has also grown at three-times the rate of new doctors and nurses since 1997.
Locally, the East of England Strategic Health Authority’s demanded that South West Essex PCT handed over a £3.5 million ‘loan’ in order to address deficits in other parts of the region. The payment was bound to have an impact on the provision of local services. Fortunately, partly in response to our campaign, this loan was reduced to £2.2 million and has now been repaid.
But the big issue locally was the threat of closure or downgrading of services to St Andrews Health Centre, Billericay. This prompted a furious campaign and a petition attracting over 3,000 local signatures to keep the centre going. Our campaign paid off when I secured a pledge from the local NHS that St Andrews would remain open. Read more here and here.
Whereas I wanted St Andrews to remain open, it was important that we blocked plans to impose an Independent Sector Treatment Centre on the local NHS, for this would have disrupted local services at Basildon Hospital and threatened the cross-subsidy of staff training budgets and A&E departments. Read here. I support greater private sector involvement in the NHS where it benefits patients, but this ISTC would not have provided a level playing field.
Meanwhile, as a former Shadow Health Minister, I retain a keen interest in cancer policy and serve as a vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer. Read more. I also support charities for blind and partially-sighted people. Read more.
Ultimately, despite financial mismanagement, we should be thankful that our NHS doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and midwives work so hard and with such skill and dedication.
