Today, I appeared on BBC Question Time, where I held the Government to account on the shameful Rwanda policy, their neglect of the NHS, and the issues surrounding Thames Water.
Our local NHS board have announced that Trinity Medical Centre will close on 31st July. The decision to close the surgery is deeply disappointing and I am concerned that it will leave thousands of local residents scrambling to find another GP, including vulnerable patients.
At a time when local residents are already waiting weeks to see a GP, this decision is a shocking, short-sighted solution for users of the surgery. People will find themselves trying to squeeze onto the books of existing practices, travelling further to see a GP, losing the strong and trusted relationships with their GPs they've built over time. The blame for this decision lies squarely with this Conservative Government who have imposed 13 years of underfunding and neglect on our local NHS services. I have already called on the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, to meet with the community to see the impact of this decision first-hand and to reverse this disastrous decision. Today, I called on the Health Secretary to get his act together on our failing mental health services. Across mental health services, children are being failed, police are spending hours waiting with children in crisis in A&E, staff are overworked are under-resourced. It's time for the Health Secretary to get a grip or get out of the way. Today, I wrote to the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, calling on him to listen to concerns expressed by local residents about the proposed closure of Trinity Medical Centre.
At a time when waiting times are at record levels, these plans by the NHS and Government will make it harder for local residents to access a local GP. That's why, alongside our local Labour Councillors, I'm campaigning to keep GP services at this site. Please add your name to the petition here Read my letter below: The children's cancer centre at St George's Hospital is at risk of closure.
This is deeply concerning. The St George's children's cancer centre has more than 25 years of expertise delivering the highest quality care for patients, which will be lost if the services are moved away from Tooting. Under these plans, patients will be forced to travel to a site in central London. Parents have made it very clear that it is easier, cheaper, safer, and more comfortable to take their children to St George's. There is also a huge added cost. The plans to relocate services will cost an estimated £90 million, more than three times the cost to redevelop facilities at St George's Hospital. Today, I've launched a petition calling on the Government and NHS England to keep the children’s cancer service at St George's Hospital. Add your name and share the petition with friends and family here Trinity Medical Centre serves thousands of local people but is under threat of closure. For so many local residents this is a vital service. The closure would cause real difficulties for people accessing their local GP. Many local residents already have to wait weeks for a GP appointment and waiting lists for treatment are at record highs. This closure is a result of 13 years of government underfunding of our NHS. The local Integrated Care Board for South West London has been forced into making huge cuts to their budget and the impact of these cuts is now being felt by our community. In recent weeks, I've been contacted by numerous local residents extremely concerned about the impact of this closure. That's why I am urging the Health Secretary to intervene, listen to patients and staff alike, and keep a GP surgery open at Trinity Medical Centre. Sign my petition here Patients experiencing a mental health crisis often find themselves stuck in A&E.
The Health Secretary should be ashamed. Today, I asked the Health Secretary when will he finally get his act together and back Labour's plans to recruit thousands of additional staff to bring down waiting times? See my question here Our exclusive data reveals that children in a mental health crisis spent more than 900,000 hours in A&E in England, last year. The total delays across England, in the past year alone, equate to 103 years of waiting time. This is a huge rise, up four-fold in the last decade.
The figures, made public through Freedom of Information requests, show the staggering number of hours that children have spent in a mental health crisis in Emergency Departments. With nowhere to turn, children with a mental illness are left to deteriorate – at which time A&E is the only place left for them to go. Emergency Departments are incredibly unsuitable settings for children in crisis, yet we’re witnessing increasingly younger children having to present to A&E in desperation. The next Labour Government will prioritise a truly preventative plan for mental health services and will put patient care first. We will ensure access to mental health professionals in every school and put an open access hub in every community, in addition to guaranteeing mental health treatment within a month for all who need it, by recruiting 8,500 new mental health staff to treat a million additional patients a year by Labour’s first term in office., funded by closing tax loopholes. Read the full article here
It was a privilege to speak at the 13th Annual Black Mental Health Conference, hosted by Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network. As a society, we have to understand the role cultural contact and intersecting identities play when working to support those struggling with their mental health. And we must continue to push back against stigma and foster an open and honest dialogue around mental health in our communities. Thank you for having me. |
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