Today's announcement by NHS England that children's cancer services will be moved away from the world-class unit at St George's Hospital is profoundly disappointing.
As a doctor, I am clear that this decision has not been made in the interests of patients or their families and we're losing more than 25 years of expertise in the field of children's cancer care. I'm calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins to immediately review this decision. In today's Guardian, my latest figures reveal that thousands of people are re-admitted to mental health hospitals within days or weeks of leaving it, wreaking havoc on people's lives.
Why? Because the Tories cut a quarter of mental health beds and patients don't get the care they deserve. Read the full story here In today’s Guardian, I reveal the scandal of new mothers being turned away from mental health services.
For some time, I’ve been concerned that new mothers are being left to suffer in silence. My figures show that last year, nearly 20,000 new mothers were turned away from mental health services. Maternal mental health services are being rationed. This is despite maternal illness costing the whole of society £8.1 billion a year. It is an absolute scandal. The 8,500 new staff Labour will recruit are vital to solving this crisis. Read the full article here
In recent weeks, thousands of people across south London and south-east England have signed my petition calling on NHS England to keep children's cancer services at St George's Hospital, including many parents who have told me how worried they are about this proposed closure.
Last week, NHS England launched its consultation on the future of services at St George’s Hospital and I want to make sure that we have every chance to defend and protect our local services. Keeping services at St George's is best for our patients and best for the NHS, but this can only happen with the support of people in the community who will be affected by this decision. Please spare a few minutes to complete to consultation questionnaire and share your views with the NHS. The consultation is running until Monday 18 December. See full details of the consultation here and please share this as widely as possible with friends and family here.
Police forces across England are set to stop attending many incidents concerning mental health under a new National Partnership Agreement: Right Care, Right Person.
The Government's announcement leaves far too many questions unanswered and fails to tackle the root problem of lengthy NHS waiting lists in mental health services. I have written to the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, asking him to come clean on what action he is taking to tackle mental health waiting lists. Read my full letter here:
On the 75th birthday of the NHS, I joined the amazing team at St George’s Hospital, to say, a big thank you for the incredible care and compassion they show every day. I'm proud to work side-by-side with the team.
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.
Joining Billy Bragg’s ‘Left Field’ stage at Glastonbury, I spoke about the importance of protecting our NHS. It’s crucial that NHS staff are supported in their work and that patients can access timely treatment.
It was great to join Nish Kumar and Coco Khan on Pod Save the UK. We spoke about working on the frontline during the pandemic, Labour’s bold mental health plan, and pitying Matt Hancock.
See a clip of the Podcast here:
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. |
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