Last month has been busy for me both nationally and locally. Nationally my big priority is to make sure we have a culture of compassionate care throughout our NHS. Most parts of the system do a brilliant job under enormous pressure, but as we saw from the tragedy of Mid Staffs that is not always the case.
I am planning to address this by introducing a new Chief Inspector of Hospitals https://www.gov.uk/government/news/putting-patients-first-government-pu… who will be responsible for tough, independent Ofsted-style inspections. My biggest concern is vulnerable older people, particularly dementia-sufferers, who may not be able to speak up for themselves. There will be one million people with dementia https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-care-for-people-with-d… by 2020 so how we look after them will be a real litmus test of whether we face up to the challenge of an ageing society.
I also did a speech on the challenge for the NHS in coping with the one quarter of the population who have a long-term condition https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-quality-of-life-for-pe… like diabetes or arthritis. Part of the issue has been declining confidence in GP out-of-hours services following the damaging changes made by the last government to the GP contract.
As SW Surrey MP - and regular campaigner for the Royal Surrey, Milford, Haslemere and Farnham hospitals - I also follow closely developments in our local health provision. In January I met Virgin Healthcare, who now provide community services in Surrey, and in April I met with Nick Moberly, CEO of Royal Surrey County Hospital to discuss some individual cases as well as pressure on A & E. I will be doing a shift there later this month.
On a different note I was delighted with the Surrey results in the local council elections. It was the only county in the country to increase its majority and has made huge strides in maintaining social service provision and improving the quality of local roads in very difficult financial circumstances. Locally we held off the UKIP threat although we did lose a councillor in Haslemere, mainly because we lost touch with the people of Haslemere on the parking issue. Congratulations to Nikki Barton on her election though - and on the parking issue I will work with her and others to try to secure funding for a multi-storey car park at the station, which has to be the long term solution.
A few weeks ago I was delighted to be invited to open a new wing of Symprove, a local business located at The Sands Business Park near Farnham. Symprove is a great British success story creating business opportunities in the UK and across Europe and most importantly jobs within the constituency. It is fantastic that such an enterprise is thriving locally and I was very happy to be there to celebrate its continuing expansion.
In Godalming, I am continuing to support the campaign against Tesco opening at the Wey Inn pub site. The latest idea put forward by the owner of neighbouring R&V Newsagents is for Tesco to utilise their site as a Giraffe Restaurant (which Tescos now own) so I have asked Tesco if this is a possibility.