One of the things that we hold most dear in this Country is our National Health Service. It was one of the key topics during last year’s General Election and I am proud that this Government has committed to invest £10 billion extra per year, as well as an extra £1.2 billion for GP services and a £5.3 billion Better Care Fund to help integrate health and social care locally.
One of the local campaigns that I have been involved with, alongside Robert Buckland MP and Dr Peter Crouch, Chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group, has been focused on addressing the national funding formula which saw Swindon receiving less than its fair share of healthcare funding compared to other areas of similar size and demographics. After a number of letters to the Chief Executive of NHS England and discussions with the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the NHS has announced the decision to amend the formula; resulting in an increase in cumulative investment in the Swindon CCG healthcare economy of £45 million over five years, with investment up from £82 million to £127 million. This announcement comes as a big win for patients across Swindon.
There a further announcement for Swindon last week as NHS England also confirmed that the proposed £2.9 million Radiotherapy Unit at the Great Western Hospital had finally been given the green light. Set to open in late 2017, this facility will mean that patients from Swindon and the surrounding area will in future be able to receive vital treatment in their own town without having to travel over an hour to the nearest Radiotherapy in Oxford. Fighting cancer is a traumatic ordeal for both the patient and their families. We got fully behind the campaign to secure this new treatment provision so that people in Swindon will no longer have to embark on regular long journeys whilst fighting cancer. A big thank you to every single volunteer who got behind the Radiotherapy Centre Appeal campaign to help raise funds – without your commitment this decision would not have been made and on behalf of everybody in our town, I am extremely grateful for the fundraising efforts that yet again highlights the selfless generosity of local residents.
Amidst all of the announcements, it was another busy week for me as I met with the Swindon Friends of Auto enrolment – a great support network helping local small businesses to enrol their employees into the government backed pension scheme; celebrated with the Swindon MS society as they marked their 50th birthday party and joined Network Rail for a national forum to discuss supporting disability employment, carers and inclusive design for disabled passengers. In Parliament, I joined the British Heart Foundation to discuss the 8,150 people in North Swindon living with cardiovascular disease, visited the Leonard Cheshire Disability art exhibition and signed the Holocaust Education Trusts book of commitments. I also visited a fantastic start up micro-brewery fully staffed by staff with Learning Disabilities, so it was an apt time to raise a pint to celebrate the latest job stats as unemployment across our town has fallen again with 138 more people in work this month alone.
