Local healthcare services are important to us all: doesn’t everyone want to know that, if a loved one falls ill, they will receive the very best care? Using local services myself, I have made them an absolute priority: looking to the future, engaging with healthcare professionals at all levels, working with patients’ groups, really getting to grips with the issues and making the case for the local healthcare services that we all want to see.
I led a debate in Parliament on “The Future of Oxfordshire’s Healthcare” - making the points you want made, directly to the Government - and I continue to work closely with local health bosses to improve services.
Nationally, the Government has committed to providing the NHS with an additional £33.9 billion - which represents a record funding boost. This funding is backed by a clinically-led Long-Term Plan, which sets out how we can ensure the NHS provides world-class care long into the future. Additional funding is also being put into social care, but clearly more needs to be done. I eagerly await the Government's proposals to make our social care system - which represents the unfinished revolution of our times - fit for the future
In Oxfordshire, the Clinical Commissioning Group have established Locality Plans, which look at the future of primary care services, such as GP practices. These are important in deciding how healthcare is run at the level the vast majority of us interact with it on a regular basis - you can read my submissions for the three localities which cover West Oxfordshire below.