St Peter’s Hospital Update
My constituents will be interested to know that the consultation being carried out by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board into the proposal to relocate the health services from St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon, has now closed. An analysis of the outcome will be published in a few weeks. I am very grateful to the 5,000 people who have responded directly and to the 1,000 who sent back my own survey which I have since submitted to the ICB. I am certain that it will show overwhelming opposition to these misguided proposals.
St Peter’s has served our local area since the NHS was founded with the staff having provided dedicated care to expectant mothers, to stroke sufferers and to outpatients, with over 80,000 appointments last year. However, the building is over 150 years old and in need of repair. For 20 years we in Maldon have been promised a new hospital, either on the current site or a new location in the town. While several times we have come close, this has never happened and now, as many who regularly receive my newsletter will know, there are proposals to relocate maternity and the inpatient facilities to Braintree and Brentwood respectively. This is wholly unacceptable and ignores both the increasing demand locally and the lengthy travel times if services are moved out of the town.
I welcome the assurance that outpatients’ services will continue to be provided in Maldon and will stay at St Peters’ until a new location is found. However, it is essential that this should be in one place and so far there is no agreement about where this should be.
Priti and I team up with Save Maldon Medical Services Group
I, together with Dame Priti Patel who represents part of the Maldon District, recently met representatives from the Save Maldon Medical Services group, the local campaign group opposing the proposals relating to St Peter’s Hospital.
Both Priti and I have been working to retain local medical services in the Maldon District. We have both raised the issue in Parliament on multiple occasions, and are continuing to press Government Ministers on the proposals of the Mid and South Essex ICB to relocate services from St Peter’s Hospital which will result in the eventual closure of the hospital.
During the meeting, representatives from the Save Maldon Medical Services group raised their clear concerns about the consultation process which recently closed, and thanked us for our help in securing the extension of the consultation period and obtaining as many responses as possible. I and Priti reiterated our determination to ensure that medical services remain in Maldon, shared the concerns of the Group about the handling of the consultation and discussed the need for a long term plan to secure a new health facility in Maldon.
Following the meeting I said: “We had a very productive discussion with the Save Maldon Medical Services Group, and I congratulate its members on mounting such a powerful campaign against the closure of St Peter’s. We are all determined to have these proposals withdrawn and to ensure that the current range of health services continue to be provided in the town. We will continue to take every opportunity to raise the issue with Ministers, both privately and in Parliament, and look forward to continuing to work closely with the campaign group.”
Additionally Priti said: “It was a pleasure to meet with the Save Maldon Medical Services group. Sir John and I are grateful to them for the way in which they have been pressing the ICB, questioning the flawed consultation and also for the awareness they have helped to raise within the District of this issue. We completely understand and share the concerns of the group and our constituents who will be impacted by the potential closure of St Peter’s and the relocation of health services. We will continue to press the issue of the future of St Peter’s Hospital both in Parliament and across Government to stop this unacceptable closure.
Priti and I are pictured below meeting with the Save Maldon Medical Services Group.
MPs call for Levelling Up funds to support Maldon health services
We have also called on the Government to enable Maldon District Council to use the £5m of Levelling Up funds provided in the Spring Budget.
With the NHS currently considering the future of St Peter’s Hospital and Priti and I having been working with Maldon District Council to press the Government to enable the funds, originally allocated for Cultural Levelling Up, to be used to support the development of a new health hub off of Wycke Hill.
The development of a new health hub has stalled and if Levelling Up funding can be used flexibly to remove those barriers then this will help bring forward much-needed new health provision for Maldon District. I in conjunction with Priti and Maldon District Council have written to the Levelling Up Minister to make this request.
We have also raised in the House of Commons this week the need to safeguard and invest in health services in Maldon Town and concerns over the consultation process undertaken by the NHS on the proposals to close St Peter’s. Priti and I questioned the Health Secretary on Tuesday 23rd April, who subsequently committed to take an interest in the consultation and expressed support for Levelling Up funds to be used to support health outcomes.
Visit to the Lithuanian Parliament
On 8th and 9th April, I visited the Seimas (parliament) of the Republic of Vilnius in my capacity as Leader of the UK Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.
I had very useful meetings with Amb. Zygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and with Emanueis Zingeris, Chair of the Lithuanian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and an original signatory of the declaration of Lithuanian Independence in March 1990.
I was also accompanied by Vilija Aleknaite-Abramikiene, Leader of the Lithuanian Delegation to the OSCE PA and HE Brian Olley, British Ambassador. The meetings I attended concentrated on the security threat to Lithuania and the other Baltic States from Russia, and the need to support Ukraine.
I am pictured below alongside the British Ambassador HE Brian Olley meeting with Amb. Zygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee
Highlighting with the Home Secretary, the excellent work of Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst
I congratulate Roger Hirst on his re-election as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex. I was able to highlight some of his excellent work to the Home Secretary in Parliament:
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon
“My right hon. Friend will be aware that police numbers in Essex are at record levels and that overall crime is down. However, there has been a rise in vehicle thefts. Will he therefore welcome the efforts of our excellent police, fire and crime commissioner, Roger Hirst, in establishing a stolen vehicle intelligence unit that has so far recovered £14 million-worth of vehicles? Will he look at what further support can be given to Roger Hirst to tackle this crime?”
James Cleverly The Secretary of State for the Home Department
“My right hon. Friend is right to highlight the fantastic work of Roger Hirst and the stolen vehicle intelligence unit. A number of large-scale seizures have been made against attempted vehicle exports. The Government have reduced vehicle-related crime by 39% since 2010, and we seek to go further through the Criminal Justice Bill. We want to see more innovative approaches like the one taken by Roger Hirst, which is why I am very proud to campaign alongside him. He has done fantastic work to protect the people of Essex.”
Parliament Drop-in event to pledge his support for The Big Plastic Count
Having received significant correspondence on this particular issue I recently attended the Parliamentary drop-in event showcasing the results of The Big Plastic Count. The ‘Youth Empowerment Day’ event took place in Rooms R and S in Portcullis House and was hosted by my colleague Selaine Saxby MP and Lilian Greenwood MP.
I was delighted to drop in and speak with children about plastic waste, particularly with Lewis from the Courtwood School in Croydon (pictured below). I also met with campaigners and was happy to pledge my support for the campaign.
Open Day Event to unveil new solar panels plaque at East Hanningfield Village Hall
I was delighted to attend the Open Day event at East Hanningfield Village Hall to unveil a plaque to mark the completion of the installation works for the new solar panels on the roof of the Hall.
The village has worked hard to raise funds for the panels which will mean that the Hall and Community Shop will avoid the inevitable increase in electricity costs at the end of their current contract on 1st May, just gone. In addition, the energy production should exceed the usage for at least half the year providing an income from the Grid.
The cost of installation of around £40,000 was met from donations from the Government’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee fund, Chelmsford City Council and East Hanningfield Parish Council. A quarter of the funds needed also came from a magnificent fund-raising effort by East Hanningfield Women’s Institute. The project was finally made possible by the announcement by the Government that the exemption from VAT for solar panel installation would be extended to village halls.
I am pictured below with Mike Plumridge, Jenny Mouser and Wendy Thomas of the Hanna’s Field Charity which manages the playing fields and the Hall.
New 4G mobile phone mast in Bradwell-on-Sea
I recently visited Bradwell-on-Sea to see the newly installed mobile phone mast that has been installed by Cornerstone as part of the Government’s Shared Rural Network programme.
The £1 billion SRN programme is jointly funded by the Government and by the four UK mobile network operators and -aims to achieve 95 per cent 4G mobile coverage across the UK landmass by December 2025. At present, there is limited 2G coverage and no 4G coverage in Bradwell village and the surrounding area. The new mast will provide 4G coverage from both O2 and Vodafone.
At the time I said of my visit “Having served until recently as Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, I am very aware of the importance of good mobile coverage for businesses, residents and visitors and was involved in the delivery of the Government’s Shared Rural Network programme to tackle total and partial “not-spots” where there is limited or zero mobile coverage. I am delighted that my constituents in Bradwell-on-Sea will now benefit from the programme and be able to access decent 4G coverage”.
I am pictured below with: Belinda Fawcett, Cornerstone General Counsel and Property Director, Jamie Hayes Cornerstone Chief Sales and Commercial Officer, Paul Cowap Cornerstone EMF Compliance Manager, Richard Haughey, Cornerstone CDM & Supply Chain Governance Manager, Peter Coxsey, WHP Telecoms Limited.
Board Meeting of Visit Essex at Hatfield Place, Hatfield Peverel
Having been the Minister responsible for Tourism for 8 months last year and previously Secretary of State, I am very much aware of the huge importance of Tourism to our economy, worth around £130 billion a year.
Tourism businesses were hit especially hard by Covid but have since recovered strongly. In Essex, tourism is hugely important and in 2002 there was recorded to have been over 50 million day visitors and over 2 million overnight stays. Essex is well-placed with two airports and located close to London and is also fortunate in the variety and quality of its visitor attractions. In Maldon alone, there are parks, countryside and the estuary all of which attracts ramblers, birdwatchers and sports enthusiasts.
Not to mention heritage assets like Beeleigh Abbey and the Plume Library as well as nationally important military history destinations such as Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome and the Combined Military Services Museum. In addition, food and wine are both becoming steadily more important as local industries which are also attracting increasing numbers of visitors to learn about and enjoy the products.
I was delighted to discuss with the Board of Visit Essex what more can be done to boost tourism in the County and welcome their becoming a Local Visitor Economy Partnership which brings together various tourism bodies and opens access to national funding and support.
Among those pictured below are Cllr Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, Lisa Bone, Strategic Tourism Manager and Board Members Demetra Lindsey, Flint and Steve Mannix with Ian Twinley, owner of Hatfield Place.
Meeting GPs and staff at the Longfield Medical Centre to discuss primary care provision in Maldon
Lastly, I met GPs and staff at the Longfield Medical Centre to discuss primary care provision in Maldon and the difficulties patients have experienced in obtaining appointments. Also at the meeting were Dr Brian Balmer and Dr James Booth of the Essex Local Medical Committee and Dan Doherty of Director NHS Alliance for Mid Essex.
Following my meeting I said: “I was pleased to have the opportunity to discuss with the Practice the pressures on GPs both nationally and specifically in Maldon. I recognise the problems of recruiting and retaining GPs which is a national problem but which has been especially acute in Maldon. There are 65 more full-time equivalent GPs in Mid and South Essex than 4 years ago and the new medical school in Chelmsford is training more. However, the steady increase in demand and expectations on GPs is making it harder to keep them in primary care in the NHS and I will raise this with the Minister for Health.
I understand the frustration felt by my constituents at the difficulties they have experienced in obtaining an appointment with a doctor and in using the new Patchs appointments system. However, I am concerned to learn that some members of staff have been subjected to unacceptable abuse. I am very much aware that with 17,000 patients on the Practice list, there are huge pressures on the staff which they are working hard to meet and any abuse is totally unacceptable. I understand that the Patchs system has made it possible to make more appointments available and I very much welcome the further changes to the booking system which have just been announced. I hope that the daily release of more appointments at 1.00pm each day as well as the ability for those without internet access to book through reception will make it easier for those needing an appointment to obtain one.”
Pictured below are Partners, Dr Ben Brazier and Dr Atul Lotlikar, Practice Manger Sophie Matthews, PA to the Partners Danielle Poole and Patients Group Representative, Lister Firkins.
