It is vital in Bournemouth that we protect, and continue to invest in, our local health and social care services.
Over the last few years I have visited mental health wards such as St. Ann's, spoken with elderly hospital patients in a specialist ward, met with Ambulance teams, visited old people's homes offering supported care, and called for better access and more efficient discharge procedures (particular for more elderly residents) to ensure that patient capacity is as high as possible. I also recently launched a campaign - writing to all the GP surgeries in Bournemouth East - for more GP surgeries to open 7 days a week to ease the congestion on Royal Bournemouth Hospital's A&E department, which should only be used for true emergencies rather than as a GP surgery overflow.
The Conservatives have a strong message on health and social care - both on a national and a local level - and I hope that I will be able to continue to work with these fantastic local services in Bournemouth to ensure that they continue to be supported and to flourish.
