There are few things more important than access to healthcare. After the General Election in 2024, I delivered to the Health Secretary a petition of more than 1,000 signatures calling for an urgent care centre at Isebrook.
It’s important that I work closely with local healthcare providers to ensure that when an issue arises, I am able to discuss this with them. This is why I formed a regular roundtable session with GPs so that I can raise issues that constituents report to me and hear from doctors how I can help them. I have also arranged several meetings with Northamptonshire’s Integrated Care Board to raise concerns around things like blood tests and NHS dentists.
In 2025, I invited the Chair of the British Dental Association to visit a dentist in Rushden to hear directly about problems with recruitment and retention that have been brewing for many years.
Where necessary I am able to feed back some of these issues raised with me to the Department for Health.
When Anima was introduced locally, my office offered drop-in sessions to help constituents adapt to the new system.
Government funding for eleven GP surgeries in North Northamptonshire for refurbishments was welcome and benefited Abbey Medical Centre, Albany House, Queensway Medical Centre and Redwell Medical Centre in Wellingborough.
I’m also encouraged that 2025 ended with hospital waiting lists in England at their lowest level in nearly three years.
When things go wrong, I am willing to take action. In addition to the regular health-related casework my office deals with from constituents, I have reported a particular GP surgery to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after becoming increasingly concerned about the number of complaints I received about them. I have also supported complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on behalf of local residents when complaints to health providers have not been satisfactorily resolved.
