The visit provided an opportunity to continue building a constructive relationship with the senior leadership, review recent investments in the hospital, and highlight patient concerns that have been raised with me both in surgery appointments and via email. The morning included a tour of the new children’s emergency department, a same-day emergency care unit under construction to improve patient flow, and planned investments to make St Richard’s a centre of excellence for stroke care.
Access to good healthcare remains a key priority for me, both as the MP for Chichester and in my role as Hospitals and Primary Care spokesperson. I have regular meetings with University Hospitals Sussex and NHS Sussex to better understand the challenges they face, and the measures being taken to address areas of underperformance.
One such area is corridor care, which has become a regular occurrence across many hospitals in England due to overcrowding in emergency departments. I was reassured that the team at St Richard’s does not intend to normalise this practice and is, in fact, ahead of the curve in addressing the issue compared to other trusts. As someone who experienced a loved one receiving corridor care last year, I know firsthand that this is not an acceptable outcome, either for patients or for staff, who cannot provide the best possible care in such a difficult environment.
The crisis in our National Health Service will not be addressed until the government brings forward ambitious reform for social care. St Richard’s was nearly at capacity multiple times during the winter crisis and fortunately managed to avoid declaring a critical incident, unlike many other hospitals nationally. We know that a significant number of hospital patients are medically fit to be discharged, but the County Council is unable to secure care packages that meet patient needs. As a result, these individuals remain in hospital, and, crucially, their recovery is stalled. The review into social care announced by the government merely kicks the proverbial can down the road.
Another report that set out immediate and essential actions is the Ockenden report into maternity services across England. After receiving a briefing from Donna Ockenden, I was pleased to secure a debate on the topic of maternity services for the end of February and have been encouraging residents to get in touch if they wish to share their experiences with me. I will meet with the Director of Midwifery next week to discuss the performance of St Richard’s maternity services, where I gave birth to both my children.
I encourage constituents to continue contacting me if they wish to share their experiences so that I can build a full picture of the state of our local healthcare system and work with the trust and ICB to achieve the best possible outcomes for my constituents.