‘We Are Seeing 13 Years Of Tory Government Running Down Our Health Services’.

Margaret Mullane, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham, took part in a session for MPs across north east London with NHS senior officials to discuss GP and primary care services in the area.  The meeting happened on 27 April and was an opportunity to raise local problems with these vital services.

Margaret Mullane questioned the officials on the closures of GP surgeries in Dagenham and Rainham and the frustration of patients at having long waits for face to face GP appointments. In response it was said that plans are being put in place to raise GP recruitment locally and achieve better retention of existing GPs thinking of retiring or leaving the NHS.

Margaret told the Havering Daily: “ Recent months have seen the closure and planned closure of the Spring Farm, Frederick Road and South End Road surgeries. In addition I have been alerted to another potential closure by patients of a surgery in Dewey Rd which I also questioned at the meeting. 

Other patients of the South Hornchurch Health Centre tell me of 29 day waits to see a GP and of community health services such as blood tests being removed from practices such as the Rainham Village Health Centre with patients told to go to Elm Park for their blood tests.

This is a shocking indictment of 13 years of Conservative governments, running down the health services our area needs and deserves.”

Beam Park ward Labour Councillors Trevor Mckeever and Matt Stanton have also commented about the delay to the new Beam Park Medical Centre. Work on construction and fitting out of the building was planned for October this year but this has now slipped to some time in the New Year.

Margaret added:“ I want to see that the companies who get these contracts from the NHS to run GP and community health services are held to proper account so that they deliver what they are paid to deliver to local people. If they don’t they should lose the contracts, I would much rather see these services run directly by the NHS and stop these companies taking profits out of hard pressed NHS budgets.

If we want to see less pressure on Queens A&E we need to strengthen GP and community health services for people close to home.”

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