Health and Social Care

Conquest Hospital visit

Ensuring that constituents receive the best Health and Adult Social Care for their needs, has been a huge priority for me since my election in 2015. With a proportion of elderly constituents way above the national average, I speak regularly in Parliament as to the needs of the constituency. In East Sussex, our local NHS and County Council teams have taken the bold step to move their health and social care budgets together to ensure that the money is following the patient. This ‘Better Together’ programme should mean fewer hospital stays and faster discharges. My support for this programme, and the other changes being made nationally and locally, features heavily in all that I say and do on this subject. For 2017, I will be condensing all of my news, views and contributions in to this special Health and Social Care website section for constituents to better understand the improvements and the challenges in this area. Please do let me know if you wish to share your experience of Health and Social Care provision (be this positive or negative). 

News

Watch: Huw responds to hospital funding announcement

This week, the Government unveiled 21 hospital trusts who will have the chance to make the case for new buildings. East Sussex Healthcare Trust was one of the 21 selected. There is now the opportunity to put a business case together and have our sites in Eastbourne and Hastings improved.

MP wears it pink for Breast Cancer Now fundraiser

• Huw Merriman MP dresses in pink to support Breast Cancer Now’s flagship fundraiser wear it pink
• wear it pink helps Breast Cancer Now fund vital breast cancer research and support

Serious Violence Debate: My Speech on Knife Crime

This week, I once again spoke in the Chamber on the worrying topic of knife crime. Knife crime is a blight on our society and an issue close to my heart following my experience working in a youth centre in Brixton and Camberwell Green.

Huw urges Health Secretary to tackle online bullying

In Parliament, Huw spoke of the harm that bullying and harassment on social media is causing to young people. He said social media companies often operate under the laws of the US and not the laws of the UK and should be held to account for content that is posted on their sites in this country.

Huw continues to lobby for social care reform

In Parliament, Huw continued to lobby for social care reform by asking the Health and Social Care minister to look at the German system of compulsory social care insurance when considering proposals for the Green Paper on social care.