Health and Social Care

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. Please do let me know if you wish to share your experience of Health and Social Care provision (be this positive or negative).

News

Huw Merriman Visits Hospice in the Weald’s Cottage Hospice

On Friday 25th October Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, visited the Cottage Hospice site in Five Ashes (part of his constituency), near Mayfield, with Rob Woolley, Chief Executive, and Holly Cowen, Head of Cottage Hospice.

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.