Haywood Hospital – a new era 

 Public health has always been a priority of mine and this week has been dominated by health issues. 

On Friday, I and other local MPs met with with the Chairmen  of the North Staffordshire University Hospital and local Primary Care Trusts to receive an update on the Fit for the Future Programme.  Fit for the Future is an ambitious plan to improve public health and reduce health inequalities in North Staffordshire.  It involves moving care services out into the heart of the communities and making healthcare easily accessible in the most hard to reach communities.  A key pillar of Fit for the Future is the rebuilding of both the North Staffordshire University Hospital and the Haywood Hospital.  Although neither hospital is yet finished I was pleased to see that good progress was being made and I look forward to having two first class hospitals in the area.

I was also keen to push for progress on the development of links to ensure public involvement in healthcare.  The West Midlands Strategic Health Authority identified such links as crucial to reducing health inequalities in our region and I am just as keen to ensure that progress is made.   A lot of investment is going into the NHS in our region and the public can play a key role in ensuring the money goes to where it is most needed.  If you have any comments please feel free to contact me.

Following these meetings I was reassured that good progress is being made in improving health care in North Staffordshire and though a lot of work remains to be done the PCT are confident of achieving its Fit for the Future targets.  I will stay in close contact to ensure that this is the case and that the needs of our community receive the high quality healthcare they deserve

I have also been doing my best to keep the health needs of North Staffordshire at the forefront of Ministers’ minds in Westminster.   In a debate on the forthcoming Health and Social Care Bill I questioned the Minister for Health Services, Mr Ben Bradshaw MP, about the measures being taken to control hospital acquired infections.  The Bill seeks to appoint an independent body to regulate efforts to stop such infections and provides an ideal opportunity to ensure effective action is taken.  In particular I have been pressing the need to involve environmental health practitioners in monitoring hygiene in healthcare providers.  Such practitioners have a vast amount of expertise in this area and I am keen for the Government ascribe a role for them in the legislation. 

On Thursday I was able to join Haywood  High School and Hospital for an open day celebrating the history of the Haywood Hospital  and looking forward to a new era of public and community health. At last we have cranes on the skyline -  in constant use – a sure sign that the new hospital development is underway.   I  hope that local people will get involved in the new arrangements for involvement on health. 

If you live in Brown Edge, Endon and Stanley or in Bagnall and would like to know more about my work, then please get in touch.

www.joanwalleymp.org.uk