So Simon Jupp, the chicken-run Tory MP for Exmouth who’s now standing for the new Honiton & Sidmouth constituency, is trying to counter Richard Foord’s pledge to support community hospitals. He’s done a photo-op outside Sidmouth Community Hospital- the only one in the new constituency that hasn’t had its beds ripped out by the Tories. Funny he didn’t come to Seaton, Axminster, Honiton or Ottery St Mary, isn’t it? – Martin Shaw seatonmatters.org 

‘I will always fight to protect our local NHS’

Simon Jupp, MP www.exmouthjournal.co.uk  (and other local news papers)

For many, going to the local GP surgery is the front door to our NHS.

The latest figures show GPs are seeing on average 20 additional patients every working day compared to before the pandemic.

More staff than ever are working tirelessly to deliver that. Numbers are up by a quarter since 2019.

And more money is going into primary care than ever before. Funding is up by a fifth compared to seven years ago, even when taking inflation into account.

But we should be honest that the pandemic placed unprecedented pressures on healthcare services which led to treatment delays.

One of the Prime Minister’s priorities is to cut NHS waiting lists. And rightly so.

By the end of the year, patients who need prescription medication will be able to get it directly from a pharmacy, without a GP appointment, for things like earache, sore throat, and other infections.

By expanding the role of pharmacies with a £645 million investment over two years, fewer people will need to see their GP by default – freeing up appointments and lessening the ‘8am rush’ to get one.

We should also acknowledge that some pharmacies in East Devon are stretched. In Parliament, I’ve pressed Ministers to get funding to our pharmacies as quickly as possible. I visited Morton’s Pharmacy in Axminster last week and I’ll be relaying the feeling from the front line in my regular discussions with Health Ministers.

Money is going in to tackle NHS waiting lists at our hospitals. The multi-million-pound Exeter Nightingale Hospital has been kept open to help diagnose conditions and take pressure off the RD&E.

In Exmouth, I had the pleasure of visiting the hospital recently to see the £1.5 million for refurbishment that’s come from public funding and the hospital’s League of Friends. In Sidmouth, £353,000 of capital investment has been spent to improve facilities in the last year. 

These investments acknowledge the key role that community hospitals like Sidmouth, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Axminster & Honiton play in caring for people closer to their homes. I will always fight to protect our local NHS.