Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, has today hosted the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, at Shotley Bridge Hospital.
Richard has been pushing for the Health Secretary to visit the local hospital since his election as part of his campaign to get a new community hospital for North West Durham. Richard has spoken about Shotley Bridge Hospital numerous times in the House of Commons and received an assurance from both the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister that they would look at these important proposals for the community.
Richard and the Health Secretary met with the Chair of the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as with the Chair and the Chief Executive Officer of the local NHS Trust for a meeting. They were also given a tour of the hospital to see the facilities there and spoke to staff and senior management about how the hospital has handled the pandemic and stepped up, working in lockstep with local GPs, as well as taken on important countywide services.
Commenting, Richard said:
“It was absolutely fantastic to host Matt at visit Shotley Bridge. This is the first time in decades that a Health Secretary has visited our local community hospital.
“It was really good to speak with Matt about all that our local NHS is doing and has done to help during the global coronavirus pandemic, and also to highlight the concerns of local people regarding testing and the sacrifices that so many people have made, from our dedicated NHS staff to patients who have seen their treatments delayed to keep us safe.
“I am going to continue to fight for a new community hospital – it’s clear that, to make this project happen, we need funding from central Government and I’m going to keep campaigning until this is delivered.”
Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commented:
"I was delighted to visit Shotley Bridge Hospital with Richard today. Since coming in as an MP, Richard has campaigned tirelessly for better health services in North West Durham, and has raised the need for a new hospital with me on several occasions.
"I will continue to work with both the local NHS in North West Durham and with Richard as he campaigns for improved local health services."
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