Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has reiterated to Government Ministers that the Island has additional costs to bear when it comes to healthcare, because it is separated from the mainland.
During a debate on health inequalities on Wednesday evening (4th March) Bob said:
“It is estimated that the additional costs of providing healthcare on the Island to the same standard as on the mainland is about £12 million.
Article continues below this advertisement “That is part of the wider issue I am looking at when seeking an Isle of Wight deal.”
Bob said he had recently spoken with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and Health Minister Edward Argar about the Isle of Wight’s healthcare system, and that he was looking into the government’s Unavoidably Small Hospitals (USH) Programme – which includes St Mary’s on the Isle of Wight.
The MP said he would try to secure debates on the USH Programme, to gain support from other Members of Parliament with similar circumstances to ensure Ministers understood the additional pressures on those hospitals.
Bob said he would also make the case to Sir Simon Stevens, Chief Executive Officer of the NHS – accountable to Parliament for over £120 billion of annual Health Service funding – to look at increased revenue for unavoidably small hospitals, especially on the Island, which has a 100% remoteness factor according to the USH Programme.
Earlier today, Island Echo reported on the failure of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service to hit response times, with an estimated £1.5-1.8million needed to bring the service up to standard.
from the photo it looks like he was preaching to an empty house…
so it’ll probably have about as much effect as everyhing else he’s claimed to have tried…
(if it’s not part of the conservative master plan of the rich getting richer at the expense of everyone else, it won’t happen)
What he needs to do is find some way that, increasing funding to St Mary’s, also increases the revenue to the rich conservative supporters,.. then it’ll happen for sure
it was wednesday evening – pretty empty in HOC.
Anyhow, if we didn’t have so many effing spongers and snowflakes on the island, then the NHS wouldn’t have so many people calling it at all hours for support, when they do not really need to.
What Bob needs to do is find a way of reducing the burden that these leeches and layabout impose on the NHS and then pass on the subsequent savings to the taxpayers.
Give the guy some credit, he is doing as he promised. And believe me as a Conservative Supporter I am not rich but it was obvious to anybody that nobody other than the conservatives could do the job and in Bob Seely doing as he promised people need to cut him some slack, it appears he can never win, he promised to fight for more funding for our NHS and Mental Health and here he is doing it but people want to criticise him. It is clear that Labour, The Greens, Liberal Democrats would not have done anymore than Bob is doing, in-fact I believe Bob is far more influential and trustworthy than anyone he stood against in the last election.
MPs talking to a virtually empty house has always confused me.
Other than being able to say that he’s “raised it in the house” what does it achieve? There doesn’t appear to be anyone there who could affect policy (or even appears to be listening)
It’s a bit like me saying that I’ll consider donating £1M to St. Mary’s – I lack the power and funds to actually do it but do have the ability to stand in an empty room and state that it’s a nice idea and then come here and tell you about it.
no mark – it is then recorded in the hansard, which is distributed around parliament. There are protocols and procedures to follow, so back office type work won’t begin until something is raised in the house and then recorded as such. It is more in depth, but you get the point.
same as swearing to tell the truth in court – doesn’t stop you lying, so its a waste of time, but is procedure nonetheless, as it is then recorded that you said you would tell the truth, even if you didn’t
“believe me as a Conservative Supporter…” if you support proven liars,.. why would I believe you ?
“trustworthy”?
you can be deluded & believe what you like, but he’s a flaming politician!
None of them are ‘trustworthy’… especially the Cons & their boss Boris (he who was found guilty in court of lying to the Queen!)
“he promised to fight for more funding for our NHS and Mental Health and here he is doing it”. if standing in a (nearly empty) room and spouting some rhetoric is fighting,..