Posted on November 24, 2011 by Phillip Lee

Before becoming the local MP, I worked in around 50 GP practices across the Thames Valley region. Consequently, I have a deep understanding of the healthcare services that are offered for the Bracknell area as well as the challenges that any Government faces in providing healthcare into the future. The reality is that healthcare provision in the future will lead to a consolidation of acute and emergency sites and an increase in the provision of chronic care in the community. This will occur irrespective of the political party in charge at Westminster. I am therefore very pleased that the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Trust has recently opened a cancer and renal unit in Bracknell. I am also supportive of the Bracknell Health Space and the additional services that it is bringing to the town.

Heatherwood Hospital has long been cherished by the community, a fact I fully understand; nevertheless, the site itself is too large for the services it presently offers. Indeed it ceased to be a hospital providing acute and emergency services many years ago. I will be as active as any politician in the area in defending the retention of services at Heatherwood but fully recognise that these will be of a chronic care and elective nature. This is the only sustainable decision that can be made for the future. I have already met with the Chief Executive of Heatherwood & Wexham NHS Trust and explained my position clearly.

Future acute and emergency care will be based upon regional need. It is widely known that I would prefer for any new hospital to be sited at Junction 8/9 of the M4. This location would best serve the size of population required to justify a new hospital (in excess of 650,000) . I will be coming forward with my own plans for this and the way in which it may be funded and structured in the future. As you might understand this is a significant undertaking for my office; however, we have made some progress and I hope to be able to do more on this in the near future.

As regards Heatherwood, I will not support any retention of services that are not fully funded, and more importantly, not properly staffed. It would be wrong of me as a practising medical professional to support the provision of a service that is not in the best interests of my constituents. I have outlined this position on many occasions to the media and indeed to the electorate of the Bracknell constituency before the General Election.