On Monday 5th September, Anna Firth, Member of Parliament for Southend West, renewed her calls for more funding for Southend Hospital.
Speaking on the first day of the new Parliamentary Term in an Urgent Question in the House of Commons, Ms Firth called the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to release capital funding for an upgrade to the Accident and Emergency Department at Southend Hospital. The hospital has still not received this long-promised funding, despite repeated lobbying of the Government by Ms Firth.
Anna’s full question was:
“I think that the Secretary of State is aware of the acute problems at Southend University Hospital and of the fact that A&E capacity is the issue. We are waiting for capital funding that was promised years ago to be released. I know that Health Ministers have been working on this over the summer. There were 15 ambulances there yesterday. Our hard-working nurses and doctors would love news on that funding to be forthcoming.”
Commenting, Anna Firth said,
“One of the problems we have in Southend Hospital is a lack of space in our A&E Department. Several years ago, the Government promised that funding would be given to upgrade the A&E, and I have been campaigning to get this released. Despite assurances, the hospital has still not received this money. I raised this issue with the Secretary of State on the first day back in Parliament, and I will continue to campaign until we receive this.”