"Last week was quite a week in British politics. I had asked to speak to the Prime Minister on Tuesday evening and tried to set something up for Wednesday morning but by that time he had resigned. The wheels of government need, though, to keep turning, especially at the Department of Work and Pensions which helps the most vulnerable in society. That is why I felt it was my duty to continue. The Department that I lead needs to be firing on all cylinders, especially considering we are coordinating the current cost of living payments. As well as spending quite a lot of time in the ministry, I was also carrying out my duties as a constituency MP by chairing a meeting with the East of England Ambulance Service.
The meeting took place at my invitation following the publication of the most recent response time statistics which were shockingly bad. In the past, I have called for the East of England Ambulance Service to be broken up so I’m glad this has been reflected on as the Chief Executive told us that they are moving to a county-based model or at least in line with the new integrated care service areas. This is a massive step forward but we need to get on with it for the benefit of patients. Historically we have seen resources concentrated in particular areas of the region to make the overall statistics look better but often at the expense of more rural communities. A county-based model will ensure greater transparency and will mean resources are spread more fairly, crucial for Suffolk residents. The reality is that our ambulance service has been underperforming for many years - and although we have seen many false dawns, I’m hopeful that this new way of working will have a real impact.
Another area of health I have been constantly pressing the case on recently is dentistry provision here in East Suffolk. I, therefore, warmly welcome the joint University of Suffolk and Integrated Care System proposal to set up a centre for dental development based on the University campus in Ipswich. Not only providing treatment on the NHS but designed to attract and train newly qualified dentists to boost the supply of dentists across our county. I have much more confidence in the local NHS to address this key issue rather than the centre, which has been letting us down. This is a great first step in boosting dentist capacity on a more permanent basis."