I am Committed to Improving and Investing in Our NHS

With a General Election fast approaching it is important that local people in Southampton understand my position and that of the Conservative Party on the NHS.

“The Conservative Party stands full square behind the NHS ... We back it, we are going to expand it, we have ring-fenced it and said that it will get more money under a Conservative government, and it is our Number one mission to improve it.” These are the words of David Cameron and I back him one hundred per cent.

Conservatives are committed to real terms increases in health spending year on year. David Cameron has been clear that there will be no cuts to NHS front line services under the Conservatives. With an aging population and increasing demand for health services I think this is critical.

Conservatives would trust professionals and provide the right incentives for them and to put patient choice at the heart of the NHS. A Conservative Government would:

Give patients choice over their GP and which hospital they go to.

Give more freedom to existing healthcare providers. We want to give NHS Trusts far more freedom to innovate and to adjust the way they provide services in response to their patients’ wishes locally.

End box-ticking and process targets. Instead we would focus on improving the overall results of people’s treatment in the NHS.

Stop political interference.

Strengthen the role of the Care Quality Commission.

Make prevention a priority.

Public health is central to our plan to help Britain become a healthier nation. To do this, we would help people live healthy lifestyles, develop a responsibility deal with business and build a stronger public health infrastructure.

There will be a choice at the next election and local people should know that I am committed to improving and investing in our NHS and protecting front line jobs in our local hospitals.

Weekly Political Diary

The last week has been a busy one, dealing with Council matters and meeting with resident and community groups:

Monday 21st September
- Council meetings, including a Cabinet meeting to support Bitterne Park school in its bid to provide a sixth form.

Tuesday 22nd September
- Helped with the launch of 50 new recycling bins in the city centre in partnership with Coca Cola.
- Meeting with the Federation of Small Businesses.
- Meeting with Southampton University's new Vice Chancellor.

Wednesday 23rd September
- Attended the inaugural meeting of the new Maybush Triangle Tenants and Residents Association.

Thursday 24th September
- Governors meeting at Freemantle Infants School.

Friday 25th September
- Breakfast briefing on the Port Master Plan with Associated British Ports and Williams Shipping
- Met with Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell MP and with the Shirley based charity, The Sailors' Society.
- Mobile ward surgeries and constituency casework: meeting with residents in Redbridge and Freemantle.

Saturday 26th September
- Mobile ward surgeries and constituency casework: meeting with residents in Shirley and Redbridge.

Meeting With The Sailors' Society

Jeremy pictured with Andrew Mitchell MP and Robert Adams, The Sailors' Society Chief Executive

On Friday I met with Shadow International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell MP to hear about the excellent work done by a locally based charity, the Sailors' Society.

Southampton is home to one of the biggest and busiest cargo ports in the country. It is also the UK's premier port for cruise ship departures. As such huge numbers of sailors stop off in the city, many coming from developing countries and often out of contact wih their families for weeks at a time.

Based in Shirley Road, the Sailors' Society provides a personal lifeline for seafarers, supporting them when they step ashore.

Labour Should Stop Undermining the City's Schools and Colleges

Southampton's Labour Party seem determined to undermine the city's schools and colleges.

In direct oppostion to their national party position they are anti the city's two new academies. They would send back the £35m secured by Conservatives on the city council to rebuild these schools. They did everything they could to make life difficult for the two academies in their first year; yet despite all their negativity the academies have delivered improved GCSE results for local children.

Southampton MP John Denham is directly responsible for the colleges funding fiasco. Mr Denham pulled the plug on millions of pounds of funding to improve Taunton's, City College and Itchen College. The Government is still refusing to refund the money that the colleges spent on preparing for the promised rebuilds. This is money that should be returned to the colleges so that they can spend it on improving the education of local young people.

Now Labour Councillors are trying to block Bitterne Park School from developing a sixth form. This would provide extra choice for students in Southampton and would help cater for the increasing numbers staying on to study post sixteen. Bitterne Park has been awarded £6m for new sixth form facilities and has received the backing of Conservative Councillors. Yet Labour are doing all they can to put obstacles in the way of the school.

Abandon Fluoride Plans and Invest In NHS Dentistry

It is clear that an overwhelming majority of residents in Southampton do not wish to have fluoride added to their water.

The NHS’ initial consultation attracted 10,000 responses, with 72 per cent against. In a separate and later phone poll of 2,000 residents, 38 per cent opposed fluoridation compared to 32 per cent in favour.

Whichever way you cut it local people have made it clear that they don’t want fluoride.

In a democratic, free country we should respect the views of majority. The NHS should therefore abandon their fluoridation plans for Southampton.

No one would deny that state of dental care in the country and in particular in Southampton needs urgent attention. Nationally tooth decay is now the third most common reason that children are admitted to hospital. The statistics for some parts of Southampton are truly shocking. However there are plenty of alternatives to fluoride.

An incoming Conservative Government would seek to transform NHS dentistry from a service that is currently in seemingly terminal decline to one which delivers high standards of care to everyone who needs it.

There needs to be a far greater emphasis on preventative care and other innovations that improve oral health. The Conservatives would remove perverse incentives, such being paid the same price to put in one filling as for ten, that drive dentists to provide unnecessary or incomplete treatments.

Conservatives also propose restoring access to dentists for the million people who have lost it due to the Government’s botched reforms, providing long term health and cost benefits. As capacity builds, dentists will move to patient registration, strengthened by giving people access to new information about the results dentists achieve, empowering choices.

By using money that is currently spent on carrying out unnecessary treatments we would instead reintroduce dental screening for children in schools, so that children aged five would have their oral health addressed.

We would also give dentists the freedom to charge patients who repeatedly miss appointments. Finally we would ensure that taxpayer trained dentists work for the NHS for at least five years.