Mark Reckless Welcomes £12 Million Extra For NHS In Medway

From today – 1 April – the NHS in Medway will enjoy an extra £12 million, to support key Government priorities such as the Cancer Drugs Fund, investment in talking therapies for those with mental health conditions, 4,200 extra health visitors, and support for carers’ breaks.

Spending on healthcare in our local area this year will total £435 million overall. The increase follows the decision by the Coalition Government to protect NHS investment over the next four years – investment vigorously opposed by Labour.

Across England as a whole, over £89 billion will now be spent on doctors, nurses and frontline services in the NHS – an increase of more than £2.6 billion over the year before.

Welcoming the increases in NHS funding, Mark Reckless said:

"We recognise just how important the NHS is to this country – and to patients here in Medway. That’s why the Coalition Government is protecting the NHS not just today, but for future generations.

"Next year alone, our constituency will benefit from an extra £12 million of investment going straight to doctors, nurses and other frontline services.

"Under Labour, billions of extra spending was swallowed up as the number of managers increased at five times the rate the number of nurses. Their plans would have meant cutting the NHS, denying patients the improved services we are putting in place.

"Their approach – to spend less and keep things as they are – would leave the NHS in crisis."

Mark Reckless Welcomes £12 Million Extra For NHS In Medway

Mark Reckless MP Welcomes Improvement To Emotional Support Service

Mark Reckless MP has welcomed the improvements to confidential emotional support for people in Medway and Kent. Medway and Kent will soon be among a handful of places in England to offer residents 24-hour confidential, emotional support, free of charge. From 1 April, support from the helpline Mental Health Matters will be available round the clock in Medway and Kent on 0800 107 0160. Previously the helpline was open in the evenings and at weekends but was closed in the daytime during the week. Speaking of the improved service, Mark Reckless said: “I hope the expansion of this service will provide residents in my constituency with the advice and support they need to cope in today’s current climate. Having spoken to many local people who have contacted me for help and assistance, I know this improved service will be of great benefit to many constituents who need a helping hand and confidential advice. This is an excellent addition to the wide range of support services offered to residents in Medway and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making it happen.” The increase in hours is being funded by mental health commissioners in Kent and Medway (the three primary care trusts and two local authorities) and reflects the success of Mental Health Matters in helping people who are distressed. “Last year, the Mental Health Matters helpline in Kent and Medway received more than 10,000 calls,” said Lauretta Kavanagh, Director of Mental Health Commissioning for the Medway and Kent primary care trusts. “People called about relationship problems, loneliness, stress, bereavement – the whole range of emotional distress. “The team of highly trained and experienced support workers at the helpline use counselling skills to provide confidential emotional support and guidance. They also have details of local and national support services that people may find useful.” Rose Collinson, Medway Council’s Director of Children and Adults, said: “I am delighted that by working with our partners we are able to provide this improved and much needed service to people in Medway and Kent.” “Many people reach a moment in their lives when they badly need to speak about feelings they are struggling with and by making this helpline available round the clock, people will now be able to call when they need to.” People can also live chat with a counsellor by email if they prefer, at timeonline@mentalhealthmatters.co.uk Alan Heyes, from the voluntary organisation Mental Health Matters which runs the helpline and live chat email system, said: “In these uncertain times, it is often quite natural to feel anxious, apprehensive or just down. Job insecurity, debt, relationship problems, or emotional distress can all take a toll and, when this continues, it can start to impact on your health and mental wellbeing. “Since it started in Kent and Medway more than two years ago, the helpline has provided successful interventions for people with problems such as low mood, emotional distress and stress. Clients say they feel ‘held’.”

Mark Reckless MP Welcomes Improvement To Emotional Support Service

Mark Reckless MP has called for the immediate postponement of the closure of the phlebotomy clinics at the Delce Healthy Living Centre in Rochester and Keystone Centre, Strood and is urging residents to sign the independent online petition created by local campaigner Brenda Towler.

Writing to the acting Chief Executive of Medway PCT, Helen Buckingham, on 28th February, Mark expressed his concerns that the closure of the clinics in Rochester and Strood would leave many elderly and frail residents being forced to make longer and more expensive journeys to the nearest alternative proposed clinics:

Dear Ms Buckingham,

I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are concerned about the imminent closure of the phlebotomy clinic held at the Delce Healthy Living Centre with little notice and no apparent consultation. I understand this follows an email sent to doctors and staff from Mr XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXX XX XXXXXXX at NHS Medway.

I would be grateful if you could confirm that the information I have been given is correct, and also advise me of what other phlebotomy clinics, if any, the PCT are planning on closing over the coming months here in Rochester and Strood. I understand the services at Keystones Centre in Strood may also be under threat.

Based on the information I have been provided with, I am concerned that such a move will result in many of my constituents being forced to make longer and more expensive journeys to Medway Hospital for a service that, to date, has been run successfully in association with local GP surgeries. Given government plans to hand authority for local healthcare commissioning to GP Consortia, I am somewhat surprised that this action is being taken at this time.

I am also concerned at the apparent lack of consultation on the proposed changes. Can you advise me as to how and when the PCT arrived at the decision to close these clinics, and what consultation and impact studies, if any, were undertaken?

Given the anxiety this is causing to my constituents and the relatively short notice period that has been given, I ask that the closures of these surgeries are postponed to allow for a proper review of the proposals.

I look forward to a response at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,



Mark Reckless MP
Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood

In a response received today, Helen Buckingham has stated that:

Following recent discussions with local GPs in Rochester we are working with them to provide a GP led blood-testing service at Rochester Healthy Living Centre; we will be providing more information about this as soon as possible.

Despite this assurance from the acting Chief Executive of Medway PCT, Mark Reckless remains concerned that the reorganisation of phlebotomy services in Medway, particularly in Rochester and Strood, are being pushed through without full and proper consultation of current users of the service.

Medway PCT have stated that an additional £83,500 has been set aside by Medway NHS to improve the phlebotomy service in Medway which will result in additional 266 hours of availability across Medway each week.

However, based on currently published plans this does not translate into an improvement for users of the clinic at Delce Healthy Living Centre. Mark does not believe it is acceptable for residents to have to wait until June for the current plan to be reviewed whilst the plans, as they currently stand, leave a huge gap in the service here in Rochester and Strood.

Mark is urging residents to support the independent campaign set up by local campaigner Brenda Towler. Petitions are now available in many local stores and pharmacies. You can also sign the petition online by clicking here, or you can join the Facebook group here.

Supporting National Cholesterol Week

HEART UK took its message on the importance of knowing your cholesterol to Westminster today. The nation’s leading cholesterol charity, organisers of the UK’s first National Cholesterol Week, set up cholesterol testing within the Palace of Westminster this afternoon. Local MP Mark Reckless not only attended this event, but also had his cholesterol tested.

“I am delighted to support HEART UK’s National Cholesterol Week. Heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK and if something as simple and as painless as a quick cholesterol test can make the difference between a long and healthy life or a shorter life expectancy, marred by illness, then I urge all my constituents to get their cholesterol tested as soon as possible,” said Mark Reckless after receiving his results. “All you have to do is make an appointment at your local GP’s surgery. A raised cholesterol reading is an excellent indicator of cardiovascular problems and so testing early is a good way of helping to keep your heart healthy.”

This Parliamentary Reception, sponsored by Welch’s Purple Grape Juice, was organised by HEART UK in conjunction with Chris Ruane MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heart Disease. Aldo Zilli, the celebrity chef, also attended this event in his role as Ambassador to HEART UK. The author of Zilli Light and the owner of several renowned restaurants in London, he has lost several members of his family to problems associated with high cholesterol and so is a keen supporter of the work of HEART UK.

“I am delighted to be here this afternoon supporting HEART UK’s National Cholesterol Week,” he told MPs. “I am determined to raise awareness of the problems of too much cholesterol. Many people don’t fully understand how important it is to keep cholesterol in check or how to do it. People need to look at what they are putting into their bodies. Remember you only have one body and one heart.”

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is found naturally in the body, but high levels of it can cause the arteries to narrow. Not only does this force the heart to work harder to pump the blood around the body but if arteries that feed the heart become completely blocked the heart can become starved of oxygen resulting in a heart attack. Cholesterol is measured in units called millimoles per litre of blood (mmol/L). According to guidelines laid out by the Joint British Societies, we should aim for a total cholesterol level under 5 mmol/l in order to keep our hearts healthy and an LDL cholesterol of less than 3mmol/l.

For further information on National Cholesterol Week, including an information pack supported by Shredded Wheat, please contact National Cholesterol Week Co-Ordinators Diana Butler or Rachael Gardiner on 01784 780093 or email Rachael at rachaelgardiner@echocoms.com.

Supporting National Cholesterol Week

After 13 Years, Labour Gets An “F” In The South East

As the General Election approaches the final stretch, Conservatives released a report card revealing Labour's failure across the English regions.

On the key issues of concern to voters, Labour have spent billions yet failed to improve the quality of life for many millions of people across the country.

Commenting, Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles said:

"Today we’re holding Labour to account. Thirteen years of Labour and what we're left with is a budgetary black hole and more empty promises. If I were a teacher, I’d look at Labour's record in the South East and give them an 'F'."

Conservatives released a "report card" of Labour's record of failure in the regions. The report card looks at Labour’s record on jobs, the economy, crime, NHS, education and transport.

Download the full report card here

Full South East data here

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After 13 Years, Labour Gets An “F” In The South East

NHS Action Day

Saturday was NHS Action Day for hundreds of Conservative candidates across the country. The Conservatives under David Cameron are determined to protect the NHS. We will remove the targets which distort clinical priorities and we are the only major party to have pledged real terms spending increases for the NHS every year.

For our NHS Action Day in Rochester and Strood I visited the Widsom Hospice in Rochester. The NHS provides the core clinical care at the Wisdom Hospice and volunteers and fund-raisers, like myself, work with the NHS to provide the extras which make the hospice such a loving environment for patients, including many in the last stages of their life.

As well as seeing families and learning more about what the volunteers are doing to look after them, I again heard today about the excellent care which the NHS nursing staff provide.

The Wisdom Hospice does not always find it easy top raise money in comparison to Demelza Hospice in Sittingbourne, so if you would like to join me in supporting the Wisdom Hospice, either as a volunteer or as a fund-raiser, then please visit the Friends of the Wisdom Hospice website for more information on how you can get involved.

NHS Action Day

Residents' Survey - Have Your Say

Dear Resident

I wanted to write to you in advance of the upcoming general election to give you an opportunity to have your say on some of the key issues which we face, both as a country and locally.

If we win the election, a Conservative government will need to make difficult decisions to put the economy and public finances back on track. I want to ensure that this is done in the least painful way possible. In particular, if elected as our MP, I will first and foremost seek to represent my constituents in Westminster, rather than defend the government in Rochester and Strood.

I am not now an MP and played no part in the expenses scandal. I therefore share everyone else's anger about how MPs behaved, and I believe that we need a new Parliament with new MPs to clean up the system. Being elected as an MP should be a privilege and an opportunity for public service, not an opportunity for private profit.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to the complete the survey form online, or complete the survey on the back of the letter you received and return it in the Freepost envelope provided.

I particularly look forward to hearing your views on the local NHS, as Medway Maritime Hospital is about to appoint a new Chief Executive, and where you would like to see more police patrols, as I am our representative on the Kent Police Authority.

Yours faithfully



Mark Reckless
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Rochester and Strood

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Residents' Survey - Have Your Say

Petition To Protect The NHS From Spending Cuts

David Cameron has launched a petition on NHS spending and announced the five Conservative priorities for a Department of Public Health.

The petition urges the Government to increase spending on the NHS every year, and to stop precious NHS money being wasted on targets and bureaucracy.

The five priorities are as follows:

1. We will create a patient-led NHS where patients are able to choose between a wide range of public and independent sector providers where and when they receive treatment, and where patients are able take control of their own health records.

2. We want to take day-to-day political interference out of the NHS and put healthcare professionals in charge of delivering patient care, according to the demands of patients and in competition with other providers.

3. We will devolve decision-making to doctors and nurses but they will be more accountable than ever for the results they achieve, but to patients not politicians, because we will measure health outcomes, publish extensive data about what providers achieve and pay those providers by results.

4. Having set the framework for these reforms to the NHS, we will be able to focus government action on improving public health.

5. That action will include reforming long-term care to enable people to stay in their own homes and communities.

David Cameron launched the petition and priorities in a keynote speech at the Royal College of Pathologists. In his speech he set out his vision for the NHS and tackled some misunderstandings of Conservative policy.

"Labour wasted their first term in power by failing to reform. And now, after they had finally assumed the mantle of change in the NHS, they have lost their nerve and failed to go far and fast enough. With the publication of our priorities for the Department of Health today, we are ensuring we do not make the same mistakes", he said.

Mark Reckless welcomed the announcement and added, "I particularly welcome the serious and consistent focus which our Shadow Health Spokesman, Andrew Lansley, has put on public health, an issue which I have raised with Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, and on which I know many doctors welcome our approach."

Read the full speech here and download the petition here

Petition To Protect The NHS From Spending Cuts

Professional Responsibility Is The Key To A Better NHS

David Cameron promised to make sure nurses and NHS workers can "exercise real professional responsibility" in his speech to the Royal College of Nursing Conference.

He attacked the targets and bureaucracy that hold nurses back - and said, "The right way to a better health service is by getting the best out of the people who work in it".

He told delegates that a Conservative Government would give them "the professional responsibility to get on with the job they signed up for"

"We're going to scrap all those top-down, centralising, interfering targets that undermine your professional responsibility."

He outlined three areas which are crucial to ensuring nurses can exercise real responsibility:

- Improving training, by making it more accessible and more practical
- Providing more time for care, by slashing the bureaucracy on which nurses spend a million hours a week, according to the Royal College of Nursing
- Creating an improved atmosphere of respect, with "zero tolerance" on violence and a "clear right" for nurses to have their voice heard

David made clear, "It is the patience and care of nurses that nurses patients back to health - and if we're in government, you have my word that we will do everything we can to support you in that."

Read David's speech to the Royal College of Nursing Conference

Professional Responsibility Is The Key To A Better NHS