Saqib Bhatti, Member of Parliament for Meriden, has commended the nationwide NHS reform announced last week,following his local campaign for increased healthcare provision across Meriden constituency.
In September last year, Saqib launched a petition calling for greater provision of healthcare services for his constituents. In his petition he outlined that constituents deserved better than the gradual withdrawal of yet more services from their local area, before calling out the CCG for failing to take into account the rural nature of Meriden constituency in the decisions that are being made on provision and accessibility of vital health services.
Following conversations with the Department for Health, last week the government laid out plans in parliament for widescale NHS and Social Care reform following the pandemic.
The reforms call for a more integrated, more innovative and responsive National Health Service with reduced bureaucracy, improved accountability and better support for social care and public health.
Commenting on the reforms, Saqib said:
“This is excellent news for the people of Meriden.
“When I got elected in December 2019, I noticed that residents were not getting enough from their local NHS and that had to change; these reforms will help in fixing that.
“Patients must be at the heart of everything we do and that is what these reforms aim to achieve. They will address our local concerns as the NHS and local government will come together legally – meaning they can plan health and care services around patients’ needs, and quickly implement innovative solutions to problems which would normally take years to fix.
“Thank you to the residents who joined my campaign calling for greater local provisions, your support has been instrumental in securing these reforms”.
