Seeking solutions to improve health and dentistry services

In the run-up to the General Election, The Herald has asked the major political parties to explain how key policy areas will benefit people in Plymouth. Today, we turn to a subject which is one of the greatest concerns for voters health and social care

Conservative Party

JOHNNY Mercer, Conservative candidate for Plymouth Moor View, says seeing through Derriford’s new hospital build is his number one objective for Plymouth. He said: “The capacity challenges at Derriford remain the same – hence the importance of the new hospital build, which I have been an outspoken champion for.

“It will be the largest scale of work to be carried out since Derriford was built in 1981, amounting to the largest hospital building programme in a generation. The Phase One business plan which I secured £180 million funding for was approved last May and will double the size of the current Emergency Department and include worldclass facilities.

“Delivering on this pledge is the single biggest thing Plymouth MPs can do to reduce pressure on our hospital. This, alongside the new £25 million community diagnostic centre which I stepped in to save when Labour lost it, and other NHS builds across Plymouth, will be transformative for our city.

“In the meantime, I have worked closely with University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, the Department for Health and other relevant stakeholders to reduce pressure on our hospital. Where possible, the team at Derriford has been working hard to offset pressure by moving patients away from the Emergency Department to the most appropriate area – 12 beds have been opened at Mount Gould Discharge Assessment Unit; 24 beds at the Batham Orthopaedic Ward; 500 patients per week are being seen at Chestnut Urology Investigation Unit; and 50 patients in Virtual Wards.

“On dentistry, I helped deliver Peninsula Dental School’s new £4 million NHS dental practice. The unit is planned to have 16 dental chairs with capacity to treat thousands of patients a year – in short, a game-changer for dentistry in Plymouth.”

Labour Party