Our balanced approach to the economy means that Conservatives can deliver the biggest cash boost ever for the NHS - investing £33.9 billion more into the NHS by 2023-24, as part of our Ten Year Plan for the NHS.
The plan ensures every penny is well spent, tackling waste and reducing bureaucracy, with savings invested back into patient care.
This Government is working to make sure that the NHS will be there for our children and grandchildren, just as it has been there for us in the past.
Throughout my 14 years as the local Member of Parliament here, I have always supported the NHS.
In particular, I have sought to ensure that constituents have as much access to local healthcare services as possible.
Last year saw the culmination of a long standing campaign I have been involved with alongside Pam Plummer and her team at Action4OurCare. The Government has fixed the cross-border healthcare settlement between England and Wales and in doing so ensured that more than 8,000 of my constituents are able to receive the health care they are legally entitled to.
I had campaigned since 2013 with Action4OurCare to get this problem fixed as I have always said it is right that my constituents living in England, but with a GP registered in Wales, should be able to choose the hospital where they receive care, just like other English residents.
Because of the work that Action4OurCare have done in raising the profile of the issue, and as a result of numerous meetings I have held with Ministers and Officials, substantial work has been completed to create a new Statement of Values and Principles.
The new Statement of Values and Principles provides a long-term solution to a situation which has caused many issues for constituents living in places like Tidenham, Tutshill, Sedbury and St Briavels.
When Action4OurCare first made me aware of this issue in 2013, I wrote letters on a weekly basis to the Aneurin Bevan Health Board in Wales, on behalf of constituents who were suffering complex medical problems and who were being denied treatment in England. I am pleased that the Government has acted and that our campaign has been a success.
In other good news, it has been confirmed that the Forest of Dean will receive a new £11 million community hospital, which will be built off Steam Mills Road in Cinderford.
The NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust (GCS) unanimously decided to accept the recommendation made by the Citizens’ Jury of 18 local people to base the hospital in Cinderford.
I am pleased that the new hospital will feature a better working environment for staff, meaning greater opportunities for training and development and enhancing the ability to recruit and retain the best health and care professionals to work in the Forest of Dean.
This will ensure we have a facility in the Forest of Dean which is fit for modern, efficient and high quality healthcare and I will continue to follow the progress of this with interest.
I am also pleased that the Government has recently stepped up funding for mental health services – with £2.3 billion being included in the last year’s cash settlement to boost mental health services for adults.
Having visited several community groups in the Forest which provide wellbeing services, like The Coleford Drop-in Centre and Charlie’s in Lydney, which provides services to people affected by cancer, I know the difference that this kind of support can make and I will always support funding for mental health care.
Conservatives want to build an NHS that’s there for every single member of our society, for generations to come, whoever they are.
I will continue to champion the NHS and all those who work for it.