11th June 2010

Honouring the Hospital

Hospital Stars

There can be very few readers of this newspaper who do not have a personal story to tell about the amazing work done by the people at Ipswich Hospital.Whether it’s a tea lady offering a kind word at a difficult moment, a consultant skilled not just at surgery but at calming frayed nerves, a volunteer sitting on a helpdesk, a nurse offering reassurance before a frightening procedure: all of these people have helped us through some pretty traumatic times.

I have my own thanks to make: for fixing my two broken arms, for tending to almost every member of my family and many of my friends, at every time offering great care in sickness and tenderness in death.

So it was a personal privilege to attend the Ipswich Hospital Staff Awards on Wednesday night.  There were dozens of nominations for individuals and teams drawn from across the hospital workforce, each one quietly serving the people of Ipswich day in, day out.  Frankly, when the shortlists were read out it was clear that every one of them deserved a prize.

I took the opportunity to tell the staff how, over the past months and years, so many people have told me – unprompted – how special the hospital was to them and about the extraordinary personal care they have received.  And I explained how, from personal experience, I share their sense of gratitude and pride.  So I thanked them all on your behalf as well as mine.

Whitehall Meetings

What was clear on Wednesday night is how the hospital is clearly on the way up.  We all know that it has had a very difficult few years.Things are looking a little different now.  The finances have been put right and last week we heard about the new stroke unit – the first of several positive announcements that I expect to come out over the next few months.

All of this vindicates the enormous support our community has given to the hospital over the past few years – fighting to keep services in Ipswich and stopping Whitehall attempts to run the place down.

But that is a fight that cannot stop.  That’s why the very first meeting I had as your MP was with Andrew Reed, the Chief Executive of the Hospital, to discuss future plans.  And the very first meeting I had in Whitehall on your behalf was a private session with Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, and his entire ministerial team.

I was able to impress on him, once again, the need to support Ipswich Hospital.  I also said that he needs to deal with the wasteful health bureaucrats, whose car parks and communications chiefs cost money that should be spent on the front line.

I have every confidence that we could see Ipswich become a leading hospital in the years ahead.  But it will take all of us – doing our bit, fighting our corner, supporting our hospital staff – to see it happen.

Ipswich Film Theatre: A Happy Ending

A good bit of news for you: the Film Theatre has reopened and it looks like it’s doing well.  The community trust that operates the cinema has put on a great programme and has been rewarded with a profitable first few weeks.The Council used to operate the Theatre but they couldn’t make it work.  The crisis in the public finances means that more and more services like this will have to be passed over to the community to run.

Less money does not always equate to worse services: as the Film Theatre is already showing, we may often get a better deal when the community takes charge.