Stephen Morgan MP has visited QA Hospital to share views of constituents and see first-hand the pressures NHS staff are facing on the frontline as the hospital prepares for winter.
The Portsmouth MP walked the wards of the hospital with its Chief Nurse and met with frontline NHS workers to discuss the challenges our local NHS faces, including the recruitment and retention of health professionals, the impact of the cost of living crisis and improving services and waiting times.
It comes after the city MP helped to secure funding for a new Emergency Department at the site, which is set to deliver significant benefit to communities across Portsmouth.
The new department is due to complete in advance of Winter 2024 and will enable the local NHS to better meet the needs of the local community and provide the best clinical care in a modern, safe environment.
Labour announced at its annual conference last month that in government it would:
- Double the number of district nurses qualifying every year
- Train more than 5,000 new health visitors
- Create an additional 10,000 nursing and midwifery placements every year.
- Double the number of medical school places so we have the doctors we need in our NHS.
Mr Morgan has been calling for the government to develop a workforce plan to tackle the challenges the NHS faces and is campaigning for a medical school for the University of Portsmouth which will reduce local issues with the recruitment and retention of NHS staff.
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, said:
“It was really useful to catch up with the team at QA Hospital to discuss the current issues and challenges they face as we head into winter.
“It’s clear from speaking to frontline workers they are going above and beyond to deliver the NHS services patients need, but support is required.
“Portsmouth deserves the very best NHS services, and that’s why I will continue to lobby Ministers to ensure government delivers them and campaign for a medical school for our city to train the NHS workforce of the future.”
Mr Morgan specifically spent time on the maternity ward of QA hospital to see first-hand the holistic approach the team takes to support patients and babies, as well as learn about how technology is improving the experiences of patients.
