After a difficult summer, as feared, it is proving to be a challenging winter for the NHS with large numbers in hospital with flu as well as Covid. The backlog in elective care built up over the Covid pandemic, while reducing, has added pressure on hospitals and GPs, as is the difficulty in discharging patients into social care.
I always raise local concerns with Health Ministers and was pleased this autumn with the additional £8bn funding injection into the NHS and adult social care. This was supported last week with an additional £200mn for short term care placements to help discharge more patients who are fit to leave hospital.
Funding is incredibly important but so is embracing the most effective means to provide patients with the care they need. From last week, Sussex has joined a number of areas trialling new means of delivering effective care. This has to be determined case by case but pilots looking to solutions that may work better for patients and the NHS should be welcomed.
As I mentioned in last week’s County Times I was very concerned by the evidence of anti-social driving around Kilnwood Vale. The police are determined to disrupt future incidents. Likewise before Christmas I met with a group of local pub and bar owners, concerned about extreme cases of anti-social behaviour in Horsham town centre. While these were very late at night and would not impact most local residents they were not acceptable and need to be addressed. I am pleased that the community, HDC and our local police team all engaged swiftly on the issue.
Our area is widely (and rightly) viewed as being relatively safe. However we are all determined to keep it that way including by ensuring we continue to receive police resources when needed.
I am running a survey on my website on the local experience and perception of Crime. I would be very grateful to all residents who could take a couple of minutes to fill it in, it will be of great help in my regular discussions with our local police teams and the Police and Crime Commissioner. You can find the survey here.
