Palliative Care Roundtable

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It was my pleasure to chair a roundtable with Marie Curie UK this week on ensuring effective implementation of the Modern Service Framework on Palliative and End of Life Care. We were joined by MPs and representatives from the Royal College of Nursing, and the Royal College of GPs.

I am proud to join parliamentary colleagues in writing to the Treasury to call for a transformation fund. This would be a time-limited pot of funding to accelerate the adoption of innovative and integrated models of care in the community.

Our current system is unsustainable. We cannot afford to sacrifice high quality palliative care. People deserve dignity in dying, the right care at the right time and in the right place.

If you or a member of your family is currently having an experience with palliative care services, Marie Curie has excellent resources available here: Information and support | Marie Curie

Tommy’s Graded Model of Miscarriage Care

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Miscarriage care must change and we need to abandon the horrific three miscarriage rule.

Please read my cross-party letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care below.

BC70689Download

Community Midwives’ Parking

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Following reports raised by community midwives attending births in Haringey, I was concerned to learn midwives were receiving parking tickets whilst displaying London Councils Health Emergency Badges. 

Having discussed this matter with Haringey Council, I am pleased to learn tickets issued to midwives attending births in recent months have since been cancelled. I am also heartened to receive the support of Haringey Council’s parking team for community healthcare staff to ensure tickets are not wrongfully issued going forward. 

Scrap the Heart Restart Tax

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Please read the below cross-party letter I have organised calling for VAT on defibrillator sales to be scrapped.

BC70694 (1)Download

Palantir and the NHS

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Please read the below letter I have sent to the Government about the possible involvement of Palantir in the Single Patient Record.

BC70688Download

UK-US Pharmaceutical Deal

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Please read the below letter I have sent to the Government on the impact assessment for the UK-US pharmaceutical deal.

UK-US Pharmaceutical DealDownload

Celebrating North Middlesex Uni Hospital

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This post is dedicated to the wonderful NHS team at North Middlesex University Hospital and all their hard work.

To celebrate International Nurses Day, I visited the North Mid to meet some of their fantastic nursing team on an inpatient ward and in the A&E department.

It was lovely to see the kindness, compassion, and care they gave to patients, as well as the organisation and planning that goes into running a hospital smoothly.

Thank you to each and every incredible nurse across Southgate & Wood Green.

Mental Health Awareness Week

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This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme this year is action, because while awareness matters, real change only comes when we act on it. 

To mark this, I met with my constituent, Alina Marinca, who has just finished an outstanding research project on children’s mental health. Too many young people in our community are struggling to access the support they need, whether through schools, GPs or specialist services, and the waiting times have been too long for too many years. I wanted to hear directly about their experience and what needs to change to deliver more effective mental health support for our young people. From speaking to Alina, it was insightful to hear more about the impacts of sleep disturbance as an underlying factor for many mental health conditions, and the role that social media can play in impacting mental health.

If you or your family are affected by mental health difficulties, I would encourage you to reach out. You can contact your GP, or call the NHS mental health helpline on 111 and select the mental health option.

Young people can also access support through Young Minds (youngminds.org.uk) or by texting YM to 85258. And as always, if you would like to discuss mental health services in our area or share your insights, please do send me an email. 

Meeting Alice in Parliament

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It was a pleasure to meet Alice, a student of Laurel Park School proudly living with PANS.

As part of the PANS PANDAS UK Youth Advisory Board, Alice came to Parliament to talk to MPs about Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome and her experience with it. It was great to hear from the experts about the impact of PANS on both physical and mental health, and what more support young people like Alice need from the Government.

We even got a photo with Glitch the Panda! Well done, Alice!

Improving Palliative Care

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Please read the below letter I have signed with my colleagues calling for the new Modern Service Framework on Palliative and End of Life Care to deliver for the patients who need it.

Joint MP letter – The Great Daffodil Appeal and the Modern Service Framework for PEoLC in EnglandDownload