Andrew George

Andrew George

16 hours ago

I was due to return to visit the Palestinian territories today. But the visit was stopped in view of advice that entry to Israel would be prevented. Not surprising, given the number of British MPs banned from the country since the government announced it would sanction trade with the vastly expanding illegal "Settlements" in the West Bank.

I had been asked to accompany the highly respected British Jewish organisation, Yachad.

Yachad is a British Jewish organisation whose primary mission is to empower British Jews to support a political resolution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

They explain: "Our focus is advocating for a resolution to the conflict, as we believe that only through a political resolution will Israel thrive and prosper – alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state. Yachad believes that the occupation, which denies millions of Palestinians their basic civil and political rights, must end if a resolution to the conflict is to be achieved.

"Yachad is a significant voice within the mainstream British-Jewish community. We have thousands of supporters, are members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and work closely with a variety of communal bodies. We work closely with civil society and political partners in Israel and MPs across the political spectrum in the UK."

I visited the territories last year and was shocked by what I witnessed. With the support of thousands of constituents who have understandably been shocked by the appalling actions of the far-right Netanyahu government and the still on-going slaughter of Palestinians (70,000 so far) in Gaza and the killing, intimidation and evacuation of Palestinians from their homes and lands in the West Bank, I was invited to investigate the latest situation and to report back. But it's difficult if the Israelis are demanding the British consulate be closed and British MPs be banned from the country.

The campaign must go on. With your support I'll back Yachad and all others working towards a peaceful resolution.

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Andrew George

2 days ago

Can we end "corridor care" at the same time as slashing hospital budgets?

That's what the government believes. And that was a key question West Cornwall Healthwatch's excellent and well attended public meeting at the weekend wanted to find answers to.

Speakers included local Doctors who have been charged with delivering the government's policy. I offered a background to what has happened locally and my own critique on the government's approach.

The Government's "Ten-Year Health Plan" set out unarguable proposals for three key "shifts". From:
1. "Sickness to Prevention"
2. "Hospital to Community"
3. "Analogue to Digital"

Presenting agreeable slogans is one thing (after all who would instead propose there should be a shift from "Prevention to Sickness" etc!?). However, delivering such plans is another.

The "shift" from "Hospital to Community" has been quietly going on for many years before the 2025-35 Plan. As I showed, the NHS Confederation published a report twenty years ago entitled "Why we need fewer hospital beds". Managing a system so it needs fewer hospital beds is one thing. But cutting hospital beds without knowing how the system will cope would be (and was!) unwise. That's what I warned then. But NHS chiefs quietly carried on with the policy anyway, irrespective of the scepticism expressed by many, including me.

There were 145,128 Acute Hospital beds in 2004/5. By last year they had been slashed to 114,000. If the NHS had successfully improved preventative medicine and policy and hospitals had successfully found a way of sufficiently speeding safe patient discharge such that fewer hospital beds were needed, then that would have been deemed a successful policy. But the widespread reporting of 20+ ambulance queues, shocking levels of "corridor care" and overwhelming stress throughout the hospital system, suggests, as I pointed out, the fine theory should be confronted with the uncomfortable truth that these policies have been failing.

Though I quite understand NHS chiefs are obliged to press on with the policy of slashing hospital budgets while promising to improve the ability of our GPs, community health systems and voluntary sector to relieve the pressure on our hospitals, reality suggests otherwise.

The safety regulator - NICE - advises that for a hospital to manage patient flow and pressures safely it should achieve no more than a 85% bed occupancy level. But in most acute hosptals it is far higher. At Treliske (Truro) it is usually above 95%!. Across England, Wales there's an average of 2.4 beds per thousand people. In Cornwall it is just 1.9. The EU average is around 4.6. Our European neighbours resource their hospitals such that they can better cope with the ebb and flow of patient emergencies and demand.

I am pressing government ministers and local NHS managers to face up to these realities and to ensure our hospitals are stabilised while the ability of our GPs, community nurse teams and primary care services are expanded. Once that is achieved, of course the "shift" can be advanced. But not before.

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Andrew George is in Isles of Scilly.

6 days ago

The Isles of Scilly is a world apart. Certainly very different from the mainland, even from the communities of west Cornwall. In truth I represent two separate constituencies. So many of the factors affecting the Islands require a bespoke solution, and which doesn't set a precedent nor would be appropriate for mainland communities.

I've just completed my customary early autumn - but all too brief - visit to catch up with Scillonians, and to consider the many pleasures and challenges of life on the five inhabited islands. I also make every attempt to have another brief visit every year on at least one other occasion (usually early spring).

The constituency stretches (in a straight line) over 100 km/63 miles from east to west. Nearly half is the 28 miles/45km between Lands End and Scilly. Though the ferry from Penzance steams over 90 km/56 miles and can take up to 3 hours.

Concerns about transport - including risks of the loss of inter-island transport to St Martins and St Agnes this winter - housing, childcare provision, concerns re. emergency service technology, funding and support for post-16 education, leasehold reform, water and waste water management under South West Water, the very funding settlement for the Island Council (Council of the Isles of Scilly), were amongst the many issues raised at public meetings, private appointments and surgery sessions.

But Scillonians are not insular, and were interested and concerned about the wider scene, the world stage, appalled at the atrocities and conflicts around the world, and of course hold strong opinions about activities in our parliament and the world of politics. More than 60% of island households attended my public meeting on St Agnes, more than half on St Martins, and a good turnout on St Mary's, with Steamship Co. CEO, Stuart Reid and Helicopter service Chief, David Page, joining me to address questions on transport provision.

My interest doesn't and cannot wane when I'm not there, so of course the things that matter to the residents of this separate constituency continue to concern me along with those of the equally distinct constituency on the mainland.

Please contact me and my office if you missed me during my visit and have matters on which you believe I can assist.
Email andrew.george.mp@parliament.uk
tel.: 01736 339526
PO Box 371 Penzance TR18 9GN

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