Newspaper Column – The Cornishman – 14/09/26

• West Cornwall Hospital is a focal point for community pride and passion. We celebrate its successes, admire the wonderful staff, but we will take to the streets in tens of thousands when it’s threatened.  

I maintain regular meetings with Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust managers and staff to ensure the hospital gets all the backing I know you all want it to get. 

At my latest recent meeting with Hospitals’ Chiefs we agreed: 

• The Urgent treatment Centre (UTC) is too small and needs expanding. It cramps staff to the detriment of patients. Plans for an expansion will be brought forward soon. 
• The SDEC (Same Day Emergency Care) facility would be better co-located with the UTC (rather than on an inpatient ward, as present), as part of that plan. 
• Separate plans to redevelop the former Outpatients building at “the back” of the hospital are to be worked on and shared with the community. 
• More Emergency Consultant posts are being advertised to ensure sufficient Dr cover to support urgent caseload. 
• WCH can be a great training hospital for Dr progression; so, more will be arranged, which will enhance hospital staff complement.  
• I’m also promised more consultant-led sessions in the Outpatient Department – including Ophthalmology, Cardiology and Dermatology. But that (in my view) is just a start.   

Retaining a healthy and fully functioning West Cornwall Hospital is essential for our communities.  

I will continue to press for services to be safeguarded and developed to meet the needs of an expanding population and to take pressure off the main hospital in Truro; which is 30+ miles away and a challenging journey on public transport for those in the far west.  

I thank the senior directors of the Trust who have been open and helpful in their meetings and communications with me.  

 

 

• Should super-rich, foreign crypto billionaires have more influence than anyone else over how our country is governed?  

With a former Welsh Party Leader in prison for taking bribes from Putin’s Russia, and the police recently opening a criminal investigation into alleged illegal funding, Reform UK (the company – it’s not a membership controlled party) will now receive a staggering £72M, which alone will dwarf all the funds raised by ALL mainstream parties combined at the last general election.  

Without a hint of shame, the company cleverly markets itself as the anti-establishment voice of ordinary people, whilst its headed by multi-millionaires who’re backed by the super-rich. Their spokespeople assure us one donor is “returning to the UK to comply with the rules”. 

 

 

• My next open Public Meeting – People’s Parliament – this Friday, 18th September, 7pm, at Union Hotel, Penzance. 

The evening will commence with a few remarks on current issues and concerns before opening the floor to questions. 

To book a free ticket and a chance to raise a question, please contact my office beforehand:  

andrew.george.mp@parliament.uk or call 01736 339526. 

Thank you.