On Monday, Richard Foord was sworn in as MP for Tiverton and Honiton. The political repercussions of the stunning Lib Dem victory are still rattling around with some suggesting that the Tories are in danger of losing their rural votes.
Foord’s intervention yesterday evening was described by Deputy Speaker as “his maiden intervention—if such terminology exists; it does now.”
Intervening in an adjournment debate on ambulance waiting times at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Richard Foord said:
During the by-election campaign in Tiverton and Honiton, almost everybody I spoke to on the doorstep had their own personal story about having to wait for an ambulance. This is not the fault of ambulance crews, but it is absolutely the system-wide issue that the hon. Member describes. Does she agree that what we really need is a community ambulance fund to alleviate some of the pressures we are experiencing in the south-west, given that we have the longest ambulance waiting times in the country?
The South West has the longest ambulance waiting times in the country, with people waiting several hours to get the care they need.
This evening I used my first speech in Parliament to call for a Community Ambulance Fund – to cut waiting times and improve rural services. pic.twitter.com/nxlNqY6S8H
— Richard Foord MP (@RichardFoordLD) June 29, 2022
The answer from Cherilyn Mackrory, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, responded that it was the responsibility of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) not ministers.
Helen Morgan has also tabled an EDM calling for immediate action to tackle the ambulance crisis.
This week an 85-year-old woman with dementia had to wait 18 hours for an ambulance after breaking her hip in North Shropshire.
Sadly this is now the norm, not the exception.
That's why I've tabled a motion calling for immediate action to tackle the ambulance crisis. pic.twitter.com/ihJa7I5Ras
— Helen Morgan MP 🔶 (@HelenMorganMP) June 29, 2022
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One Comment
As a former member of a joint NHS/local authority board and Cabinet member for Social Care, it would be helpful to have more clarity and definition of what constitutes “a community ambulance fund”.