Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, questioned new NHS health bosses about the potential expansion of GP services in his constituency, during a recent meeting in his Westminster office.
Mark met with Tracy Dowling, the newly appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Board and her Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Emily Hough. The meeting was also joined by local councillor Ian Foster, who has been campaigning to establish a new GP surgery on the Bloor Homes development, in Ashingdon.
Mark is pushing for this too - alongside an expansion of the existing Riverside Surgery in Hullbridge, due to further housebuilding in that area as well.
Commenting after the meeting, Mark said:
“We had a very positive discussion with Tracey Dowling and her colleague. The ICB now helps oversee local NHS services, but there is an issue whereby developers pay over money to build new GP facilities, yet, the ICB - and its predecessor organisations - then just sit on the funds. We need to cut through all of this bureaucracy- and we are hoping to meet again next month, for exactly that reason.”
