As Member of Parliament for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, I engage with constituents on a wide range of issues. Something that will always be raised with any MP under any government is local healthcare because it is vital that we are able to access high-quality services that offer the treatment and care that we need when we need it.

It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the health service, and I recognise that, whilst we are now in a period of recovery, challenges remain. The effects of the Covid-19 backlog and cost-of-living crisis risk placing additional pressures on the NHS, greater than those we usually see during the difficult winter period. This will impact local A&E services, but it will also be felt by general practices.

As such, I wrote to GP services across the constituency to invite doctors, practitioners and/or managers to a virtual surgery, where they could share with me their view on how things are going, as well as their concerns and what I can do, as the MP, to help alleviate some of these. It also gave me the opportunity to feedback residents’ positive feedback, as well as areas where they are experiencing challenges with accessing services.

The virtual surgery was attended by representatives from a number of GP services across the constituency and we had a really useful and varied discussion. It certainly gave me food for thought and a lot to feedback to both colleagues in Government and the North West London Integrated Care Board.

I am grateful to all those who joined for taking the time out of their busy morning to speak with me, and I will ensure to keep them abreast of updates and developments.