Mohammad Yasin MP

MOHAMMAD YASIN Words from

MP for Bedford and Kempston

Bedford Hospital along with its partners in the BLMK Trust and ambulance services are experiencing an extreme level of pressure with record numbers of people using services.

Emergency services at the region’s hospitals - like the rest of the country have seen a surge in the numbers of people with Group A STREP, Covid and flu symptoms, with Bedford being a particular Covid hotspot in recent months. Though case rates are by no means at the levels seen at the peak of the pandemic.

The NHS is trying to cope with this level of demand with a depleted and burnt-out workforce. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Which is no doubt why it was reported recently that Bedfordshire patients could find themselves being treated in ‘field hospitals.’

Although the Trust has said the use of ‘field hospitals’ was not imminent, the fact that it’s being discussed at all is concerning.

The latest CQC inspection report on Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in December found an overall rating of ‘good’ which is testimony to the hard work of staff and hospital leaders.

However, the Trust was found to require improvement around safety – particularly in relation to Urgent and Emergency Care, Medicine and Maternity Services.

Much of the concern related to waiting times, and staff not having completed training in line with the levels required by their role.Workforce shortages are at the heart of these problems. If staff aren’t able to take the time to complete training or are spread too thinly to do their jobs properly, it’s inevitable that the service they are able to give will not be as it should.

The most pressing issue in Bedford is the serious delays in funding for capital expenditure which is now threatening the delivery of several key projects, including our primary care estates programme. Bedford and Kempston are severely underserved in terms of square footage. Inadequate GP settings are making it even more difficult to retain and recruit GPs to an area already short of doctors.

Plans and £60m funding are in place for a new mental health facility at Bedford Health village with specialist places for children, and refurbished wards at Luton, along with an improved clinical offer across inpatient and community mental health services. But the East London NHS Foundation Trust are still waiting to hear if their expression of Interest in the Government’s New Hospitals Programme, announced a year and a half ago, has been successful.