Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, yesterday met Health Secretary Matt Hancock to discuss the shortage of nurses and the future of Portland Hospital.
Drax was accompanied by Eugine Yafele, new CEO of Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust, who is currently consulting with Portlanders and local GPs on how best to coordinate healthcare services on the island.
Drax said, “In meeting the Secretary of State, I was fulfilling a long standing commitment to my constituents on Portland, that the future of this precious hospital would be a priority.”
“I am pleased to hear from Mr Yafele and the Health Secretary that the future of Portland Hospital is not in doubt and that it will be used as a permanent hub for healthcare services on the island.”
“Mr Yafele and I also asked the Health Secretary urgently to address the problem of the nursing shortage, which necessitated the closure of the Portland Hospital beds. This has been a long standing issue, leading me to hold a parliamentary debate on nursing training, recruitment and retention in September 2018.”
“Certainly, with a shortage of 40,000 nurses, many Trusts are finding recruitment difficult. Mr Yafele has noted a decline in nursing student applicants since bursaries were ended and pension rules have meant that older, more experienced staff are retiring too early.”
Dorset Healthcare CEO Eugine Yafele said, “I am confident that by working with people on Portland, we will develop the hospital site to become a thriving health and wellbeing hub with a range of services that are much needed on the Island. The hospital beds will not be reopened but the bringing together of services on the hospital site signals our commitment to retaining and developing the site for the benefit of local people.”
“The Health Secretary was most helpful,” adds Richard Drax. “He said he expects more funding to be committed to nursing in the upcoming spending review and the NHS Workforce Implementation Plan should be announced next month. He also said he is working with the Treasury to review pension rules.”
“I am delighted to know that Portland Hospital will be the focus for the island’s healthcare. We are all agreed that good health and social care services are vital to Portland’s future and the community hospital has a crucial role to play.”