DURING Prime Minister's Questions at Westminster today (Wednesday, 29 October), South Basildon and East Thurrock MP James McMurdock raised serious concerns about the state of local emergency healthcare and the recent downgrade of Basildon Hospital by the Care Quality Commission to 'Inadequate'.

Adressing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons, and using a child's teddy bear to illustrate his point, Mr McMurdock praised the hard work of NHS staff, noting "when my own daughter needed them, they were there." Yet he also highlighted the strain the NHS faces, recalling "…when an 89-year-old gentleman collapsed at the restaurant I was eating in, it took over an hour and fifteen minutes between my first call, and the arrival of two exhausted paramedics."

Mr McMurdock says he has visited multiple departments across Basildon Hospital, including maternity and mental health units, to meet with staff on the frontlines and understand the pressures they are facing.

In Parliament, he has submitted a series of written questions and an Early Day Motion to press the Government for urgent improvements in local health services.

To underline the seriousness of the situation, Mr McMurdock invited the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, or the Prime Minister himself, to visit Basildon Hospital and meet with frontline staff to see the challenges firsthand. However, this invitation was not accepted and went unanswered during the session.

The counter from the PM was: "Can I thank you for raising this and the two examples. The downgrade of Basildon Hospital is deeply disappointing. 

"The Care Quality Commission has set out immediate actions for the Trust's leaders to deliver improvement.

"Our decisions in government have seen £26bn delivered to the NHS helping to deliver over five million extra appointments.

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"I would gently point out that he (Mr McMurdock) was elected representing a Reform Party that would dismantle our NHS and charge people to see their doctor."

After Prime Minister's Questions concluded, Mr McMurdock reflected upon the response he received, saying: "Patients are waiting far too long for paramedics to arrive, and when they finally reach Basildon Hospital, they're met with services that have been rated as inadequate.

"Our NHS staff are doing the best that they can under these impossible conditions, and they are being let down by years of neglect and underinvestment." 

He continued, "I'm really disappointed that my invitation was not taken up during Prime Minister's Questions. It is vital that Ministers see the reality for themselves, to meet the staff and hear their concerns, and understand the pressures our local NHS is under.

"By seeing this first-hand, they could have grasped the urgency of the situation and take the action that is needed."