Waveney MP wants help from government for Hartismere Hospital in Eye in NHS overhaul

An MP has championed a local health centre – and called for its services to be extended as part of an overhaul of the NHS.

Speaking during a Westminster debate on healthcare, Waveney Valley MP Adrian Ramsay used the example of Hartismere Hospital in Eye, claiming it did not provide the services that many people need.

It follows a meeting with the hospital’s League of Friends to discuss how the site could potentially provide more services, preventing people from having to travel to Norwich, Bury St Edwards or Ipswich for medical treatment.

Mr Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, said: “I raised the case for Hartismere Hospital as it is a facility which is really valued by locals, but could provide a greater range of services, given the right investment.

“Improving access to vital healthcare for residents in our market towns and villages is a central priority for me and I will continue to push the new government to deliver the funding our NHS needs to ensure everyone is able to access care.”

Hartismere Hospital closed to in-patients in 2006, but a campaign by local people kept it open as a health centre, providing services including podiatry, mental health, diagnostics, rehabilitation and retinal screening.

But campaigners say that, with upgrades to its facilities, such as installing an X-ray machine, the return of a community consultant and a GP walk-in surgery, it could provide more treatment to people on both sides of the county border.

Mr Ramsay described the hospital as a wonderful asset and said he would continue to talk to trustees, patients and clinicians “to press for the plans to become a reality”.

Since being elected to Parliament, the MP has addressed National Grid’s plans for pylons from Norwich to Tilbury, while calling for more help for farmers after the findings of a government report showed a boost to wildlife through farmer-led, nature-friendly schemes.