Securing Modern GP Surgeries for Our Community
During the 2024 General Election, I pledged to make securing modern GP surgery buildings for our community a priority. Since being elected as MP for Bexhill and Battle in July 2024, I have taken action to deliver on that commitment by working closely with local NHS bodies, GP practices and local authorities to unblock long-delayed projects.
There have been several stalled GP surgery developments in the area, including in Battle, Robertsbridge and Bexhill. Rising construction costs, combined with the way primary care rents are assessed by the Valuation Office Agency’s District Valuer, have meant that the level of rent the NHS is permitted to pay for new premises often no longer reflects the real cost of building them. As a result, projects that are clearly needed locally have struggled to proceed because they are no longer financially viable under the current system.
Given how important these new surgery sites will be for improving access to primary care, I have met the Health Minister to discuss these projects in detail and have raised the issue in the House of Commons Chamber multiple times. I also continue to engage regularly with NHS Sussex, who are the local body responsible for commissioning health services, to support all efforts to improve GP and primary care facilities in the constituency.
Since I was elected, there has been encouraging progress. The new surgery in Robertsbridge is now moving forward and construction is expected to begin in Spring 2026. Working closely with NHS Sussex, the GP practice and the District Valuer, I helped push forward discussions around the rent assessment so that the project could finally move ahead.
Also, to deliver a new GP facility in Little Common, Rother District Council successfully secured Levelling Up Partnership funding from the previous Conservative government. This has ensured that the new surgery will be delivered. The Council is also working hard to help deliver a new GP surgery in Battle.
While it is good news that the Council has stepped in to support new GP developments, I remain concerned that the underlying barriers preventing the NHS from delivering these facilities itself have not yet been properly addressed.
I will continue to do all I can to push for meaningful changes to the rental valuation system so that these much-needed developments can finally move forward for the communities they serve.
Pushing for the Hospital Upgrades Our Community Was Promised
I am continuing to press the Government on the future of our local hospitals following the decision to delay the rebuilding of Eastbourne District General Hospital under the New Hospital Programme until at least 2038. Under the original plans announced by the previous Government, Eastbourne DGH was due to be completely rebuilt, with Conquest Hospital reorganised and upgraded so both sites could deliver modern healthcare for the future. The programme also included plans to upgrade Bexhill Community Hospital so more services could be delivered locally.
These plans would have expanded emergency departments at Eastbourne and Conquest, improved access to services such as cardiology and ophthalmology, and modernised theatres, diagnostic facilities and outpatient departments. They would also have increased the number of hospital beds, dramatically expanded the number of single patient rooms, and created more clinical space so our hospitals are better equipped to meet growing demand.
Instead, the Labour Government has kicked the can down the road. This is particularly concerning given the scale of the maintenance challenges across our local NHS estate. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust estimates that its maintenance backlog runs into hundreds of millions of pounds, with ageing infrastructure causing issues such as leaking roofs, poor ventilation and outdated facilities.
I have met with Ministers and written to the Government several times to press for interim funding so urgent maintenance and repair work can be carried out while we wait for the long-term rebuild plans to be delivered. I will continue raising this issue with the Department of Health and NHS England to ensure our hospitals get the support they need.
Our NHS staff work incredibly hard to provide the best possible care, but they deserve buildings that are fit for the care they deliver, and our community should not be left waiting a decade for the investment they were promised.