Assessing April
A glimpse into my work as your proud MP for Chatham and Aylesford. A heads up, this edition is rather medical heavy.
Behind the Screens at Maidstone Hospital
When you hear a politician is visiting a hospital or a business, it's easy to picture a carefully stage-managed tour. Polished corridors, polite onlookers, and a fully scripted agenda. I'm glad to say my recent visit to Maidstone Hospital wasn’t like that in the slightest.
I met the chief executive, his team, and the medical professionals who keep the place running. These are the people keeping our NHS going through grit, skill, and extraordinary commitment.
They took me straight into the heart of things: the control room. It looks like something out of a sci-fi film. Wall-to-wall screens track patients in real time using tele-tracking, showing how people move through the hospital from arrival to discharge. It means no frantic phone calls or post-it notes flying around to chase bed spaces.
In A&E, we caught a few minutes with a consultant. Mondays are always busy, and this one was especially so, but there was a calm confidence in how the team was handling the flow of patients. Finally, I visited the new Orthopaedic Centre. There, I learned about the barn-style theatres. These are large open plan spaces where carefully controlled airflow replaces walls/screens, preventing infections whilst operating.
We must spend more time looking at what is working and asking how we can build on it. Nationally, waiting lists are down for the sixth month in a row. Waits of more than a year have fallen for the ninth consecutive month. There have been 3 million extra appointments, and cancer turnaround times are at record levels.
There is no silver bullet for our NHS, but there is a lot Maidstone is getting right.
Feedback Loop
As you may know, every fortnight I visit a different part of our constituency for an agenda-free conversation with you, local people. This time, it was in Peters Village.
The sun was out, the orange juice was flowing (Vitamin C Day, after all), and it was great to see so many people drop in with thoughts on everything from transport and knife crime to the long-awaited improvements in GP provision.
There’s plenty to do, but these face-to-face conversations are a key way I stay connected to what matters locally. Due to growing demand for appointments from those of you living in central Chatham, I returned to White Road Community Centre earlier than planned this month for an impromptu surgery as well.
When Justice is Delayed, Is it Denied?
Earlier this month, I secured a Westminster Hall debate to bring attention once again to the growing crisis in our court system.
Maidstone Crown Court currently has 2,367 outstanding cases, a staggering 269% increase since 2019. Across England and Wales, the backlog has outrageously surpassed 73,000 cases, with some trials delayed until 2026. I’m not one to often make a football analogy, but if one case represents one victim, that’s the entire Old Trafford stadium, crammed to the rafters, awaiting delayed justice.
These aren't just numbers or marks on a spreadsheet; they represent victims waiting for justice, defendants awaiting resolution, and communities left in limbo. While talking about the issue is fundamentally important, talk without action only furthers the erosion of faith, the fading of memories, and the collapse of convictions.
In the debate, I called for a multifaceted approach: smarter use of existing court infrastructure, targeted capital investment, improved digital tools, and greater transparency in justice system funding. We must prioritise serious cases and support victims throughout the process. Justice delayed is justice denied, and it is imperative we act to restore confidence in our legal system.
Behind the Badge
As a former special constable in the Met, I know how vital close working with our police colleagues is. This month, I met the Divisional Commander at Maidstone Police Station to talk about the everyday issues that often dominate doorstep conversations: nuisance biking, anti-social behaviour and the use of Section 59 notices to tackle them.
We also looked at the state of our CCTV network and the potential for newer technologies, such as live-feed body-worn cameras, to sharpen real-time policing. A key part of our discussion was the importance of neighbourhood policing, with officers who know their patches and the families living there, building trust and deterring crime through strong local ties.
Snodland came up regularly, particularly the recent surge in graffiti and the ongoing issue of fly-tipping. Although these are council matters, we discussed how a more proactive policing approach could, and should in my view, be deployed to tackle these crimes.
Celebrating Success
Really pleased to hear that Kent and Medway Medical School has achieved full accreditation from the General Medical Council. It’s a significant milestone, especially with the first cohort of students set to graduate this summer.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Rama Thirunamachandran OBE DL, Vice Chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University. It’s great to see the hard work behind the school paying off, and this achievement will be a major boost to growing educational offer in Kent and Medway!
Local Democracy
As April came to a close, part of my constituency was deep in election season, with votes held for both TMBC and KCC. While I do my best to keep this newsletter free of party politics, I want to congratulate everyone who put themselves forward, and those who were elected. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in.
If you're in Medway and wondering why you couldn’t vote this time, it’s because your next local elections aren’t until 2027, following the last election held two years ago.
Lastly
If you need support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and my team using the contact details below. I also welcome any success stories, it’s just as important for me to know what’s working as it is to understand what isn’t, so that we can share best practices across the constituency.