by Paul Scully | Nov 28, 2016 | News |
I have just asked the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, to meet with me and others to see how we can further support the London Cancer Hub.
The government has already committed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the London Cancer hub and last week I welcomed the Mayor of London to Sutton at the unveiling of the MR Linac machine at the Royal Marsden Hospital. I also used the opportunity to discuss the London Cancer Hub with him.
In the House of Commons Chamber, I asked the Communities and Local Government Secretary to meet with me, the Royal Marsden, the Institute of Cancer Research, the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust and Sutton Council to see what more can be done to bring publicly owned land at the Sutton Hospital site back into use and deliver the London Cancer Hub, which will provide 13,000 highly skilled jobs as well as putting Sutton on the map as a world leader in the fight against Cancer. I am delighted that he has agreed.
You can see my question and the Secretary of State’s response here.
by Paul Scully | Nov 26, 2016 | News |
I have received notification that Green Lane Primary School in Worcester Park and Brookfield Primary School in Sutton are to become Academies.
Brookfield Primary School entered into a funding agreement with the Department for Education and Sutton Council ceased maintaining the school on 1st November 2016. You can view the letter from the Secretary of State of Education, Rt Hon Justine Greening, here.
Green Lane Primary and Nursery School is currently consulting on becoming an Academy and join the Coombe multi-academy trust. The consultation runs until the 16th December 2016 and they plan to be operational by September 2017. You can view their letter here.
I offer both schools my full support and anything I can do to ease their transition into Academies.
by Paul Scully | Nov 25, 2016 | News |
As the building site is right next to my office, I popped next door to see how progress was getting on at the Sutton Point development.
The old glass tower was a derelict blot on Sutton’s landscape for many years, which has now been brought down with work beginning on constructing three new towers.
Developers CNM Estates plan to build a selection of one, two and three-bedroom apartments. Sutton Point will include an 80 bedroom hotel, 59 serviced apartments, a health & fitness centre as well as retail and office space with basement parking.
I am looking forward to seeing the finished product and believe this is a positive step in Sutton’s regeneration.
To find out more, you can visit the CNM Estates website here and the dedicated Sutton Point website here.
by Paul Scully | Nov 24, 2016 | News |
I attended an Alzheimer’s Society Parliamentary Reception celebrating the successes of the charity’s Dementia Friends initiative in Parliament.
I joined MPs, people with dementia, and those working in the community, to recognise the achievements of the Dementia Friendly Parliament initiative to date. So far over 300 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff have taken part in dementia awareness sessions making them Dementia Friends, and they are now working towards a more dementia friendly Parliamentary estate.
A Dementia Friendly Parliament is one which creates a supportive and inclusive environment for anyone affected by dementia. The joint project between Alzheimer’s Society and The Speakers of the House of Commons and Lords aims to create greater awareness of dementia among parliamentarians, to guarantee informed and positive debate on issues related to people with dementia and their carers, and ensure future legislation protects them.
The event also highlighted the work that the UK and other countries are doing to raise awareness of dementia globally, including the roll-out of Dementia Friends across the world. Guests heard speeches from David Mowat MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for State for Community Health and Care, Jeremy Hughes, CEO at Alzheimer’s Society, and Shelagh Robinson, who is living with dementia.
I am delighted to support the Alzheimer’s Society in their work to create the world’s first Dementia Friendly Parliament. It is a great way to raise awareness amongst politicians and the initiative has made great progress over the years to end stigma around dementia. But it is clear that there is still much more that we can do to get a fairer deal for those living with dementia. We can learn a lot from the great work going on our communities across the country, and indeed across the world, and events such as this are a fantastic way to highlight this.
Plans for the coming year include extending the Dementia Friends scheme to all staff members of the parliamentary estate and the launch of a guide for MPs to help them champion the rights of people with dementia in their community.
I also continue to support of the Alzheimer’s Society UK here in Sutton after I met with them last year.
To find out more and become a Dementia Friend visit their website here.
by Paul Scully | Nov 23, 2016 | News |
Yesterday I welcomed the Mayor of London to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton to unveil the UK’s first MR Linac machine.
The Royal Marsden in Sutton, together with The Institute of Cancer Research, was chosen to be the first location in the UK to host this state-of-the-art radiotherapy machine – one of only 7 centres in the world, thanks for a £10 million grant from the Medical Research Council.
The MR Linac combines two technologies – an MR scanner and linear accelerator – to precisely locate tumours, tailor the shape of X-ray beams in real time and accurately deliver doses of radiation to moving tumours.
The location of tumours and organs within the body changes from day to day or even constantly. For example, a tumour in the lung will move up and down as a person breathes, and a tumour in the prostate might move from day to day depending on what the person has eaten and how full their bowel is. Constant monitoring of the patient during treatment will enable the most precise targeting of the tumour and help avoid healthy tissue. This is key to refining radiotherapy for the future and is what the MR Linac promises.
Thanks to the Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton is on the map as a world leader in fighting cancer. This is very exciting news for Sutton and I know my colleagues in Government are very supportive of the work being done here.
I want to congratulate the Royal Marsden on being chosen and to thank the Mayor of London for joining me to celebrate this exciting event.
by Paul Scully | Nov 21, 2016 | News |
The Health Help Now app and website has been launched in Sutton.
Health Help Now is a ground-breaking web app that helps people find the right local health services to meet their health needs, especially when they need medical help fast but it is not a life-threatening emergency. It is available both in app form on Android and Apple, and online (http://www.healthhelpnow-nhs.net/).
It is estimated between 15 and 25 per cent of people attending A&E could use another service instead, which would save the NHS nationally time and millions of pounds every year. Instead, we know they go to A&E, often because they do not know what else to do.
The app and website have been both designed to help people check their symptoms and find the best place for treatment – showing which services near them are open. It will help people to know when to go to A&E, and when not to. The information has been developed with the input of clinicians and includes advice about how people can treat themselves at home for minor illnesses and injuries. After clicking on an age group, symptoms and location, people are given options for treatment with the most suitable listed first.
I encourage you to download the app and give it a go. The Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be launching it during their popular Patient Education Events over the next couple of months and will continue to publicise it through GP surgeries, pharmacies, as well as online.
