NHS

Today is Time to Talk Day 2016, part of the Time to Change campaign that was set up to combat mental health stigmatisation and discrimination. The campaign has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and is now coordinating a range of projects to help the growing number of people across the UK suffering from mental illness. Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham & Rainham pledged his support for the campaign back in 2012 and thinks initiatives such as this are becoming increasingly important in the fight against stigma.

Where is the Care is an innovative family run organisation that seeks to raise awareness of how vulnerable elderly people and their families can find the help they need. The family launched the initiative in response to their own poor experience of care, and aim to help people through complaints procedures. The website is a great source of information regarding not only the negatives of poor care but also the best practice of where good care has benefitted families.

Last September a report highlighted that Barking and Dagenham had one of the lowest one-year cancer survival rates in our NHS England Local Region at 62 per cent. At the time of the report Havering was also just falling short of the UK average at 66 per cent.

Local MP for Dagenham and Rainham Jon Cruddas is keen to promote the importance of early diagnosis after learning that thirty per cent of deaths across the area each year are due to cancer.

The most recent Intelligent Monitoring Report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed that the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust is still struggling to hit targets. Following an inspection by the CQC, these hospitals have been determined to be at risk for several indicators of poor care.