There are some sitting Fridays in the House of Commons but usually this day and the weekends are set aside for constituency events so I thought I’d give you a flavour.
In the morning I went to a public meeting about a multi-million pound project to transform care provision at Crawley Hospital in West Green.
The plans include a new ward to be opened which was previously used to store filing cabinets and documents – with electronic record keeping this space can now be used for new treatments, such as a 26 bed care provision for patients who no longer require the assistance of East Surrey Hospital, but are not yet ready to return home. The area will be dementia-friendly, in keeping with Crawley’s designation as a Dementia Friendly Town. Listening to the lead architect, it was interesting to see some of the thought that had gone into the design process to provide more of a ‘homely’ surrounding.
The Urgent Treatment Centre is also being upgraded, including increasing the size of the Clinical Assessment Unit. Extra space will also be provided for the children’s area, which will enable more to be seen locally.
If you want to get involved, or to be kept up to date with developments, please send your contact details to: Engagement Team, Freepost RSZZ-YLJS-TETL, Crawley CCG, Crawley Hospital, West Green Drive, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 7DH.
I then dashed to Broadfield for the official opening of the resurfaced 3G pitch at the Ball Court at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.
The Crawley Town Community Foundation recently received a grant of over £42,000 from Biffa Award as part of the Landfill Communities Fund.
I was grateful to catch up with the Foundation’s staff who work tirelessly to deliver community projects for our town and beyond. Crawley Town manager Mark Yates and his assistant Jimmy Dack joined with first team players, BTEC students, and foundation and club staff as a series of matches were played to officially launch the new surface.
The new all-weather pitch will go to help the Foundation continue to deliver a host of community projects, including Capers (in conjunction with Autism Sussex) and COGs (Crawley Old Girls), an initiative to get more women playing football which is soon to be featured on Sky Sports.
To keep up to date with the Community Foundation’s brilliant work, please visit: www.ctcommunityfoundation.com
On Saturday it was great to support Crawley’s Olive Tree cancer support charity at their Christmas Fair in The Royal Oak, Ifield. I thanked them for their amazing work – and got to meet Santa Claus in person!