I welcome services returning to Crawley Hospital, a stark contrast to the previous decade where we lost our A&E department and maternity unit under Labour.

Emergency services are now returning to Crawley Hospital with the Urgent Care Centre now able to see the majority of cases an A&E can 24 hours a day/seven days a week all year round.

Earlier in the year, Crawley Hospital saw the opening of a new Clinical Assessment Unit (CAU) and the new 26 bed Piper Ward, as part of the Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group’s work to improve urgent care in our town.

The new CAU has a large reception and waiting area, six assessment trollies and four treatment chairs, three consultation rooms and a discharge area for patients awaiting transport back home.

This facility provides rapid assessment and treatment for a number of conditions which do not need admission to an acute hospital including chest infections, breathing problems, asthma attacks, falls, severe headaches, urinary tract infections and non-passing of urine, stomach pains, diarrhoea, vomiting, deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and cellulitis.

The new and extended CAU will treat more patients in a modern environment closer to home.

The dementia-friendly Piper Ward has also opened. I visited Crawley Hospital while this work was taking place previously and was struck by the care shown by the lead architect in ensuring a more pleasant experience for patients in every way possible.

The UK’s strong economy has ensured an extra £10 billion for the NHS, £11.4 billion a year on mental health, and an additional £2 billion in response to additional pressures on social care.

There are more doctors and nurses in our hospitals looking after patients. Since 2010, there are more than 11,000 doctors and over 12,100 nurses and midwives on hospital wards and more mental health trained professionals treating patients.

It’s right that the Conservative Government is treating mental health on a par with physical health. In January, the Prime Minister announced new measures to dramatically improve our country’s approach to mental health, so more young people in Crawley and across the country can receive the necessary care and assistance.

Support will be made available for secondary schools, who’ll be offered mental health first aid training to increase awareness of the issue, and to remove the outdated stigma which is wholly undeserved.

Government plans include helping schools by building stronger links with local NHS mental health staff, as well as new partnerships with employers.

The Health Secretary told the House of Commons last year that around 1,400 more people are accessing mental health services each day compared to seven years ago, and that there are plans for one million more people with mental health conditions to access services by 2020. While progress is being made, there’s still lots more to be done to provide people with the right support.