Martyn Hurll

During a visit to her former constituency on Thursday 25 March, Baroness Diana Maddock  toured Christchurch Hospital. Diana was closely involved with fund raising efforts for the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit which she opened in 1999. “I was very keen to find out the latest plans the PCT have for the hospital as a whole, which provides an excellent service for the local community” said Diana. After meeting staff and others responsible for the service Diana Maddock said “ I am delighted that the Christchurch Stroke Rehabilitation Unit is still a centre of excellence and that this has been recognised nationally.The unit is likely to be relocated so that there can be closer working with the Stroke Crisis unit at Bournemouth hospital. If properly planned and resourced this would provide a more holistic service, but it is vital that any changes made result in a better service than the excellent one already in place at Christchurch.” 

Diana was accompanied by Martyn Hurll, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Christchurch and two colleagues, Cllr Christine Payne and Cllr Peter Hall. Martyn commented “With the ongoing concern about the future for Christchurch Hospital it was reassuring to hear about the plans for both the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit and the rest of the hospital. The recent refurbishment of the Day Hospital means a whole range of services will continue to be available for the local community”.

I’m your Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate and if you’re reading this you’ll probably want to know first, a little more about me and second, what my aims are for people like you, who live in the Christchurch and East Dorset constituency. I was first elected to Christchurch Borough Council in 1995 and re-elected four years later. During that time I worked closely with Diana Maddock who was our Liberal Democrat MP and supported her many campaigns which included fighting for better healthcare for the elderly, more police on the beat and greater educational opportunities for every child. However, the pressures of a national job meant I had to stand down as a local councillor but I believe now is the right time to enter national politics. People are looking for a fresh start, new ideas and new faces. It’s time for real change and it needs to be positive change. This is what I am committed to. 

There’s Work to be Done

 Like Diana, I believe in finding out first hand what people are concerned about, visiting schools, talking to parents and teachers to hear their views. I continue to work with my local colleagues, supporting their campaigns to bring about change and influence local council policies across Christchurch and East Dorset. One of my worries is that despite huge increases in funding the NHS is still not able to deliver all the front line services needed for people and the contraction of Christchurch Hospital is a good example, which will particularly affect the elderly. I’ve had first hand family experience of the benefits of quality, local rehabilitation health care but the RBCH have to make £20m of cuts over the next three years. Minutes of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting on 14 December say there are no plans to close Christchurch Hospital but go on to say there are significant issues which would determine its future use. These include the escalating costs of community care, the review of palliative and use of the hospital as  a rehabilitation and re-ablement provider. There is no room for complacency. 

The Police and Community Together initiative is making a positive impact but the officers I’ve spoken to say more could be done and I’m keen to support this. Education is the keystone to a good start in life but feedback from local parents and teachers highlight lack of resources as a barrier - with lack of basic text books and too much time spent on meeting targets being good examples.

There is a huge amount of progress needed and I am committed to working hard for the constituency in an open and transparent way. 

To tell me about the issues that concern you, e-mail me at martynhurll@googlemail.com