Caroline Voaden

Caroline Voaden

Liberal Democrat — South Devon

Speaking in the House of Commons on 13 November 2026

Debate

Coastal Communities (Health) Bill

Contribution

In my constituency it can take a very long time to get to the nearest hospital because of small, narrow lanes, and it can be almost impossible in the summer when there is heavy holiday traffic. The integrated care board has talked about merging emergency cardiac care between three hospitals, which would make the journey so long that people would literally die en route to the hospital. We have been campaigning hard for the ICB not to do that. Does my hon. Friend agree that while merging some services may be the way forward to enable ICBs to cover their costs, choosing a service like emergency cardiac care, where the time taken to get to the hospital, and therefore the distance travelled, is absolutely crucial to survival, is the wrong area to start when looking at service provision?

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