OPINION: Wixams deserves better

16 years. That is how long it has been since the first residents moved into Wixams in Bedfordshire. Those of you who moved into Wixams back in 2009 would not have expected that in 2015, let alone 2025, you would still be without a GP surgery. Yet 16 years later, you still need to travel elsewhere to see a doctor.

That is why, since being elected as Mid Bedfordshire’s MP last year, I have been working hard locally and in Parliament to push for action from developers and the Government. It has simply been too long, and residents deserve better.

But the problems run much deeper. Across the country unelected Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) control how money gets spent on our local healthcare. In Bedfordshire, we have the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB. And they are not accountable to residents when they fail – as they have - to deliver a GP surgery.

And as I have found out this year, every conversation – including with Government Ministers – results in being re-directed this unelected quango. The computer says no. It is madness. And the system needs re-wiring, not more money.

Being new to Westminster, I have been pressing the Government to act on the specifics of Wixams but also the broader issues of accountability. Just last week, I secured a question and asked the Minister this:

“Funding and delivery of a GP surgery for Wixams in my constituency continues to fall between the cracks of developers, local councils and the local ICB. Does the Minister agree that to break those deadlocks and build the infrastructure that our communities require, new mayors should have the power to direct ICBs, making locally elected politicians responsible rather than unelected quangos?”

I am pleased the Minister recognised the campaigning I have been doing for Wixams and assured me she is happy to work with me as we continue to try and find a way forward. Progress is far too slow, but I am hopeful that our collective efforts will deliver the much-needed GP. And, if you have ideas on how the healthcare system should be reformed – as I am sure you do - I would love to hear from you.

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