ON Thursday 5 July, Robert Halfon MP celebrated the 70th birthday of the NHS at the Harvey Centre in Harlow.

The event was part of country-wide celebrations to mark the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of the NHS. Staff members from Harlow’s hospital and a number of health care providers in the constituency also attended.

Robert Halfon said: “Today, we marked the 70th birthday of the NHS with huge celebrations in the centre of Harlow. Our NHS doctors, nurses, porters and cleaners work so hard every day and we all depend on them to provide vital care to us.

In its 70th year, I’ve been working hard to protect our NHS and bring healthcare in Harlow into the 21st Century.

In Parliament, my campaign continues to get capital funding for a new hospital health campus in Harlow. In fact, in June, I brought the issue to debate in the House of Commons. The hospital health campus would bring together A&E services, GP provision, social care, physiotherapy and a centre for Degree Apprenticeships in nursing and healthcare in state of the art, purpose-built facilities. I await the Government’s decision on new hospital capital funding, due this Autumn.

On top of this, I was glad to hear recently of the millions of pounds being newly invested in the East of England Ambulance Service to increase the number of ambulances available to patients in Harlow.

I’ve also been doing all I can to push the Government to scrap hospital car parking charges at NHS hospitals in England. I’ve been campaigning for this change since 2014. The Government brought in guidance to introduce concessionary rates and limit the effects of the charges on the most vulnerable. The trouble is, none of the hospitals have to listen. I’ve launched a petition to bring the issue back to Parliament and will continue to urge the Government to bring an end to this stealth tax, once and for all.

‘Protecting Our NHS’ has been one of my priorities since being elected as Harlow’s MP. NHS staff work so hard every day in Harlow. I will continue to do all I can to support them and ensure that Harlow residents have access to 21st Century healthcare.”