I used my first speech in the House of Commons to push the Government on Chase Farm to ensure its survival.

“In 2010, Chase Farm Hospital was downgraded, leading to the loss of its A&E facility, maternity unit and other specialist departments. My constituents now have to go elsewhere for medical emergencies, leading to pressure on neighbouring hospitals in Barnet and on North Middlesex Hospital. Spending per head on healthcare in Enfield has reduced by 16% since 2015, which puts the symptoms of dereliction in our health service into context.

The last bastion of support locally is the urgent care centre in Chase Farm Hospital, but its survival is not certain. I hope the Minister can assure me that the urgent care centre in Chase Farm Hospital will not have its hours reduced, and that my constituents will not experience any further decline in healthcare.”

Chase Farm announced they would be reducing their opening hours to me on a call, but did not provide a date for doing so.

Only 48 hours after I had met with Chase Farm, I was incredibly disappointed to hear that the service changes at Chase Farm urgent care centre were taking place immediately. This was revealed to me without a consultation and indirectly through a newsletter.

Chase Farm reduced its opening hours from 8am - 10pm, to 8am to 8.30pm, with patients only being booked in until 7.30pm, due to staff shortages.

Following Chase Farm’s announcement that they would be reducing their opening hours, I wrote to the Group Chief Executive of Royal Free London expressing my concerns on the impact the changes would have on Enfield residents.

In the letter, I impressed my concerns that the urgent care centre is the only door to the NHS for thousands of residents in Enfield. I raised the fact that patients were not being directed to their already overstretched GPs. This will have a major impact on A&E departments already under immense pressure.

I also questioned when full service would resume and asked the Chief Executive to set out what practical steps they will be taking to return to full service as soon as possible.

The response we received from Caroline Clarke detailed the reasons for the reduction in opening hours was due to a shortage in staff and promised that the service would resume to full service in autumn 2022.

Following the reduction in Chase Farm’s opening hours, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care outlining my concerns with the staffing shortages in the NHS, and primary care access more generally in Enfield North.

North Middlesex Hospital released during this period that only 66.8% of A&E patients are being discharged, admitted or transferred within 4 hours of arrival - well below the 95% national target, and even the England average of 73.3%. The only door to healthcare for many of my constituents is the Chase Farm urgent treatment centre.

You can see the full letter here

I was delighted to visit the team at Chase Farm Hospital and have a tour around the facility.

It was a pleasure to see such a great community asset and thank the staff for all they do to support the people of Enfield North.

I used my position as the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Patient Safety as an opportunity to raise Chase Farm at a recent Westminster Hall Debate on NHS Staffing Levels:

“On a recent visit to Chase Farm urgent care centre, I saw at first hand the pride that staff had for the work they did, and their desire to deliver the best for patients, despite chronic shortages of staff and the most trying of circumstances. They are going above and beyond the call of duty.

We cannot keep relying on the good will of staff. We need to see their attitude matched by action from the Government. Staff need to know that they will not be hung out to dry and that help is there for them. What reassurance can the Minister give to staff, at places such as Chase Farm, that their cries for help will be heard? If the Minister believes that what we heard from the Chancellor is sufficient, then he is very much mistaken.

Only a Labour Government will be able to secure the help that Chase Farm, indeed the whole of the NHS, desperately need.

The NHS needs investment and reform - in the case of the last Labour Government, this delivered the shortest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction in history.

But extra investment must be met with higher standards for patients and the state of the public finances means that reform will have to do more of the heavy lifting, and this is where Labour has been leading the charge.”

In my article in the Enfield Dispatch, I raised my repeated concerns regarding the reduced hours. My constituents need to be able to access the care they need.

I have been consistently reassured that this is temporary measure, however it has now been seven months.

I am told by the ICB [integrated care board for North London] that access and appointments in general practice are not an issue. Yet I consistently receive complaints from constituents that they are not able to get a GP appointment and evidently end up in the urgent care treatment centre. This needs to change.

You can read the full article on this here.

Feryal has questioned the Department for Health and Social Care over Chase Farm Urgent Care Centre.

Asking the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at Chase Farm Urgent Care Centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the provision of healthcare services of reduced opening hours at Chase Farm Urgent Care Centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of accident and emergency provision in Enfield North constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of walk in healthcare centres in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) England.

Of the questions the Government have currently answered, they repeatedly answered ‘no specific assessments have been made’ on our local health services.

This is not good enough, the Tories have run our NHS into the ground over the past 13 years and have not done anything about it.

I will continue to fight for the UTC and local provision of health care. An NHS fit for the future is central to our five missions for a better Britain that will form the backbone of Labour’s election manifesto and the pillars of the next Labour government.

I had the opportunity to meet with Peter Landstrom, the new acting chief executive of the Trust to raise the opening hours of the UTC with him.

Here it was announced that Chase Farm Urgent Treatment Centre would be restoring their opening hours to full service on October 16th.

This was a huge campaign win for me and my team. We have worked hard over the last 12 months to ensure Enfield residents have access to healthcare when they need it most.

The reintroduction of later opening hours will be staggered from 25th September.

You can see more details here.