Could South East Cornwall Finally Get Fairer Access to Healthcare?

On Tuesday, 21st October, Anna Gelderd, Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall, took the issue of local healthcare straight to Westminster as part of her ongoing campaign to secure better access to services for her constituents.

Cornwall in the First Wave of a National Rollout

Anna joined fellow Cornish Labour MPs Jayne Kirkham and Perran Moon in a meeting with Stephen Kinnock, Minister for Care, to discuss Labour’s neighbourhood health service plans across Cornwall.

Cornwall is among the first areas in the country to benefit from this new approach, which forms part of Labour’s Plan for Change — a move designed to shift care from hospitals into the community and make the NHS fit for the future.

Under the rollout, 43 areas nationwide will each be assigned a programme lead who will work with local services to establish neighbourhood health teams. Using general practice as the cornerstone, these teams will include community nurses, hospital doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, paramedics, social prescribers, local government organisations and the voluntary sector.

This approach aims to give people easier access to the right care and support closer to home.
Read the government’s announcement on the first wave of the neighbourhood health service here.

South East Cornwall’s Unique Challenges

During the meeting, Anna made it clear that South East Cornwall faces unique healthcare challenges compared with the rest of the Duchy and must receive its fair share of funding from the pilot scheme.

She called for a neighbourhood health service that places dentistry, diagnostics, and mental health support directly into communities, saying these are areas where people in South East Cornwall currently struggle to access support.

Anna said:

“I know that people in our area face real difficulties in accessing healthcare because residents have to use unreliable public transport or drive long distances and face toll roads. I am determined to deliver a neighbourhood health service that reflects the unique challenges in our area.

“That’s why I made it clear to the Minister how important community healthcare is for people in South East Cornwall, and I’ll continue pushing for our area’s fair share now that Cornwall is in the first wave of the new neighbourhood health service.”

What Residents Are Saying

The meeting follows Anna’s services survey, which aimed to better understand where residents currently access healthcare and other essential services. The survey, open to anyone in South East Cornwall, was shared across her social media channels over the summer.

The findings revealed that while 92% of respondents access primary healthcare such as GP appointments locally, 82% still have to cross the Tamar into Plymouth for hospital appointments and specialist treatment.

It also showed that nearly half of respondents rely on Plymouth for leisure and cultural activities, and more people reported working in Plymouth than within South East Cornwall itself.

According to Anna, the results underline the need for change – and she has been working closely with Ministers to ensure South East Cornwall gets the community healthcare support it needs.

📷Anna Gelderd with Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock.