Brooks welcomes 25 years of Farleigh Hospice
Brooks Newmark welcomed over 100 guests to the House of Commons this week to celebrate 25 years of Farleigh Hospice's service to residents of Mid-Essex. Braintree MP Brooks Newmark welcomed over 100 guests to the House of Commons this week to celebrate 25 years of Farleigh Hospice's service to residents of Mid-Essex.
Brooks said, "It was a real pleasure to welcome the friends and supporters of Farleigh Hospice to the House of Commons for such a special event. Farleigh has gone from strength to strength over the last 25 years and I have no doubt that it will continue to serve our communities for many years to come."
Gary Hawkes, head of fundraising at Farleigh Hospice, said "We are grateful to Brooks Newmark MP for hosting the event for us in such splendid surroundings. It gave us the opportunity to update people about our plans for the new Hospice Outreach Project which will continue and develop our support for the people of the Braintree, Witham and Dunmow areas. This will be the UK's first mobile Hospice service, bringing our care closer to the local community. Farleigh Hospice relies on fundraising and gifts in will to provide all of services and each and every week we support over 200 people affected by life limiting illnesses."
After welcoming guests, Mr. Newmark left the event in order to speak during the health and education debate on the Queen's Speech, where he paid tribute to the work done by Farleigh and warned Ministers of the challenges that the Braintree Day Hospice faces because of the Government's inaction on the community hospital project.
He told the House of Commons, "As ever, the Government are long on rhetoric and short on progress when it comes to the delivery of proper local health care…The sickness in the health service is borne out by my constituents' experience of obtaining adequate local health care…Those delays have already had real consequences for patient care locally. This afternoon, I hosted an event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Farleigh hospice, which provides support for my constituents and others across mid-Essex. Last year, Farleigh cared for 2,663 people, but its year has closed with the news that the day hospice must vacate its premises on the site of the former St. Michael's hospital in Braintree by the beginning of next year, because the future of the site and of the community hospital that was supposed to be built there is still uncertain. I do not see the Government's commitment to local health care anywhere in the vicious circle that has trapped Braintree's community hospital project since 2005
