Writing for this week's Redditch Standard (July 7th), Rachel said:
“It was a humbling experience visiting the Garden Suite Chemotherapy Unit at the Alexandra Hospital a few weeks ago.
It’s a lifesaving service and we had to fight hard to get the Garden Suite back to our hospital where it belongs.
To visit the Garden Suite and to see patients receiving their treatment once again at the Alex is something I will never forget.
The service’s return to our hospital following its re-location to Kidderminster during the pandemic was never guaranteed. Local health bosses consulted with staff and patients about keeping the Garden Suite in Kidderminster permanently, leaving the Alex without a chemotherapy service. I was never going to let that happen, and neither were you.
8,000 of you signed my petition calling for the service to be returned. I believe your voices made the difference in this campaign. It was vital local health bosses were made aware of the strength of feeling in Redditch, and we certainly did just that.
Now I’ve demonstrated I’m capable of returning services to the Alex, the fight continues to return a maternity and children’s service to our hospital. I have a plan to win this fight, and I believe with determination and hard-work it will deliver results.
I will be meeting with local health bosses again this month to make the case. They have the power to decide where hospital services are provided from in Worcestershire.
And this Government is supporting our fight with record investment in our NHS and with more doctors and nurses working for our Acute Trust than when I was first elected.
I will leave no stone unturned in our shared desire for the Alex to be a hospital where women can once again give birth and a hospital where children can be treated.”
