NHS data shows hundreds of older patients in Chichester are waiting dangerously long hours in A&E, with many being left in corridors due to overwhelming demand.    Liberal Democrats are calling for a legal guarantee that no patient should wait more than 12 hours in A&E, supported by a £1.5bn plan to increase hospital capacity and social care support.    Having attended a parliamentary drop-in hosted by Age UK on the issue this week, Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, Jess Br

Jess Brown-Fuller MP has written to the Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, to raise her concerns about the impact of the digital GP booking system upon the elderly and digitally excluded, stressing the need to ensure no one is “left behind”. The government introduced the online booking system for GP appointments  on 1 October 2025, mandating that every GP practice in England keep their digital booking system open throughout the day. In most practices, this involves

Last Friday, 16 January 2026, Jess Brown-Fuller visited St Richard’s Hospital to discuss reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) removal in the South Wing and its impact on hospital services.   RAAC is a lightweight building material that was widely used between the 1950s and 1990s, particularly in public buildings such as hospitals and schools. Initially seen as an affordable alternative to concrete, RAAC is now known to have major structural safety issues.  As of Sept

Jess Brown-Fuller, MP for Chichester, has called on the government to commit to a nationally consistent standard for IVF rounds, following Sussex ICB’s decision to cut its provision from three cycles to one.   Speaking to the Health Secretary in the Commons on Tuesday, Jess reinforced the urgent need for a consistent position across all Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), highlighting that there is currently a postcode lottery for NHS-funded IVF treatment with some areas offering

MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, raised concerns regarding cancelled vaccine appointments during a statement on NHS winter preparedness in Parliament this week. She highlighted the challenges faced by GPs and community pharmacies in planning vaccine provision, noting that many have been required to place vaccine orders up to a year in advance. The NHS is currently facing a particularly severe flu season, with cases emerging earlier than usual and new strains becoming dom

By Jess Brown-Fuller MP Last week, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon on an ambulance with two highly trained paramedics working for the South-East Coast Ambulance Service . I met them at the ‘Make Ready’ centre in Tangmere, which is now the centralised location where ambulances are returned to and dispatched from before responding to emergency calls spanning a huge area, right into the South Downs National Park and along the coast.    The opportunity to attend call

By Jess Brown-Fuller MP Last week I sat down with carers from across Chichester constituency. I was invited by Carers Support West Sussex , an organisation that helps over 30,000 registered carers, including more than 3,700 in Chichester.   Having met with Carers Support West Sussex before, they kindly facilitated 20 carers, with different caring responsibilities, to help me understand what matters to them, where they feel ignored, and what needs to be done to improve their e

MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, has called for an "emergency package" to save the family doctor. It comes after new research revealed that, since January, 293,956 appointments in West Sussex have had waits of over 28 days, up from 114,459 at the same point five years ago, an increase of 157%. Local waits of over two weeks have increased from 381,153 in 2020 to 877,555 this year, an increase of 130%.    Jess Brown-Fuller has called for an emergency package to end the cri

MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, joined the official opening of the new Same Day Emergency Care Unit (SDEC) at St Richard’s Hospital last Friday, 31 October. The SDEC unit has already welcomed its first patients in recent weeks, but Jess had the opportunity to formally acknowledge this £6 million investment into St Richard’s at the official opening, which she attended alongside senior Trust and hospital management, clinical staff, and local MPs Alison Griffiths, MP for B

Jess Brown-Fuller, MP for Chichester, and Alison Griffiths, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, hosted a parliamentary drop-in event with Dementia Support to highlight the charity’s innovative Sage House model and its plans for national rollout. Both MPs spoke at the event, alongside Andrew Griffith, Arundel and South Downs, and Dementia Support CEO Sally Tabbner.   Dementia Support, an award-winning West Sussex charity, established the UK’s first dementia hub, Sage House

Jess Brown-Fuller recently visited Westhampnett Child Development Centre to discuss the crisis in waiting times for children’s community health services.   The Child Development Centre (CDC) provides paediatric physiotherapy and occupational therapy, alongside a variety of services aimed at supporting children with special needs. These include assessments and developmental assistance for speech and language difficulties, as well as motor and sensory impairments.    During the

Jess Brown-Fuller is warning terminally ill patients across the country are now facing cuts to vital hospice care, backing a Liberal Democrat campaign in Parliament to save our hospices.   Jess has backed a Liberal Democrat campaign in Parliament to protect local hospice services, warning that many “are on the brink of collapse unless government ministers step in now.”  The warning comes amid news that 2 in 5 hospices nationally are planning cuts this year, with 50% of childr

It has been announced that 14 NHS trusts, including University Hospitals Sussex, will have their maternity and neonatal services examined. The government has ordered an urgent review into maternity services nationwide, following a series of independent investigations into various trusts which identified failings in maternity and neonatal care. The review, to be led by Baroness Valerie Amos, aims to deliver an initial set of recommendations by December this year.   Jess in Par

By Jess Brown-Fuller MP Almost a year ago, the cardiac catheter lab at St Richard’s was temporarily closed due to a failure of the ventilation system. Nearly a year later, the Trust is considering options for the cath lab, one option being a full closure of the cath lab at St Richard’s, with the work diverted to Worthing Hospital.   The services provided in a cath lab are indispensable for residents in Chichester, particularly given our demographic of a higher-than-average ol

Jess Brown-Fuller, Member of Parliament for Chichester, visited St Richard’s Hospital to discuss how gynaecology services can be improved in Chichester and across the country. During the visit Jess toured the gynaecology department and met senior hospital leaders to understand the pressures clinicians are facing on waiting times, diagnostics and staffing. Waiting lists for gynaecology are at critical levels nationally, with hundreds of thousands of women awaiting vital treatm

Jess Brown-Fuller , Member of Parliament for Chichester, has paid a visit to the Selsey Venture Club to see first-hand the new electric minibus now serving residents. The visit offered an opportunity to hear directly from volunteers about the important role the club plays in supporting many of Selsey’s elderly and vulnerable residents.  Jess standing in front of the new bus alongside volunteers and service users The recently launched electric minibus is both more environmenta

Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, has secured a public commitment from the Secretary of State for Health during Health and Social Care Questions in the House of Commons, in support of the nation’s unpaid carers. Jess speaking in Parliament The intervention comes on the same day that carers across the country launched a powerful “protest from home” alongside the Carers Trust. Their faces were projected on large screens in Parliament Square – a moving displ

Today, 14 July 2025, Jess wrote to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) calling for clarity for residents regarding proposed plans to close Westbourne Branch Surgery. If the surgery does close, patients would be expected to travel to Emsworth for all appointments, which is not easily accessible by public transport from Westbourne.  However, despite the initial date proposed for the closure being Friday 27th June, residents are still awaiting clarity

Jess Brown-Fuller MP has said that the 10-year plan for the NHS announced by the government risks being a “missed opportunity” to rebuild local health services, after social care was treated as “barely an afterthought”. Criticising the plan’s approach to social care, Jess warned that it would not solve the issue of overcrowded hospitals.   Jess took the opportunity to call on the government to commit to investing in 8,000 more GPs in order to cope with the ageing population,

Following the announcement by the Government of a national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services on 23 June 2025, Jess Brown-Fuller has renewed her call for urgent action to improve maternity care. Jess said: "Too many families have suffered unimaginable losses due to failures in our maternity services in Sussex and across the UK. In advance of my debate in parliament on maternity services in England, I spoke to a number of brave families  who had suffered ha