Tom Tugendhat MBE MP

House of Commons London SW1A 0AA

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

7 January 2016

TOM TUGENDHAT PRESSES FOR BRANCH SURGERY TO REMAIN OPEN

BEGINS

Tom Tugendhat MBE MP, Member of Parliament for , Edenbridge and Malling has written to NHS and Woodlands Health Centre to stress the importance of East Peckham Branch Surgery to the village.

Last month, Woodlands Health Centre circulated a letter informing residents of the possibility of closure for East Peckham Branch Surgery. Since then, Tom has held meetings with East Peckham Parish Council and local residents to hear the community response to these proposals. Further meetings are planned. Tom has spoken with Ben Gummer MP, the Minister for Health Services, and written both to NHS England and Woodlands Branch Surgery to seek clarification over the reasons behind the proposed closure.

Closure of the surgery would affect 1,500 patients registered at the practice, who would have to travel miles for appointments. This may mean waiting for the one bus an hour which serves the village, while local businesses which rely heavily on footfall would also be affected.

Commenting on the possible closure, Tom Tugendhat MBE MP said “East Peckham Branch Surgery provides important healthcare to patients in the village, without which they would have to travel far and at greater cost. The importance of local services on communities like East Peckham cannot be overestimated. Without them, our villages become dormitories and lose their character. It would be sad to see this happen to East Peckham.”

A copy of Tom’s letter to Woodlands Health Centre is attached.

ENDS

Note to editors

Tom Tugendhat MBE MP was elected to the represent in May 2015, increasing both the majority and the share of the vote. Before entering Parliament he was as an army officer, serving on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff. Tom is a member of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

The constituency of Tonbridge and Malling includes: and Long Mill, Cage Green, Castle, Downs and , East Malling, and East Peckham, Higham, , Judd, , Medway, Trench, Vauxhall, , and , and , Ightham and Stansted in the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling and Cowden and Hever, Edenbridge North and East, Edenbridge South and West, Leigh, and Chiddingstone Causeway, and Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone in the District of .

130 Vale Road, Tonbridge, TN9 1SP 01732 441563, [email protected], tomtugendhat

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PRESS RELEASE For further information please contact Matt Boughton on 01732 441563/07795 192042 or [email protected].

130 Vale Road, Tonbridge, KENT TN9 1SP 01732 441563, [email protected], tomtugendhat

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