TAUNTON and Wellington MP Gideon Amos spoke on health and social care at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Brighton this weekend.

Mr Amos campaigned on both issues in the run-up to the General Election in July which saw him win the seat from the Conservatives.

He took to the stage to speak in the party’s keynote debate on the motion ‘Our plan to save the NHS’, on Sunday, September 16.

Mr Amos said: "The priority we gave to care, and the NHS, was the right one, and it still very much is, because it delivers on our Liberal values – values of allowing people to lead the life they want to live, and they love living. 

"But with so many waiting on beds, unable to go home because they don't have the care, unlocking the back door of our hospital is the only way we'll ever be able to open the front doors and allow more people in for the treatment they need.  

"And Musgrove Park Hospital in my constituency of Taunton and Wellington is really struggling. 

"Thirty degrees in summer with medics fainting because of the heat. 

"And, in winter, only relieved by buckets in the corridors catching the rain from the holes in the roofs. 

“The buildings are very much crumbling, which you might not say is surprising for buildings put up only as a temporary measure for the US Army in about 1940.

"This is not the state in which we can expect high-quality care to be delivered, and it's frankly an unacceptable state the last government left our NHS in – literally adding insult to injury for many of the patients in that hospital.  

"But I want to highlight another big idea of our policy, our commitment to improving people's mental health – a mental health practitioner in every school, regular MOTs, an end to sending people far away from home and walk-in centres.”

Mr Amos said it was about early prevention rather than trying to treat mental health problems when it was "too late".

The MP said: "You heard it all from the Liberal Democrats first. And it is possible. 

"Somerset NHS Trust is leading the way. The first to merge mental health and primary health into the same trust. 

"And the first to see the real improvement in outcomes in terms of reduced serious referrals.  

"The first to make that change, to bring mental health treatment out of the cloistered buildings of hospitals and into the community."

Dr Salwa Malik, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who attended the conference on behalf of its members, said in response: "The Liberal Democrats must be commended for their steadfast focus and commitment to improving health and social care.

"The speeches today align with RCEM’s priorities and highlighted some of the key areas that need addressing if we really are to ‘fix’ the NHS.

"We have already had a number of constructive discussions with MPs here in Brighton and look forward to meeting with the Lib Dems’ health team shortly and working with them to achieve our shared aims."