MP Newsletter #25: Melksham Hospital at PMQs, first business breakfast, and empowering young people
A warm welcome to this latest update. It’s been a busy few weeks, both in Westminster and across the constituency, so this is something of a bumper edition.
From raising local healthcare directly with the Prime Minister, to meeting students, businesses, insurers and education leaders, I wanted to share an overview of what I’ve been working on - and how it links back to the issues people raise with me most often when I’m out and about across our beautiful constituency.
In this edition:
- 🏥 Prime Minister’s Questions – standing up for local healthcare
- 🥐 Business breakfast and supporting local enterprise
- 🎓 Students from Melksham Oak & Devizes School at Westminster
- 🌊 Flooding, insurance and my meeting with Aviva
- 🎓 Wiltshire College and skills for the future
- 🏛 Keeping up with my work in Parliament
🏥 Standing Up for Better Healthcare at Melksham Hospital – at PMQs
One of the issues I hear about most often when I’m out and about across the constituency is access to healthcare and in particular, the pressure people face when services aren’t available close to home.
That’s why this week I raised the future of Melksham Hospital directly with the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions.
I made the case that our area still lacks key local services, including a Minor Injuries Unit, meaning residents are often forced to travel to Bath or Swindon for urgent care. For many people, especially older residents, those without a car, or anyone relying on patchy public transport, those journeys are stressful, time-consuming and sometimes simply not realistic.
I was pleased that the Prime Minister acknowledged the issue and confirmed that I will be given a meeting with the relevant Health Minister to discuss the expansion of services at Melksham Hospital and how our concerns can be addressed. I will be pushing hard to ensure that meeting leads to real progress, not warm words.
Since being elected last July, improving services at Melksham Hospital has been a consistent priority for me. Over the past year, my office has handled more than 300 pieces of health-related casework, and I regularly hear from residents about long waits, long journeys and difficulty accessing routine appointments locally.
The wider Melksham area now serves a population of over 25,000 people, expected to rise beyond 30,000 in the early 2030s. Our population is older than the county and national average, and some neighbourhoods experience significant levels of deprivation. Yet healthcare provision has not kept pace with this growth or need.
Last year, I brought together local clinicians, NHS leaders, councillors and community groups at a strategic meeting in Melksham to push for clearer commitments and greater transparency. That work has already helped secure agreement to explore new community-based services, including community audiology - saving patients unnecessary trips to Bath and easing pressure on major hospitals.
There is still much more to do. Raising this issue at PMQs was about putting our local healthcare needs firmly on the national radar. I’ll now use the upcoming ministerial meeting to press the case for practical, deliverable improvements, and I’ll continue working with local doctors, councils, NHS partners and community organisations to make sure people can access high-quality NHS care closer to home.
As always, if you’ve been affected by local healthcare access, please do get in touch - your experiences help drive this work forward.
🥐 Supporting Local Businesses – My First Business Breakfast
It was a real joy to recently host my first business breakfast at Lowden Garden Centre.
Around 30 local businesses joined us from right across the Melksham & Devizes constituency to talk about what more can be done to support local enterprise. We discussed recent Government policies following the Budget, and the knock-on effects they’re having for businesses on the ground.
I also spoke about the urgent need for a closer trading relationship with the EU, particularly to help exporters and reduce the mountain of paperwork that many local businesses now face. This is something I hear repeatedly from employers.
A recurring theme was the barriers businesses face locally - whether it’s tax changes, rising business rates, or difficulties navigating processes with Wiltshire Council. I’ll be following up on these issues directly, and we’ll be holding further business breakfasts and meetings in the coming months.
If you’re a local business owner or work for a local business and would like to join the network, please do email my office.
🎓 Students from Melksham Oak & Devizes School Visit Westminster
I was delighted to welcome students from Melksham Oak School and Devizes School to Westminster recently.
It was a real pleasure to show them around the Parliamentary estate and spend time answering their questions on everything from how Parliament works and what it’s like being an MP, to geopolitics and the local issues affecting young people here in Wiltshire.
🌊 Flooding, Insurance and My Meeting with Aviva
I recently met with Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, to discuss flooding and flood insurance - an issue I know is of real concern to many constituents, particularly in Bradford on Avon.
We spoke about Aviva’s participation in the Flood Re scheme, which is designed to help households at high flood risk access affordable insurance. I was clear that while schemes like this are important, residents still face real challenges when premiums rise or cover becomes difficult to secure.
I was also interested to learn more about Aviva’s social investment work, and I made the case that our area could benefit from further investment in flood mitigation - whether through nature-based solutions, community-level defences, or practical financial support to help residents and businesses better protect their properties.
Flooding is an issue that cuts across planning, insurance, infrastructure and climate resilience, and I’ll continue pushing on all fronts to ensure our communities aren’t left exposed.
🎓 Wiltshire College & Skills for the Future
I also recently visited Wiltshire College’s Lackham campus, where I met with Principal and CEO Iain Hatt.
We had a productive discussion about the future of the college and its recent innovations — particularly in e-gaming and the growing industries and careers that sit alongside it. It was also good to see their eco-house which allow students to pick up the green energy skills to make our homes more energy efficient.
While our constituency doesn’t have a bricks-and-mortar Wiltshire College campus, it is the further education destination for many young people from across the whole constituency. I’m determined to work closely with the college to ensure they can continue delivering high-quality education and skills training right across the county.
📬 Staying in Touch
You can follow everything I’m doing in Parliament on your behalf, including speeches, written questions, voting record, and debates, via my official Parliamentary page:
👉 https://members.parliament.uk/member/5214/contributions
As always, if there’s an issue you’d like to raise, you can contact me at brian.mathew.mp@parliament.uk or by calling 01225 434216. I also hold regular advice surgeries across the constituency.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update - and for all the conversations, emails and meetings that continue to shape my work as your MP.
With best wishes,
Dr Brian Mathew MP
Your Lib Dem Member of Parliament for Melksham and Devizes
