MP who beat Liz Truss in General Election inspired to get into Parliament after father's death
South West Norfolk Labour MP Terry Jermy making his maiden speech in the House of Commons.
The MP who beat former Prime Minister Liz Truss in the General Election used his first Commons speech to highlight his fight for a better NHS - after his father's death inspired him to run for Parliament.
Labour's Terry Jermy was voted in during the summer to represent the South West Norfolk constituency, when Ms Truss lost her 26,195 majority in what was a devastating General Election for the Conservatives.
The South West Norfolk constituency was the 13th safest Tory seat across the country and had been held since 2010 by Ms Truss, who holds the record for the shortest-serving prime minister at 44 days.
Mr Jermy made his House of Commons maiden speech on Monday during a debate on NHS performance based on an independent investigation by Lord Darzi.
The Norfolk Labour MP said his "nightmare" family tragedy was the catalyst for him to go against Ms Truss.
His father, Trevor, 65, who had a "life-altering stroke in 2013, died in January last year after he developed pneumonia and Covid and was put into a coma at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
Medics later discovered he had suffered another stroke while in the coma.
During his parliamentary speech, Mr Jermy described the impact of the first stroke in 2013, saying: "Strokes come in all shapes and sizes, but having shown no warning signs my dad suffered a major stroke.
"The physical aspects were painfully easy to see... but there was psychological damage too.
"After 10 further years with my dad he became unwell and we tried to get him a GP appointment which, like for so many, was difficult."
Reflecting on his father's stay at the West Suffolk Hospital towards the end of his life, the MP added: "During that long time that my dad spent in hospital I saw painfully up close so much of our NHS. I saw ambulances routinely queuing up, the accident and emergency department always busy, the hospital buildings looking old and tired.
"I saw how few staff were available during the week and at weekends the situation was worse.
"I saw the impact of this whole nightmare on my mother and the rest of our family.
"It was at that point that I decided enough was enough and, if I could, I should try to do something about it.
"And that’s when I decided to stand not particularly because I wanted to win, but I wanted to raise the issues, I wanted someone to acknowledge how bad things had become, how we couldn’t carry on like this."
He told the other politicians: "I hope to do what I can to make their lives that little bit better."
The West Suffolk Hospital is due to be rebuilt by 2030 as part of the government's hospital rebuilding programme, which also includes two Norfolk hospitals - the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn and the James Paget in Gorleston - and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was important to "debate the past and what went so badly wrong" as well as "the future of our NHS, how it needs to change and the many reasons to be optimistic about what our health service can be".
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