Will Forster, Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, has announced Government funding to create a Neighbourhood Health Centre in Woking.

Woking’s Goldsworth Park Health Centre has been awarded new Government funding to expand services and improve patient access.

The investment forms part of the Government’s new “Neighbourhood Health Service” programme, which aims to shift care out of hospitals and into local communities.

The improvements are expected to bring more services closer to home for Woking residents, easing pressure on hospitals while delivering more convenient, joined-up care. It will function as a one-stop shop for residents to easily access a range of health services.

The upgrade will see unused office space converted into clinical areas, increasing the number and range of appointments available to patients. A new lift will also be installed to improve accessibility across the building.

The funding comes as part of a wider national programme to modernise NHS infrastructure and improve community-based care, with dozens of health centres across the country set to be upgraded.

Will Forster MP said:

“I am delighted to confirm that the Government has agreed to upgrade the Goldsworth Health Centre into a Neighbourhood Health Centre. This will expand the services offered here to a one stop shop of GPs, nurses, physios, mental health workers and much more.”

“The building will be extended, with clinical accommodation added to the first floor, and a lift built to ensure everyone can access these new services. This investment is a huge win for Woking and a great get for the staff that run the centre.”

“Expanding services locally means residents can access the care they need closer to home, without unnecessary trips to hospital. I will continue working with NHS leaders to ensure Woking gets the modern, accessible healthcare it deserves.”

A Woking nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), who commutes via train, has raised concerns about the rising cost and complexity of rail travel for NHS staff working in central London.

She spends around £350 a month on train fares, with colleagues paying up to £500. For those working overnight shifts, the problem is even worse. Because shifts run across midnight, staff often have to buy tickets for different days, meaning railcards may apply in the evening but not on the return journey the following morning. Day tickets typically expire at 4am, leaving many night-shift workers paying full fare.

The issue affects NHS staff across all professions and has implications for recruitment and retention at hospitals like GOSH, where high commuting costs are contributing to staff turnover.

Ahead of Will Forster MP raising this issue, South Western Railway confirmed that railcards are managed nationally, not by individual train companies. Any NHS railcard would need to be considered by the Rail Delivery Group or Great British Railways, alongside the Department for Transport. SWR also confirmed there should be no practical barrier to creating a new railcard.

Will is calling for a practical first step, such as an NHS railcard, to support key workers and better reflect the realities of NHS shift work.

Local Liberal Democrat MP Will Forster has called for an “emergency package” to save local GP services, after shocking new figures revealed record-long waits for appointments in Surrey Heartlands. 

Since January, 205,411 appointments in the area have had waits of more than 28 days, up from 95,298 five years ago – a 116% increase. 

The number of patients waiting more than two weeks has also soared by 110%, from 119,853 in 2020 to 503,412 this year. 

Will Forster said the figures show the GP crisis is spiralling out of control and that both the Conservatives and Labour have failed to get to grips with it. 

“Patients in Woking are finding it harder than ever to get a GP appointment. It’s completely unacceptable that people are waiting weeks just to see their family doctor. 

The Conservatives let this crisis deepen, and now Labour are failing to provide real solutions. We need urgent action to rescue local GP services.” 

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency plan to ensure everyone can see a GP within seven days, or 24 hours if urgent. 

Proposals include reopening local surgeries, creating a 24/7 GP booking system through NHS 111 to end the “8am scramble”, and a major recruitment drive for family doctors. 

Nationally, the number of people waiting more than 14 days for a GP appointment has risen by 50% since 2020, while those waiting over 28 days have increased by 67%, according to research by the House of Commons Library. 

“People deserve the right to see their GP quickly and locally. No one should be left worrying for weeks about their health because they can’t get an appointment,” Will added. 

Will Forster, Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, has exposed the revelation that there have been 316 waits of 12 hours or longer for admissions from A&E at Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in June and July. A decade ago, exactly no one had to wait this long. 

The data reported so far on the summer months shows an alarming surge in the number of patients waiting over 12 hours from when a decision to admit a patient is made to that patient actually being admitted. 

During the 2015 summer period no ‘trolley waits’ were recorded at Ashford and St Peter’s, with only 47 recorded across England as a whole. The 316 waits recorded locally this year is reflective of a national pattern of spiralling A&E to hospital admission times. 

Mr Forster first raised this crisis in July, when he spoke in the House of Commons to demand a government investigation into why Woking residents are facing such lengthy and unreasonable waiting times.  

The speech cited data that revealed in June, only 66% of patients admitted to Woking’s local A&E at St Peter’s Hospital were seen within four hours – far below both the national target and the national average of 76%.   

These long delays can have deadly consequences. Analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously stated that 16,600 deaths were linked to long A&E waits before admission in 2024. 

Mr Forster said that the annual ‘winter crisis’ in the NHS had now turned into a “permacrisis”:   

“It’s evident that local health services are now buckling under pressure all year round, not just in winter.  

“We need an emergency package of measures to protect patients and their families from further agony this winter and to relieve the pressure on stretched A&E waiting rooms. 

“The Conservative party’s shameful neglect of local health services is what brought us to this point. However, this Labour government needs to realise that unless Ministers take urgent action, we could be sleepwalking towards disaster this winter. 

Mr Forster added that the measures he would like to see include increasing vaccine uptake for seasonal illnesses, increasing access to pharmacies and by expanding the number of out-of-hours GPs. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editors: 

The NHS figures can be found here. 

Research by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine can be found here. 

A video of Will speaking in the House of Commons to demand a Government investigation can be found here. 

Will has responded to many constituents who have gotten in touch with him over the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ahead of its 3rd reading in Parliament. 

This is what he wrote:

Thank you for contacting me about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
 
As I reported back to you before, I voted in favour of the bill at Second Reading in November 2024. Since then, the bill has been in committee. I just wanted to update you on it’s progress as I think it is very important to keep you all updated, at every step, where I can, on such a big issue.
 
On the 26th March 2025, the bill concluded its Committee Stage. Over the course of more than 90 hours of debate, nearly 600 amendments were proposed and considered, and 150 were accepted – including over 30 tabled by MPs who opposed the Bill at Second Reading. The committee has worked hard to scrutinise the bill line by line, reflecting the significance and sensitivity of the subject.
 
Throughout, MPs have listened to a wide range of views - from experts, campaigners, and those with lived experience. Whatever our individual positions, there was strong agreement across the committee that we must do better for those at the end of life.
 
Key changes made at committee include:

1. A new judge-led commission and multidisciplinary panels, adding further expertise to ensure a terminally ill person’s decision is their own, free of coercion or pressure . The committee accepted Kim Leadbeater's amendment to establish a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission, chaired by a High Court judge or retired judge, to oversee applications. Panels will include a senior lawyer (who could also be a High Court judge), psychiatrist, and social worker – ensuring that each case is reviewed with the appropriate depth and expertise.
2. Mandatory training to recognise coercion will now mandatory for doctors and all professionals who sit on the panel.
3. The bill now explicitly requires that patients must be informed of their full end of life options, including palliative and hospice care. It guarantees multiple opportunities for reflection and the right to change their mind at any point.
4. The bill increases protections for all terminally ill adults, including disabled people. There will be a new Disability Advisory Board to ensure that the impact of the bill on disabled people is robustly and regularly monitored, and independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities, people with mental health disorders and autistic people, to understand their options and navigate end of life decisions. 

The bill will now come back to the House of Commons for its Report Stage in the coming weeks. An updated version of the bill will be published shortly and you can find all the updates related to the bill here.
 
The committee has done the job the House asked of it - scrutinising the detail and responding to concerns. I understand that the committee believes the bill is now more robust, offering greater protections for the most vulnerable while providing a clear, humane framework for end-of-life decisions.
 
Thank you for your interest in assisted dying, it is a debate that is more enhanced, the more people engage with and take part in.
 
Kind regards,
 
Will 
Will Forster MP