I blogged last week about the government's plans to put GPs in charge of commissioning local healthcare services. When it comes to accident and emergency care, here in Elmbridge we rely on hospitals outside the constituency - such as Kingston and St Peters. That doesn't mean our local community should have no say in how those hospitals are run.

Today, I visited St Peters hospital, toured the A&E, Medical Assessment and Orthopedic units and heard from Chairman Aileen McLeish. The hospital (formally) serves the western side of the constituency (from Walton to Cobham). The hospital staff have made great strides in various areas, for example, in preventing MRSA and reducing the number of mixed sex wards to a minimum.

They plan to complete the transition to 'foundation trust' status (along with Ashford hospital) by the end of the year. I strongly support the move. It will inject greater local democracy into the management of the hospital trust, because a majority of the governing board will be directly elected. One of the elected governors will represent Elmbridge - given the proportion of our population served by the hospitals - giving us a real say in setting the hospital's priorities and responding to local needs. If you are interested either in standing to be an elected governor, voting, or just finding out more, click here.

(Dom Visits St Peters Hospital with Hospital Trust Chairman Aileen McLeish)