All four of my children were born (on their due dates!) at Leighton Hospital, which sits in our Eddisbury constituency, and I have been fortunate to be able to work with Leighton so closely over some 11 years as an MP.

I even spent a week working there in a variety of roles, from porter to patient care, to help understand the challenges our NHS staff face.

So I was delighted when my colleague, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP – Secretary of State for Health & Social Care – recently opened a new two-storey A&E department at Leighton, delivering hugely improved patient facilities for the people of Cheshire.

“It was a privilege to open the new £15 million emergency department at Leighton Hospital.

“This investment will deliver improved emergency care for Cheshire residents, and help deliver on our manifesto promises to level up,” he said on the day.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Leighton, secured Government funding last year to reconfigure and expand emergency care services, following representations by myself and the MP for Crewe & Nantwich, Dr Kieran Mullan, in Parliament and Whitehall.

The new modular building next to the site’s existing A&E department covers 4,000 square metres, and will enable clinicians to treat significantly more patients, with a 50 per cent increase in the number of beds and cubicles.

The building also includes a dedicated paediatric unit – specially decorated by a local artist – mental health assessment rooms, and a bereavement suite, as well as additional treatment rooms. There will also be offices and staff facilities on the first floor.

This project will save more than £400 million in backlog maintenance, as well as helping to free up a lot of community care, which at the moment is under extreme pressure due to the number of beds available at Leighton and in the surrounding area.

I cannot praise Leighton's staff highly enough, and I hope this building programme will give those staff and patients the environment they deserve in order to provide the healthcare we know the NHS can deliver, which is world class.

Sajid also added his thanks to Leighton’s team, saying, “My department has worked closely with local MPs Edward and Kieran – as well as Leighton Hospital chief executive, James Sumner – to get this project over the line.

“I would like to thank the staff at Leighton for their tireless efforts, and look forward to hearing more about the positive impact this upgrade is having on patients’ experience of the NHS.”

To that end, I would welcome hearing from any Eddisbury resident who has views on our new A&E – or any other local healthcare service – at edwardtimpson.com/contact, where you can also sign up to my Eddisbury Report e-newsletter.