Hip replacement surgery for MP

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams has confirmed she’ll be restricting her availability over the summer as she goes into hospital for hip replacement surgery.

The former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary says she’s been battling pain in her hip for a few months and now the time has come to go under the knife and undergo surgery.

As a result, Mrs Abrahams is expecting to be sidelined for between 6-8 weeks while she recovers.

In a statement on her website, Mrs Abrahams said: “I wanted to let you know of an upcoming surgery on my hip which will impact on my availability over the next couple of months.

“I have been experiencing severe hip pain over the last three years, for which I have been receiving excellent NHS treatment at regular intervals.

"Just over a year ago I was told that a hip replacement operation would be necessary as other treatment options had been exhausted.

"I deferred this operation as there was a heavy workload in Parliament and within the constituency and I didn’t feel I could miss the 6-8 weeks recovery time that this operation will necessitate.

“However, the pain and damage being done to my hip has now reached a point where I need to have the operation, which is scheduled to take place this week.

As a result, I will have very limited mobility for 6-8 weeks, so you may not see me around as often I’d like and my constituency engagements will be restricted.

"Luckily, the timing means I will only miss three weeks when Parliament is sitting and the majority of my recuperation will be in the summer recess.”

Despite not being available for a period of time, Mrs Abrahams has also confirmed members of her team will be available to help her constituents as usual.

She added: “My office will, of course, remain open throughout this time, my staff and I will be dealing with casework for constituents and there will be appointments for urgent issues with constituency colleagues, as required.

"The office is open to the public Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9am-1pm and you can also contact me and my team on abrahamsd@parliament.uk or on 0161 624 4248 with your enquiries or to book an appointment with the team.”

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