|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
Health
campaigners take the fight to Westminster Members of the Support the Princess Royal Hospital campaign and local MPs Nicholas Soames and Nick Herbert met in Westminster yesterday to join with a rally held by the All-Party Local Hospitals Group. The event brought together representatives of campaigns fighting to prevent the downgrading or reconfiguration of hospitals from 18 different counties. The 200-strong audience heard from medical professionals who told the campaigners that not all frontline medical staff agreed with the case being made by the Government and local health authorities who are seeking to reconfigure services across the country. The MPs also delivered the following message to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt: “Loss of services for common conditions from acute district hospitals can never be seen as an advantage by local people even though they are well aware of the need to travel for complex or highly specialised treatment. Please review all proposed acute hospital mergers and reconfigurations with the aim of maintaining local hospital services for common conditions that need emergency or inpatient care. The case for drastic downgrading is not supported by research or experience. Much work has to be done to find workable solutions to the problems affecting local health communities that are acceptable to patients and NHS staff.” Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert addressed the rally, telling campaigners that the proposals were being dressed up as healthcare improvements, but were actually driven by urgent cost cutting. He said that the Government was keen on promoting patient choice, but questioned what patient choice really meant if hospitals are removed against the wishes of local people. Cllr Paddy Henry, a District Councillor from Haywards Heath, told the meeting that if the health authorities got their way, hundreds of thousands of people across West Sussex would be left without meaningful local hospital services, and nothing less than retention of full NHS services was acceptable. Commenting after the rally, Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said: “This was a very impressive gathering which will send a strong message to the Secretary of State that we will not tolerate the destruction of our greatly valued and essential local health services.” Arundel & South Downs MP
Nick Herbert said: "Well done to the hospital
campaigners and especially the PRH team for giving up their day to come to
Parliament and ensure that their concerns were put to MPs. It was sobering
to see groups from right across the country, showing that the axe is falling
on local hospitals nationwide. I thought it was poor that no health
ministers were there to listen to the professionals and the public set out
their objections to downgrading acute hospitals." |
|||
|
|
||||
