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The Government will be challenged on their National Health Service record in a forthcoming debate in the House of Commons. Mounting criticism of the Government’s record on Health has been fuelled by reports of hospitals in financial crisis; contrasting sharply with the Prime Minister’s own claims about the billions of extra pounds being pumped into the NHS. Hospitals in England and Wales have suffered a total £620 million deficit in 2005, a figure which could reach £1 billion by March 06. Now Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield, Grant Shapps, has secured a debate on the 16th January which specifically focuses on the Hertfordshire Hospital Financial Crisis, following plans for the partial closure of the QE2 hospital in his constituency. The recently elected MP said, “I have been critical of the Government’s NHS policy for some time. There is no doubt that they have been raising a lot of extra taxation, but excessive layers of bureaucracy, expensive new contracts and a centrally driven target-culture have all rendered the extra money useless. Now all we have to show for it are draconian closures at our local hospital and the same picture is being repeated up and down the country. “In my constituency the QE2 Hospital is set to lose its blue-light Accident and Emergency, all maternity services, all children’s facilities and all operations. This is a real worry for people who live in and around Welwyn Hatfield especially those of us who have children or elderly relatives who may need immediate medical care. The nearest A&E will be 15 miles away up a busy motorway which narrows to two lanes and is always backed-up during rush hours. The bottom line is that these deficits will cost lives sooner rather than later.” Mr Shapps has organised the www.SaveTheQE2.com campaign to fight the closures and hopes that the hospital will be granted a stay of execution until a newly proposed hospital can be built in 2013, but he added, “A new super hospital sounds great, but so far the land hasn’t even been purchased.” ENDS
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