Anne Main asks Minister if she has a moral obligation to the "super hospital" project
30th November 2006
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health today, Anne Main reminded the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP of the previous Secretary of State's apparent enthusiasm for the proposed "super hospital"
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health today, Anne Main reminded the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP of the previous Secretary of State's apparent enthusiasm for the proposed "super hospital" and invited her to come to St Albans to discuss the shelved project and the A&E provision for St Albans.
A transcript of the letter follows:
"Rt Hon Patrica Hewitt MP
Secretary of State for Health
Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NS
Our ref: SA627330 November 2006
Dear Secretary of State,
I am writing to you to express my extreme disappointment at the twin blows dealt to my constituents by the announcements of the closure of the Accident and Emergency Unit at Hemel Hempstead, and the shelving of the proposal to build a "super hospital" at Hatfield. My constituency is located directly between the two towns and, as a result, my constituents will now face the prospect of a tortuous journey to the nearest A&E at Watford with no prospect of enhanced facilities at Hatfield.
During his time as Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP made visits to Hatfield with the former member for St Albans to discuss the new "super hospital", and we were constantly presented with very positive messages about the hospital proposal. The former member for St Albans even went so far as to say that he had received "assurances" the "super hospital" would proceed, this optimism was repeated regularly in the press and election pamphlets. However, now my constituents are now presented with a very different scenario; nursing posts are frozen, staff are fearful for their jobs, our Trusts are mired in debts, residents are extremely uncertain about the proposed reconfiguration- indeed they feel penalised, misled and let down.
In light of the Trusts' decision about the "super hospital", I wanted to ask you if you felt any moral obligation to help the Trust revive the shelved project. It would help enormously to dispel any views that my constituents are being "penalised" for their electoral decision making if you would come to St Albans to discuss the Trusts' decision and the implications of the reconfiguration proposals. I can assure you that my Council would also welcome such a visit and I hope that given the interest of your predecessor in the "super hospital" project, which has sadly stalled, you will agree a visit would be worthwhile.
With best wishes,
Anne Main MP""
