Anne Main: Prime Minister promises to investigate our local health service
22nd February 2007
During this week's Prime Ministers Questions Anne Main brought directly to the attention of the Prime Minister the plight of our local NHS and has secured a guarantee that he will investigate it.
During this week's Prime Ministers Questions Anne Main, Member of Parliament for St Albans, brought directly to the attention of the Prime Minister the plight of our local NHS and has secured a guarantee that he will investigate it.
Anne raised the issue of cuts in local services; the legal challenge mounted to the relocation of acute services from Hemel to Watford; and asked the Prime Minister if he agreed with her that local NHS was not "fit for purpose."
,b>Anne Main (St. Albans) (Con): In my area there are now no antenatal classes, and £2.50 a day must be saved by staff who do not use dressings or offer blood tests. GPs in Dacorum have sent e-mails saying that they do not believe the proposals are fit for purpose, and an elderly person is mounting a legal challenge to the moving of all services to Watford. Does the Prime Minister agree that the health services provided in Hertfordshire are not fit for purpose?
The Prime Minister: Obviously I do not know enough about the individual circumstances in the hon. Lady's constituency to respond now, but I shall be happy to look into the matter and correspond with her about it. I should say, however, that the changes in maternity services are being made so that people can be given a better service. It is a case of specialising and concentrating the most difficult cases on one site. The money that we are putting into maternity services, including antenatal services, is increasing, not diminishing, and we are also increasing the number of midwives in training.
Anne said
"Given that answers to my parliamentary questions given the impression that all is 'rosy' with our local health services I felt determined that my constituents concerns across about the NHS would get the Prime Minister to acknowledge and investigate our plight.
He has agreed to look into the matter, and I will hold him to it. I hope he will also agree to meet a delegation to discuss the reconfiguration proposals. If this approach does not produce results and halt cuts I can only conclude that Labour doesn't care about the Health service in Hertfordshire. I shall continue to oppose the cuts in services and relocation of all acute services to Watford. ""
