The Editor
The Gazette
BY EMAIL
Dear Sir
Another Sham Public Consultation
The West Herts Hospital Trust is again “consulting” us in their misleadingly named “Delivering a healthy future in West Hertfordshire – Next Steps in Investing in Your Health.” David Law, their Chief Executive says “The subject of the consultation is how we can deliver good acute healthcare within the resources available.” The ‘consultation invites us to chose between St Albans and Hemel Hempstead for the location of temporary planned surgery facilities until the new Surgicentre is completed, they say, in mid 2008. The consultation form offers us three choices, close operating theatres at Hemel Hospital, close operating theatres at St Albans Hospital or “neither.”
Your readers should be told the truth about the situation. This is about saving money and not about saving lives. The role of government and their appointed representatives who run our NHS is to provide the best possible healthcare and not run the current post code lottery which by under funding our area puts lives at risk. David Law has admitted that the proposed ‘reorganisations’ will in fact mean the loss of over 750 jobs. When he talks of ‘centralising acute care and providing a better quality, more responsive, acute healthcare service’, when he mentions ‘reconfiguring health services for the 21st Century’ what he really plans is to try and eliminate his financial deficit by closing facilities and tragically putting some 750 dedicated, trained and experienced health professionals out of work in our area. This consultation is yet another sham, full of ‘spin’ and empty promises. Driven solely by the need to save money our doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other valued health workers are to be sacked, our hospitals closed and their valuable freehold sites probably sold off to developers to raise money.
Make no mistake this is about cutting costs and this is caused by the woefully inadequate funding we receive from the government in our area. The Hospital Trust’s £27m current year deficit equates to £54 per head of population in the WHHT catchment area. In 2005/06 Hertfordshire received £343 a head less than the highest area and £109 a head less than the average for England.
I would urge your readers to respond to the consultation, to vote ‘Neither’ and in the boxes provided (Q2 and Q3) to point out their opposition to the cost cutting and in particular to the threat of 750+ job losses. I would urge all those who feel strongly about this, as I do, to join me and my colleague David Gauke MP, on our Bed-Push protest march on Sunday 8th October 2006. We will assemble at the Marlowes Band Stand at 9:30am and march to Watford Hospital.
Yours faithfully
Mike Penning MP
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