Now for a change... to a promise over hospitals
It was a toss-up between a populist pre-Election pledge on health and saving money through a Conservative ideology of rolling back the state.
In the end there was no contest; the Conservative-led coalition was never seriously going to step in to save the A&E at Queen Mary’s Hospital.
Confirmation came this week in a wordy letter from Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley to James Brokenshire, the local MP for the hospital. In it Mr Lansley backs the much-criticised decision of NHS London to close the facility permanently. Local GPs now “hold the reins” when it comes to shaping the future of the Hospital, he said.
In short Mr Lansley is turning is back on Queen Mary’s by rejecting calls for Government intervention.
While this decision fits with the small state, big society mantra that the Government is keen on, it goes against the views of a number of local MPs who have tried to remain on message but who are clearly very concerned about the loss of the local A&E.
It also flies in the face of an unambiguous Conservative Party election Manifesto pledge which stated: “We will stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards, so that people have better access to local services.”
There are two implications of this broken election promise. Residents of Chislehurst and the surrounding areas will now have to travel to the Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough in a medical emergency. But more significantly there are already reports that London A&E closures like Queen Mary’s will put a significant strain on existing emergency facilities.
Update: Local resident Ian Cogswell has written to Bromley & Chislehurst MP Bob Neill asking why the Conservative party has renaged on its manifesto pledge:
Dear Mr. Neill,
As a Chislehurst resident I am extremely disappointed (although equally unsurprised) to learn that Andrew Lansley has chosen to support the decision of NHS London to close A&E facilities at Queen Mary’s hospital permanently. I do not know of a single local resident supportive of this closure and the refusal of Mr Lansley to intervene appears to completely contradict the Conservative Party election Manifesto pledge to “stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards, so that people have better access to local services.”
In your capacity as my local MP, I should be grateful if you would confirm whether you support the Conservative Party’s election manifesto pledge, on which you were elected to serve the residents of Bromley & Chislehurst, or the contrary position that has actually been taken by the Conservative-led coalition government.
I look forward to receiving your response.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Cogswell
Three day Chislehurst weather forecast
LANSLEY FINALLY REJECTS CALLS TO SAVE LOCAL A&E
Now for a change... to a promise over hospitals
It was a toss-up between a populist pre-Election pledge on health and saving money through a Conservative ideology of rolling back the state.
In the end there was no contest; the Conservative-led coalition was never seriously going to step in to save the A&E at Queen Mary’s Hospital.
Confirmation came this week in a wordy letter from Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley to James Brokenshire, the local MP for the hospital. In it Mr Lansley backs the much-criticised decision of NHS London to close the facility permanently. Local GPs now “hold the reins” when it comes to shaping the future of the Hospital, he said.
In short Mr Lansley is turning is back on Queen Mary’s by rejecting calls for Government intervention.
While this decision fits with the small state, big society mantra that the Government is keen on, it goes against the views of a number of local MPs who have tried to remain on message but who are clearly very concerned about the loss of the local A&E.
It also flies in the face of an unambiguous Conservative Party election Manifesto pledge which stated: “We will stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards, so that people have better access to local services.”
There are two implications of this broken election promise. Residents of Chislehurst and the surrounding areas will now have to travel to the Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough in a medical emergency. But more significantly there are already reports that London A&E closures like Queen Mary’s will put a significant strain on existing emergency facilities.
Update: Local resident Ian Cogswell has written to Bromley & Chislehurst MP Bob Neill asking why the Conservative party has renaged on its manifesto pledge:
Dear Mr. Neill,
As a Chislehurst resident I am extremely disappointed (although equally unsurprised) to learn that Andrew Lansley has chosen to support the decision of NHS London to close A&E facilities at Queen Mary’s hospital permanently. I do not know of a single local resident supportive of this closure and the refusal of Mr Lansley to intervene appears to completely contradict the Conservative Party election Manifesto pledge to “stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards, so that people have better access to local services.”
In your capacity as my local MP, I should be grateful if you would confirm whether you support the Conservative Party’s election manifesto pledge, on which you were elected to serve the residents of Bromley & Chislehurst, or the contrary position that has actually been taken by the Conservative-led coalition government.
I look forward to receiving your response.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Cogswell
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