HAS THE NHS LEFT THE PEOPLE OF ST ALBANS? - WHAT NEXT FOR OUR LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES?
January 18, 2010 2:20 PM
St Albans Liberal Democrats are organising a public meeting on the future of our NHS with keynote speakers Norman Lamb MP and Hertfordshire County Councillor Nick Hollinghurst. The meeting takes place on Thursday 21st January at 7 pm at the Marlborough Road Methodist Church in St Albans. Doors open at 6.30 pm.
"Issues about local NHS services are constantly raised on the doorstep and in letters to me," said Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for St Albans. "Of course people recognise there has been investment. But the lady who told me 'The NHS has left me' summed up a wide sense of loss as the delivery of NHS services becomes more distant for local people.
"There have been so many disappointments for St Albans over the last few years. The city expresses the ambition to be Hertfordshire's premier community. Yet our City Hospital was down-sized against the promise of a new super hospital at Hatfield, and then the Government reneged on the deal. We have been promised a great new Urgent Care Centre, but the omens do not look good for its delivery given the state of public finances. Maternity services have long since left St Albans, but how happy are local mothers that they will soon only have home birth, Watford or Stevenage to choose from within the county? Just how easy is it to get to Watford General in Vicarage Road on a match day? For people visiting in-patient loved ones, are the car park charges fair (assuming you can even find somewhere to park)? How do the bus routes work for non-drivers? These are just some of the questions which could be raised at the meeting.
"But of course there are good news stories too with the Minor Injuries Unit and the elective surgery unit. There are some interesting innovations with the new county council and NHS Joint Commissioning Partnership Board. So can Hertfordshire teach things to the rest of the country? And most importantly how can we reconnect local people with their NHS?
"This public meeting will give an opportunity to hear what is happening locally from Nick Hollinghurst and then to hear Norman Lamb on Lib Dem thinking on the NHS overall - not least within the context of a new age of public spending austerity. But the main point of the evening is the question and answer session which will follow. We very much hope that as well as general members of the public, the meeting will include health-care professionals who will be able to contribute to the discussion."
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