IT was interesting to see how Helen Jones, Labour’s Warrington North MP, was put in her place with regard to her questions in Westminster on July 7 to the parliamentary under secretary of state for health.
She asked ‘what recent discussions he had had with NHS England on the future of general hospitals’.
No doubt having the future of Warrington Hospital in her mind.
She was told that if she read ‘the five-year forward view’ she would see what the future for district general hospitals was and the important role they will play as the NHS itself was launched in a district general hospital and the continuing commitment to them was made clear.
She went on to point out that since the Conservatives had come to power Warrington had lost its vascular services and some of its spinal services.
She was then ‘gently reminded’ that it was the same under the previous Government; changes to services provided to hospitals are now made on the recommendations of clinicians rather than of bureaucrats and politicians.
Which most people would think is the best way to approach any changes that are deemed necessary.
However it seems not a point Mrs Jones wants to make apparent to her constituents.
It seems she would prefer to try to find political points to try to score on.
He went on to point out to her that in her Warrington Hospital the number of diagnostic tests for cancer are up by 22,000 since 2010, the number of MRI scans by 6,000, the number of CT scans by 7,000 and the number of operations by 1,800.
This is a record of which she should be proud.
But again these are not the facts or the information Mrs Jones is looking for or lets us know about as she constantly tries to ‘weaponise’ our NHS.
Give it a rest Mrs Jones and for once come out and declare what a wonderful job our NHS, and the people who work in it, are doing and the strides it is constantly making to keep up with the ever increasing demands on it.
You only have to read most weeks in the Warrington Guardian letters pages of the testimonies of how well they have been looked after by individual patients and their experiences.
A EDWARDS
Fearnhead
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel