Doughty and Cordon challenge Government over looming local health cuts (South West Surrey Liberal Democrats)

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats <info@swsurreylibdems.org.uk>

Doughty and Cordon challenge Government over looming local health cuts

April 7, 2004 12:52 AM

Sue Doughty, Charles Kennedy and Simon Cordon

Simon Cordon with Charles Kennedy and Guildford LibDem MP Sue Doughty. They are fighting to protect our local health services.

The Government is insisting that the NHS in Guildford and South West Surrey reduce their spending over the next twelve months by £22.5 million. This is more than ten percent of the budget of the main local health provider, the Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust (PCT).

The Liberal Democrat MP for Guildford, Sue Doughty, and the party's Parliamentary Spokesman for SW Surrey, Simon Cordon, discussed the crisis with PCT Chairman, Chris Grimes and Chief Executive, Liz Slinn, at a meeting on Monday April 5th.

The £22.5 million deficit has to be shared between the PCT, the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the Surrey and Hampshire Borders Trust which manages mental health services in the area.

The large gap in the amount being spent on local health services and the budget the Government says should be spent has existed since the mid 1990's, the days of under-investment by the then Conservative Government. The current Government is insisting that the shortfall cannot be met and is calling in the debt. This means that health managers will have to look at how they can change services to bring the budget down to the Government's allowed level of spending.

Sue Doughty MP and Simon Cordon are now launching a major petition across Guildford and SW Surrey challenging the Government's 'hypocrisy' over local NHS funding. The petition is calling for the Government to fund local health services at the required level, in effect cancelling the historic debt inherited from the previous Conservative government.

Sue Doughty said: "The Government claim to be investing more in the NHS, but in our area they are giving with one hand and taking it back, and more, with the other. This situation cannot go on. If it does our local health services will begin to reach the point where they fall below the safety net".

Simon Cordon added: "The Conservatives caused this problem. Labour have failed to put it right. We will fight to get the right level of funding for our area and resist any pressures for cuts to any of our local hospitals or other local health facilities".