Burstow & Brake call on Sutton residents to send a message to Hewitt

6.48.08pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 12th Dec 2006

Paul Burstow MP and Tom Brake MP with petitions

Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, and Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington are calling on Sutton residents to support their campaign to safeguard the future of hospital services at St Helier Hospital.

The two MPs are asking all local residents to sign a petition calling on Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, to guarantee that healthcare facilities which are currently available at St Helier will not be moved out of the borough. It also calls for a guarantee that St Helier will be able to offer Accident and Emergency Services.

When asked to provide such guarantees in a letter written by Mr Burstow and in a meeting which both MPs attended, Ms Hewitt has failed to do so. The MPs hope that by ensuring that support for their petition is widespread they can force Ms Hewitt to tell the truth about her plans for the future of the hospital.

Speaking about the importance of gaining widespread support for the petition, Mr Brake said:

"We have asked Ms Hewitt for these undertakings before, but she has evaded the question time and time again."

"The only chance we have to get her to come clean is if local people sign the petition and show Ms Hewitt that thousands of Sutton residents want to know the truth."

Mr Burstow added:

"St Helier is a hospital at the heart of our community. The huge turnout at our protest rally a few weeks ago showed that people in the borough will not take cuts and closures lying down."

"Now we're asking people to show their support by signing our petition demanding a guarantee that our health services are not at risk."

Notes to Editors:

The full text of the petition reads:

"I / we the undersigned, call on the Secretary of State for Health to guarantee that the full range of existing healthcare services used by people in Sutton will continue to be provided within the Borough and that St Helier Hospital is able to continue to offer the full range of services available for Accident and Emergency."

People living in Belmont, Cheam, Sutton, Stoneleigh and Worcester Park should send their petition forms to: Paul Burstow MP, SOS Campaign, 312-314 High Street, Sutton, SM1 1PR or by visiting: www.paulburstow.com

People living in Beddington, Carshalton, Clockhouse, Hackbridge, St Helier and Wallington should send their petition forms to: Tom Brake MP, SOS Campaign, Kennedy House, 5 Nightingale Road, Carshalton, SM5 2DP or by visiting: www.tombrake.co.uk