Burstow to issue call for action as Trust goes into meltdown

2.49.56pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 23rd Jan 2007

On Monday 22nd January, Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, will call on government health ministers to intervene in the case of a hospital trust "in meltdown".

Mr Burstow will speak of the chaos engulfing St Helier Hospital - an example of the impact of the wave of hospital 'reconfiguration' sweeping the country. He will be joined by Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, who will call for a guarantee from the Minister for the future of St Helier hospital.

Mr Burstow will reveal that the cuts which the Trust is making to save money will slash the number of beds in the Trust by 25% and mean that one in ten staff will go. Mr Burstow will outline the dramatic impact that these cuts:

• He will reveal that in one single night in December, there were 23 separate breaches of Accident and Emergency waiting time targets, a direct result of the closure of Surgical Assessment beds at Epsom hospital increasing pressure on beds at St Helier.

• Mr Burstow will also raise the case of one of his constituents convalescing after surgery in an unheated room, after the Trust refused to fix a radiator because of a lack of money.

• In addition, he will speak of staff morale 'in freefall' after the sudden and unexplained resignations of both the Trust's Chief Executive and Chair in the space of a few weeks. The announcement of the Chief Executive's resignation was made on the Friday before Christmas - only 9 days before her departure.

Mr Burstow will use the debate to call for the government to intervene in the review of Better Healthcare Closer to Home proposals which is currently ongoing on the grounds that the terms of the review make its findings a foregone conclusion.

Commenting on his debate, Paul Burstow MP said:

"What is happening in St Helier today, is what will happen in Hospitals across London tomorrow."

"In November, thousands of people joined me in a public protest against the cuts and closures at St Helier, because we feared for the impact they would have on staff morale and patient care."

"Our worst fears have been borne out by recent events."

"St Helier is a hospital in chaos: patients are being let down and staff are being asked to achieve the impossible. Meanwhile, those responsible are disappearing."

Tom Brake MP, who will also be contributing to the debate, said:

'The Health Minister must tonight reassure the 4,000 plus people who have signed the Save Our St Helier Hospital petition that the future of St Helier Hospital is secure."

"A simple 'Yes' to the question is 'St Helier Hospital safe?' is all that is required."

"Anything short of 'Yes' will spell disaster for our health services locally."

Notes to Editors:

Paul Burstow has secured an end of day adjournment debate on 25th January, which will take place at 10.00pm, with the title: 'The future of the NHS in the London Borough of Sutton. Full transcripts will be available on request from 26th January onwards.