The campaign by North East MPs to persuade the Government to reverse their decision to axe plans for the new hospital to replace the North Tees & Hartlepool University Hospitals has been stepped up this week.
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North), Grahame Morris (Easington), Iain Wright (Hartlepool) and Phil Wilson (Sedgefield), plan to meet with the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP, to discuss the coalition’s announcement. Local MPs will also meet with the Chair and Chief Executive of the North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust this Friday. They are also seeking a meeting with Health Ministers.
The local Conservative MP for Stockton South, James Wharton, has called the announcement ‘the right decision’ and refused to support an Early Day Motion which calls for the decision to be reversed. In contrast, 23 Labour MPs have now added their support to EDM 273 and the local MPs plan to fight for their constituents who will lose out if this hospital does not go ahead.
Alex said:
‘We want to know why the coalition Government has decided to scrap a new hospital for people in the North East when new hospitals in other parts of the country have been given the go-ahead. We also want to know how we can best work with the Foundation Trust in the best interests of patients. This hospital has been on the drawing board for five years and would have delivered value for money. Without it, NHS services in our region will suffer.’
‘I will be at a rally in Hartlepool this Saturday at 3pm alongside Iain Wright. The coalition will soon get hear message loud and clear that people in our region will not give up on this new hospital without a fight.’
