Petition delivered!
Barbara Follett has presented the Hertfordshire Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) with more than 13,000 signatures in support of consolidating acute care services at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital.
This was the culmination of more than four months of hard campaigning by Ms Follett, in partnership with the local Labour Party, Stevenage Borough Council, The Comet newspaper and MPs from surrounding constituencies. The ‘I’m Backing the Lister’ campaign was originally launched in response to the PCTs’ publication of a plan to fundamentally reorganise the future shape of health services in the county.
Although the document, Delivering Quality Health Care for Hertfordshire, was broadly in favour of using the Lister, it also canvassed on the option of locating acute care at the Queen Elizabeth II, in Welwyn Garden City.
Ms Follett said “When I read the PCTs’ plan I knew that we couldn’t afford to take anything for granted and that we had to act. That’s why I took this issue directly to the people of Stevenage”. In the ensuing months, Ms Follett was a regular sight outside Stevenage’s shopping centres, urging people to sign up in support.
“The response has been fantastic”, said Ms Follett. “People in this town know they have something special in the Lister and they were prepared to do something about it. I’d like to thank everyone who has stepped up on this.
“The case for the Lister was always, in my mind at least, as straightforward as they come. The Lister is next to the A1M and close to other transport links; its site is large enough to allow for expansion; its buildings are in good condition; it serves one of the most deprived populations in Hertfordshire and, crucially, it is by far and away the less expensive option for the PCTs.”
The consultation period for the plan has now closed and the PCTs will study the responses before making recommendations later in the year.
Background:
The Hertfordshire Primary Care Trusts’ consultation, Delivering Quality Health Care for Hertfordshire, ran from June 12th to October 1st.
The consultation asked members of the public for their views on the future configuration of acute trauma services in the county. The proposals for East and North Hertfordshire included the commissioning of two local general hospitals to provide substantial centres of care for local communities in Hemel Hempstead and either Welwyn Garden City or Stevenage.
Issued: 2.10.2007
Further information
Please contact Faye Bunch via the 'Contact' page, or by fax on 020 7219 1158.
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