Villiers speaks out on Labour's threat to Barnet Hospital

In heated debates in Parliament over recent weeks, Theresa Villiers has set out her concerns on Labour's threat to NHS services in Barnet.

In a Q and A session with the Secretary of State for Health in the House on 24th February, Theresa asked the Government to think again about Labour’s deeply misguided NHS London plans for reconfiguring health care services in north London.

On 9th March, in a debate on London hospitals put on the agenda in Parliament by the Conservatives, she protested about the secrecy and lack of transparency surrounding Labour’s proposed cuts to NHS services in London and also made the following challenge:

“A few months ago the Secretary of State signed off the controversial downgrade of Chase Farm .... on the understanding, and on the basis of repeated promises, that Barnet would be upgraded to take the pressure and the extra patients. How can the right hon. Gentleman possibly justify the decision of NHS London to discuss downgrading Barnet after the promises made about Chase Farm?”

In the wake of these debates, Theresa commented: “Barnet has had a raw deal from Labour on healthcare. I campaigned against Labour’s decision to downgrade A&E at Chase Farm. Now Labour are threatening services at Barnet Hospital as well.”

“Labour refused Barnet a hyper-acute stroke unit and now NHS London are consulting on changes which could see the hospital lose maternity services and 24 hour A&E. This breaks the promises made when Labour decided to downgrade Chase Farm, when residents were told that Barnet would be upgraded to take extra patients.”

“Although modernising the NHS may involve changes locally, I see no justification for Labour’s threat to take consultant-led maternity and 24 hour A&E away from a busy hospital like Barnet which serves a growing population. So I will campaign to keep these vital services.”

“A Conservative Government would call a halt to Labour’s NHS London proposals because we strongly disagree with their view that shifting treatment from hospitals to polyclinics is the best way to deliver services. We want the NHS to work for patients not managers. We would give the budget and decision-making responsibility to local GP-led consortia, so that there is real local input on how services are delivered. We would also increase the national NHS budget.”