Hull MP to hear local fears about Government NHS plans

Hull North MP Diana Johnson is to attend a public meeting in Hull called by the independent pressure group 38 Degrees to discuss Government plans for the NHS.

At the meeting, to be held at Hull's Goodwin Centre from 10am on Saturday (9 April), expert speakers on health issues will explain what Coalition plans for the NHS will mean for local people in Hull.

The meeting comes at the end of a week in which the Tory-led Government's plans for the NHS fell into further confusion, after the Prime Minister announced that they were pausing to "listen and engage".

Over the past nine months, David Cameron and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley have rushed ahead with the reforms in the face of serious concerns expressed by a broad range of NHS professional bodies, health experts and patients' groups, all of whom have criticised Government plans as wasteful, unnecessary and potentially risky for the NHS.

With the reforms weeks away from being voted on in Parliament, Coalition ministers now claim to be listening.

Labour has launched a national petition against Con Dem plans for the NHS, which can be found at www.campaignengineroom.org.uk/frontline-nhs.

Diana Johnson MP said: "Given that voters never had a chance to express a view on this top-down NHS reorganisation at the General Election, I look forward to hearing the views of Hull people about Con Dem plans that will cost £3 billion at a time when NHS budgets are stretched.

"These market reforms will increase the bill for private consultants and turn GPs into financial administrators. Already patient waiting times are getting longer and frontline NHS jobs are going in £25 million of initial NHS cuts in Hull. This is no way to treat our NHS and those who depend on it.

"The Prime Minister and the Health Secretary have had months to listen to the legitimate concerns of health professionals, experts and patient bodies. They ignored these concerns. Now, late in the day, they have launched a PR exercise.

"Whatever criticisms some of their members make, it's clear that Lib Dems cannot be trusted to defend our NHS any more than the Tories. Although these NHS privatisation plans were not mentioned in the Lib Dem manifesto, Nick Clegg recently boasted that Andrew Lansley's reforms were inspired by the Lib Dems."

Labour Leader Ed Miliband said: "No one voted for David Cameron's proposals and they didn't appear in the Coalition Agreement either. Yet he has spent months ignoring the growing criticisms by people who know and work in the NHS. If the Prime Minister is serious about listening, he should withdraw his confused plans. He must come back to Parliament with a new set of proposals fit for the future challenges facing the NHS."

Shadow Health Secretary, John Healey said: "There is confusion at the heart of Government. While they claim to be listening, the Tory-led Government is in fact still ploughing on with their NHS reorganisation.

"They need to understand that there is not simply concern with the pace of change; it is a question as to whether these are the right reforms at all. They should take this opportunity to listen properly to the concerns that have been voiced over the past nine months and respond with radical surgery to their reforms.

"I encourage everyone across Hull to sign Labour's petition at www.campaignengineroom.org.uk/frontline-nhs and raise their voices to challenge these changes."

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