Stephen Robinson's S.O.S. for the NHS

Stephen Robinson has been discussing the findings of his NHS survey

In autumn 2007, Chelmsford Liberal Democrats conducted a survey of people's experiences of the NHS in the area. It is believed to be the biggest consultation on health ever undertaken in Chelmsford.

Stephen Robinson wrote a letter with a survey to houses across Chelmsford and has spent weeks reading and analysing the many hundreds of replies. He said, "I am delighted that so many people took the trouble to complete what was a lengthy survey. Chelmsford people are generally happy with the care provided by our hard-working NHS staff but unhappy about red tape and central government interference."

Over 70% were happy with waiting times to see GPs and nearly 90% satisfied with the consultation. However, half of respondents were unhappy with out of hours care, and the majority were opposed to the closure of St. John's hospital.

Less than 30% of people thought the NHS had improved under the Labour government, and over half thought it wastes money.

Mr. Robinson also said "It was also good to learn that people overwhelmingly back Lib Dem proposals for more local decision-making in the NHS, and screening for serious illnesses so they can be caught early."

Over 80% of people opposed Conservative plans to allow queue jumping by people who could afford to pay towards NHS treatment. Also, a large majority supported Lib Dem plans for health decisions to be taken locally - not all in Whitehall as now. This would provide a more effective and accountable health service.

"The Liberal Democrats want to see good quality local health services here in Chelmsford and across the country," said Stephen Robinson. "After record increases in the amount of money going into the NHS, we are entitled to ask why things are not rather better. We see huge deficits; staff posts not being filled; hospital closures, and poor cleanliness."

Stephen, along with Peter Wilcock (Lib Dem candidate in Saffron Walden) and Norman Lamb (Lib Dem spokesman on health) recently visited the Cheif Executive of Mid Essex Health Trust, Ruth May, to discuss the findings, and particularly to discuss the Trust's moves towards Foundation Status and the development of the PFI project at Broomfield. They were pleased to find that great progress has been made on tackling superbugs at Broomfield, and also on hitting the target for all patients being treated within 18 weeks of GP referral.

However, Norman Lamb raised concerns that his experience of PFI hospitals in Norfolk had been that cost-cutting had led to bed shortages. There also appeared to still be problems with bed-blocking, as a result of failures within the County Council run social services to provide the appropriate care.

The Lib Dems have launched a petition calling for:

• An end to the cuts - hospitals are under threat, staff being made redundant and services slashed.

• Cut the waste - While services are being cut the Government is spending millions on computer systems that have yet to deliver and botched reforms which don't help patients.

• Give people more say - Under both Labour and Conservative Governments it has been Ministers that have ALL the say while local people have NO say. The Lib Dems want to see more control of the NHS in the hands of local people.

Follow this link to sign the petition.

You can still take the survey at this link.

SOS for the NHS - Lib Dem campaign.

Related NHS news items in Chelmsford

Mon 4th Aug 2008:

Lib Dem campaigners secure commitment to review parking charges at Broomfield Hospital.

Local Liberal Democrat campaigners have secured a commitment that the unfair parking charges at Broomfield hospital will be reviewed after Mid Essex Hospital Trust has paid off its outstanding debts in April 2009. This was one of the complaints raised most frequently by the 1,400 respondents to Stephen Robinson's recent inquiry into the state of the NHS in Chelmsford.

Mon 9th Jun 2008:

Survey reveals support for Lib Dem health plans.

In a major survey of our local health services, Chelmsford residents have said they are mostly happy with standards of medical care and NHS staff, but have attacked waste of money, bad management and interference from central Government. The findings come in a survey conducted by the local Liberal Democrats and Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson.

Fri 7th Sep 2007:

SOS for the NHS - survey launched.

Local Liberal Democrats are campaigning against cuts to the local health services. They have launched a petition and are distributing a Health Survey right across Chelmsford. "We want to give local people a chance to have their say on local health services and health policy in general," said Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson.

Thu 30th Nov 2006:

Hospital problems down to central controls.

A "Whitehall knows best" mentality has been blamed for the problems with the expansion plans at Broomfield hospital. Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson has written to the local papers on these lines, following their coverage of the issue. The papers reported that building plans had been put on hold while the project was reviewed.

Earlier Stories

Complete archive on the official site.

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats News Stories, provided by Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/.

(c) 2009 Chelmsford Liberal Democrats

Other NHS news items

External Source.