In January, the Bucks Free Press published an open letter I wrote to Steve Baker, Wycombe’s MP, urging him to vote against Clause 118 (now 119) of the Care Bill.
This clause will allow the Government to close or downgrade or privatise any hospital or A&E in the country, with barely any consultation of local people, if there is a trust in financial difficulties anywhere nearby.
Parliament voted on Clause 119 on 11 March – and Steve Baker voted for it. So he voted to give the Government the power to close our local hospital, or downgrade it, or transfer even more services elsewhere if a nearby hospital is in financial trouble – and to do it without consultation with local people or NHS staff.
So now we know that Steve Baker, like other Tory MPs, doesn’t really think local consultation on health issues is important. — Linda Derrick, healthcare spokesperson, Wycombe Labour Party
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