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Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) on acquiring this debate. It is on a subject close to my heart, and those who know me will know that I have been banging on about the future of the Hemel hospital for a lot longer than I have been a Member of the House. For those who do not know, this is my first outing on the Front Bench—a fact of which I am very proud. I am also proud to see so many of my Conservative colleagues here today, along with members of other parties. One of my colleagues said earlier that there was a Labour MP on the Back Benches, but I think that she has to be here; the Minister needs someone to hold her hand. It is obvious that the people of Banbury are not alone. I am pleased that they understand so much about the hospital’s future, and having such an excellent MP to represent them is so important.
The Health Committee, a Labour-dominated Committee of which I am still a member, issued a report not long ago saying that the devastation in the NHS and the cuts in hospitals were due not only to clinical concerns. Actually, there was little clinical argument; in most parts of the country they were the result of financial deficits, due to the Government’s inability to ensure that nearly £100 billion of taxpayers’ money got to the front line.
Lord Darzi may have been handed a poisoned chalice, but the Government want him to try to help them understand better the needs of hospitals, A and E departments and other specialist health facilities. However, he seems to be at loggerheads with his Front-Bench colleagues. For some time—since long before this Government came to power—there has been a push in the NHS for “big is beautiful”. I note that the Secretary of State was recently in Basildon. Basildon hospital has been hugely expanded, but the nearby Orsett A and E hospital was closed to fund it. I know that because I was brought up in that part of the country.
Lord Darzi says that there does not have to be a population of about 500,000, but that it could be as low as 200,000 or 250,000. If so, we have a real concern about what has already happened. So many facilities, not least in Kidderminster and Hertfordshire, have already been closed on the basis that big is beautiful and that we need facilities to deal with populations of about 500,000. I have to say to my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury that this may be only the start; his concern about the closure of maternity units and A and E units is that they tend to be the first of the problems. Sadly, if they go other facilities will go with them.
The clinicians will argue that if there is no consultant-led maternity ward and the hospital could cope with a birthing unit, it will become unsafe. I cite the example of the Hemel Hempstead general hospital in my constituency. Our consultant-led birthing unit was closed, which left those needing the unit with a 12-mile journey to Watford. We were then given a shiny, brand new birthing unit, but 18 months later it was closed because it was not safe.
If we lose acute A and E, what do we lose with it? We are highly likely to lose acute cardiac units—that has already happened in my hospital—and we will also lose stroke units and almost certainly intensive care beds. Then those involved start looking at elective surgery—but what happens if something goes wrong during elective surgery? We need the acute back-up. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but that is happening across the country.
Many hon. Members have articulated their concerns about their areas, and about specialist provision in their communities. They have shown that one size does not fit all. It is not physically possible. We are not talking only about the southern tip of Cornwall or the top of Scotland—even if we could, given that it is a devolved matter. We are talking about community and district hospitals and about acute A and E hospitals across the country, all of which are very worried.
One factor that concerns me is that the public do engage. I have presented petitions, as so many hon. Members have done. Thousands upon thousands of people have signed petitions and marched the streets, some pushing hospital beds. We have participated in consultation. We were asked, “What do you want to happen?” Our comment was, “Leave us alone.” Indeed, 86 per cent. of the consultees in the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust consultation said no to closure, but what happened? They closed it.
What point is there in having bogus consultations? Why do the Government lead the public up the garden path by saying that there will be consultation? What point is there in having independent reconfiguration panels if they can do only what the Government tell them to do? There is no point. Anything to do with such specialist areas must be clinically driven. It must be driven by those who know best. Politicians of whatever party do not know best when it comes to the future of the NHS.
I pay respect to Lord Darzi. He is a consultant. He does not know best for the entire the NHS. He is a specialist in a specific area. Even he has admitted that there are areas where he does not have expertise. Why not listen to the clinicians, the experts and the GPs? Hundreds of GPs are writing from West Sussex saying, “Leave our hospital alone.” Why do the Government not listen? Is it not the job of the Government to listen to those who know?
What is a local general hospital? I am greatly concerned that we are leaving the public in a dangerous situation. Those who drive through my constituency of Hemel Hempstead will see signs everywhere saying, “Hospital: A and E”. There is no A and E; it is a minor injuries unit. If those with acute conditions drive there, the hospital will do its best, but the patients will then be transferred by ambulance to the nearest acute hospital, perhaps to Watford. However, if a blue-light ambulance comes from Hemel with a patient who has an acute need, it will go immediately to Watford. It is wrong to allow any trust—or any politician—to mislead the public into thinking that a hospital has certain facilities when it does not. It will cost lives. It is fundamentally wrong.
It is a crying shame that we are not having a general election. If we had had one, a Conservative Government would have led a moratorium on those closures. We would have been able to protect the services that our constituents so rightly deserve.
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