John Edwards supports Marlow Community Hospital (Beaconsfield Liberal Democrats)

Beaconsfield Liberal Democrats <alan_oxley@hotmail.com>

John Edwards supports Marlow Community Hospital

March 27, 2010 11:00 AM

John Edwards at Marlow Community Hospital

John Edwards hears from a concerned resident about the future of Marlow Community Hospital

John Edwards is fighting to ensure that our local community hospitals remain open and continue to serve the local population.

The NHS is one of this country's proudest achievements. People cherish our health service because it represents important values in our society. It treats all people equally, aspires to the highest standards of excellence, and is free when we need it.

Every politician wants the public to believe that the NHS will be safe in their hands.

But what is the truth?

Under previous Conservative governments the NHS was neglected. We can not trust the Conservatives with our much valued health service. In fact recently a senior Conservative politician described the NHS as a failed experiment.

In the last decade, under a Labour government, more money has been poured in, but have services been improved?

Whilst we welcome the extra investment, as it has boosted salaries for under paid nurses and doctors, and increased available treatments, not all the money has been put to good use. Much of the extra money has been wasted and the highly centralised system has failed for the people who need it most.

The current Labour government is obsessed with arbitrary target setting that has brought about unintended consequences. Patients who are about to breach a target are now given the same priority as an urgently ill patient.

So what would the Liberal Democrats do differently?

The Liberal Democrats would give back power to the frontline staff that run our wards. By giving them greater control and responsibility we could vastly improve standards of care in many hospitals.

The Liberal Democrats would replace top-down targets with personal entitlements to high quality care. To drive the NHS to deliver, everyone should have the right to private treatment, paid for by the NHS, if waiting times are not met.

John says, "Those who are in charge of NHS Services should be accountable to the local people that they serve. A Liberal Democrat government would give people direct input into how their services are run. Having spoken to many residents in the constituency about our local community hospitals, I will fight to ensure they stay open and continue to serve the local people."

We can create a NHS which is accountable to the communities it serves, that empowers the staff who work there, and uses the resources available to the best effect. To create this service we need a Liberal Democrat government!