Hames Slams Tory Health Proposals

6.11.16pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 30th Jul 2007

Duncan Hames has criticised the Conservative plans for the Health Service. The prospective Lib Dem MP has outlined how the Tories would not hand any more say to local people than there was under Labour.

In an interview with the Wiltshire Mail, the prospective MP said: "Tory plans for a remote national quango are no better than Labour's Whitehall meddling. "The Liberal Democrats want to give people a bigger say in how their health services are run. We believe that local health trusts should be directly accountable to local communities.

"Why is it that ten years after Labour came to power, they are still needing to 'save the NHS'?" The comment marked the start of a national Liberal Democrat Campaign: 'SOS for the NHS' which will call the government to account for the damage they have done.

Under Labour the NHS has been dictated to by ministers and London policy makers. They have sent 'intervention directors' into local NHS trusts to cut budgets and axe local services.

Proposals recently published by the conservative party in Westminster plan an independent, national board for the NHS. This would create an unaccountable, centralised and remote quango. The Liberal Democrats instead want local health bosses to be directly accountable to the people in the communities they are meant to serve.

Duncan Hames believes that in order for the Health service to work, we must ensure it is right for the local patients. He said "We have campaigned with local patients and Wiltshire health workers to stop cuts to maternity services and hospitals closures.

"We can only stop these cuts if the NHS is forced to listen to what local people want."