Chase Farm Hospital
Charles talks to Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley MP at Chase Farm hospital protest.
Chase Farm Hospital debate
14 January 2009
Mr. Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): Would my hon. Friend agree that the various consultations seem to have ignored the fact that approximately 150,000 people in Hertfordshire use Chase Farm A and E and other Chase Farm services? My constituents now face not only the prospect of a reduced service at Chase Farm, but also reduced services at the QE2, so their nearest A and E will be the Lister, which is approximately 30 miles away and can take an hour and a quarter to get to in the rush hour, if not longer.
Mr. Burrowes: My hon. Friend makes a good point. Yesterday I was talking to an ambulance man who raised a similar concern about the travel time to neighbouring hospitals, with the loss of accident and emergency services. My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner on behalf of his constituents and I pay tribute to him, as well as to his 16,423 constituents who signed the petition that was delivered to No. 10 and the House of Commons. That petition was ignored, along with the concerns of Enfield residents. That is summed up by one campaigner, who said that the recent comments made in the House by the Minister who will respond to the debate today have raised acute concerns that the interests of Enfield and neighbouring constituencies have not been properly considered and, indeed, that those concerns have been treated with contempt.
Health Services (Broxbourne) Petition
11 July 2007
Mr. Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): It gives me great pleasure to present this massive petition containing 16,243 signatures collected by the great men and women of the constituency of Broxbourne door to door and on the forecourt of Tesco. Each name contained in the petition represents someone expressing their concern about the scaling back of health services in Enfield, north London and the county of Hertfordshire. The petitioners fear that these cuts will worsen health inequalities in the constituency, where outcomes are already behind those in the leafier part of the county.
To lie upon the Table.
Walker Calls on Minister to Come Clean over Hospital
11 May 2007
Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has sought direct assurances from Cabinet Office Minister, Pat McFadden MP, that the consultation surrounding the future of Chase Farm hospital has been conducted in an open and transparent fashion. Mr Walker’s intervention came just days after a report by Government NHS supreme, Professor George Alberti, called for the downgrading of Chase Farm’s A&E services.
As a member of the powerful House of Commons Public Administration Committee, Mr Walker expressed his belief that the consultation surrounding the future of Chase Farm was in danger of being dismissed as a sham by concerned residents across North London and South Hertfordshire. While cross-examining the Minister, Mr Walker demanded to know what safeguards, if any, had been put in place by the Cabinet Office to ensure that those leading the consultation remained free from political pressure to make the decision that best suited Government. Although Mr McFadden repeatedly refused to be drawn into the specifics of the Chase Farm consultation, he said that every effort was made to ensure consultations were genuine and open. However, Mr Walker shot back that there was a growing feeling amongst people that the scaling back of Chase Farm’s A&E may have been a done deal from the outset and that the Government had just gone through the motions.
Speaking outside the Committee Mr Walker said: “Professor Alberti has an excellent reputation amongst both Conservative and Labour Members of Parliament. However, in the run-up to the 2005 General Election, the Rt. Hon John Reid, the then Secretary of State for Health, assured us that Chase Farm had a bright future. Given that just months later its A&E was effectively placed on death row, I now have little confidence in anything this Government says when it comes to our hospital. My real fear is that Health Ministers will stop at nothing to get their own way in this matter and I intend to raise a series of questions in Parliament about the handling of this critical consultation.”
NHS Finance (London) debate
13 March 2007
Mr. Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): Will the Secretary of State use her office to ensure that there is joined-up thinking about planning the provision of hospital services? People in Broxbourne face the closure of Chase Farm hospital in Enfield and of the Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Welwyn, which would remove accident and emergency and maternity services from the north and south of the borough. When planning hospital services, will the Secretary of State ensure that such considerations are taken into account, because Hertfordshire and London are very different, although hospital services for the two areas overlap?
Andy Burnham: I admire the hon. Gentleman’s opportunism in asking his question during a question on London, but I accept that his constituents do use hospital services in the London area. It is important to get the right model of care in London to ensure that its health economies are stable in the future. Professor Sir Ara Darzi is currently conducting a review across London to develop the right model of care and the right balance between high-quality tertiary and secondary services and good-quality services in every community. He is therefore taking forward precisely the issues that the hon. Gentleman is asking us to take on board, and he will report in due course.
POINT OF ORDER
Mr. Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Could you advise me on how best I can politely educate Ministers about the fact that Chase Farm hospital in Enfield, London, serves more than 100,000 people living in Hertfordshire? Many of my constituents, some of whom vote Labour, would be amazed at Ministers’ ignorance on this matter.
Mr. Speaker: The hon. Gentleman seems to be trying to educate Ministers through a point of order, but that was not a point of order.
MP Calls For Health Debt Amnesty
15 January 2007
In an attempt to avert the severe scaling back of local services, Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has called on the Secretary of State for Health to pay off the debts of Hertfordshire’s and North London’s financially stressed NHS Trusts.
Mr Walker’s plea came shortly after he and more than 300 fellow campaigners from across the political spectrum attended a packed “Save Chase Farm” public meeting in Enfield over the weekend. Broxbourne was well represented with a number of its County and Borough Councillors turning out to show their support for the campaign and the many local residents who had made the journey.
Mr Walker’s letter to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt MP, states: “While I accept the long-term need for the NHS to balance its books, I feel the current financial measures being promoted by the Treasury and Department of Health are draconian in their scope and unfair in their application. The Government’s demand that deficits, built up over decades, are paid back in under two years is severely retarding the delivery of healthcare, with operations cancelled and appointments being rescheduled for the “never, never”. Ultimately, the cost of funding the deficit repayment is being born by local people who have had no say in the allocation of resources or the financial management of their health services. It is they who are being penalised.
“In view of the above concerns, I would urge you to consider implementing a debt amnesty – an amnesty that would see the Government pay off existing NHS debt on the understanding that going forward NHS Trusts would be required to balance their books. Such an approach would still require NHS Trusts to live within their means and for some this would be a painful process, requiring the scaling back of services. Although not the perfect solution, a debt amnesty would be far more palatable than what is currently on offer which to many appears to be little more than a “slash and burn” exercise.”
Mr Walker is also in the process of launching a Constituency-wide petition urging the Government to think again before pressing ahead with further cuts to local NHS budgets and services.
Walker in Commons Clash Over Local NHS Cuts
18 November 2005
Broxbourne MP, Charles Walker, has once again called on the Leader of the House of Commons to find time for an urgent debate about the provision of A&E services in South East- Hertfordshire. Large parts of the area are facing up to the very real prospect that A&E services may shutdown at both Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield and the QE II Hospital in Hatfield within the next two years.
Mr. Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): May we have an urgent debate on accident and emergency provision in south-east Hertfordshire, where we face the serious prospect of accident and emergency services at both Queen Elizabeth II hospital and Chase Farm hospital closing, leaving swathes of my constituency without A and E and acute service coverage? That is causing serious concern, and it could cost lives. Mr. Hoon: We have had a discussion in recent weeks about the importance of robust cost control and effective financial management in the national health service. I have looked at the figures for NHS deficits in recent years and, last year, there was surplus spending over and above the amount that was allocated. In those circumstances, I urge the hon. Gentleman not to be so alarmist about projections for the future. He should ensure that we debate these issues calmly and sensibly rather than trying to disturb his constituents about prospects that frankly will not occur.
Speaking after his Commons exchange, an annoyed Mr Walker said: "I don't know what figures the Leader of the House is looking at but they have nothing to do with South East Hertfordshire and our A&E services. Our local hospitals have had their budgets slashed virtually overnight and this has serious implications for my constituents. Mr Hoon's complacency is just not good enough and I am going to keep pressing him for a Commons debate."