Rugby and Bulkington MP Mark Pawsey last week raised in the Chamber of the House of Commons the valuable role played by local hospitals in the NHS. Mark raised the matter with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, Jane Ellison MP during Health Questions on Tuesday 13th January 2015. The Minister spoke about the Government’s commitment to local hospitals through a £200 million pound transformation fund available to smaller hospitals and praised Mark in her response, saying he is a champion of his local hospital.
Mark said:
“The role of St Cross, and smaller hospitals like it are a vital part of the NHS and are particularly valuable to older residents. I raised with the Under-Secretary of State for health the remarks made by Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England on the role of local hospitals as part of providing care to our communities. ”
The minister in her response to Mark’s question said:
“It is exactly that kind of flexibility that we so much welcome in the “Five Year Forward View”, recognising the potential of smaller hospitals. My hon. Friend’s local hospital, which he champions so well, can apply to be one of NHS England’s prototypes, and I would encourage it to do so.”
Mark concluded:
“St Cross is a cherished part of our town and I will continue to promote and support it. The minister in her reply to me supports the role of smaller hospitals among our communities, and the Government is backing this with £2 billion of investment. With Rugby growing fast I will continue to make the case strongly for St Cross to continue to offer treatment. Of course, we can only afford to do this thanks to the long-term economic plan of the Government which is allowing us to continue to invest and improve our NHS.”