Today I have been out in Morden, talking to residents and delivering a letter about St Helier Hospital, which is a vital part of our community, providing critical healthcare to thousands of residents.
I want to do all I can to make sure that St Helier Hospital receives the investment and improvements that it needs over the next few years. This includes working on key issues such as replacing the old lifts which are not big enough for some of the newer hospital beds.
Earlier this month, I invited the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, to visit and meet with staff and patients. We saw a dedicated team delivering high quality care to patients.
The Secretary of State said: "St Helier has made huge strides in recent years and I was delighted to hear more about the progress and plans for the future. There is no question that St Helier Hospital is here to stay, but we do need a plan for improving the facilities and the services on which local people rely. So it was great to see how our local Conservative candidates are working with the local NHS to deliver a vision for St Helier and I look forward to hearing more about it.”
The Chief Executive of St Helier Hospital has stated he will work to secure new investment and that St Helier is here to stay. The new local Chief Executive of the Clinical Commissioning Group, has also stated publicly that St Helier is safe and that South West London needs four acute hospital facilities.
At the last five elections, both local and national, the Labour Party have said that St Helier will close. I am deeply disappointed by this politicisation of St Helier by the Labour party, a tactic which is solely designed to scare local people.
So let me be clear, St Helier Hospital is safe with the Conservatives.
If re-elected I will continue to work with the NHS to ensure St Helier gets the investment it needs so that our local hospital can be even better.