tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30194186.post178515045266964793..comments2024-02-02T10:29:34.789+00:00Comments on A Conservative's blog: NHS Hospital building scandalBenedict Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382732288664789210noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30194186.post-5969974922353371842007-04-13T17:33:00.000+01:002007-04-13T17:33:00.000+01:00ChrisD, Yes a lot of consultations have just been ...ChrisD, Yes a lot of consultations have just been put back without closures being cancelled. <BR/><BR/>Is there a connection to local elections? Whould they be so cynical? Probably!Benedict Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382732288664789210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30194186.post-72555035238975113002007-04-13T13:30:00.000+01:002007-04-13T13:30:00.000+01:00Anyone doing a watch on hospitals or units that we...Anyone doing a watch on hospitals or units that were due to be closed, but have now miraculously been saved just in time for the May elections if in areas where Labour or Libdems (in Scotland) are fighting for re-election?<BR/>This has happened in my area and some think that the maternity unit is saved, but my interpretation is that the decision has simple been put back to the consultation stage.<BR/>I remember something similar happening before the 2005 GE, but am I right in assuming that some did subsequently close?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30194186.post-252879958787288062007-04-13T01:20:00.000+01:002007-04-13T01:20:00.000+01:00Timothy, Firstly the centralisation policy is new,...Timothy, Firstly the centralisation policy is new, and has not been in any manifesto, secondly it is untried on our roads, so whilst you may have a point it is not the point new Labour stood on, nor is it a point that has been fully explored.Benedict Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382732288664789210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30194186.post-12833234386437253122007-04-13T00:13:00.000+01:002007-04-13T00:13:00.000+01:00About the hospital locations - I'm not sure it cou...About the hospital locations - I'm not sure it could be avoided given the centralising strategy. You will always end up centralising a hospital in a sizable town, and those will still tend to be Labour rather than Tory.<BR/><BR/>Take Devon for example. Any centralisation will see expansion of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in Labour controlled Exeter, since it is the biggest hospital between Plymouth and Bristol. At the same time it would be smaller community hospitals in more rural places like East Devon (Honiton?) or West Devon (Okehampton?) that would be closed, where the constituencies are Lib Dem or Tory.<BR/><BR/>A more rigorous test would look at the type of hospital that Labour/Tory/Lib Dem MPs had in their seats, to do a like-for-like comparison.<BR/><BR/>The real problem is that the strategy is bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com