I have previously been the bearer of good news about the future of St Helier Hospital.  As you may know, on the 17^th June, during Prime Minister’s Questions, I directly challenged the Chancellor, George Osborne, on whether the previously promised £219 million was still available to help re-build St. Helier Hospital.

I was delighted when the Chancellor replied, “We did commit to that hospital project, and provided that it continues to represent value for money, which I am pretty clear that it does, we will go on providing that support.”

I then wrote to the Chancellor to ask him about the support he was offering.

Now the bad news.  Unfortunately the next reply (which was from the Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, the senior health Minister) didn’t demonstrate the same degree of commitment.

It says, “neither the Department of Health nor the Treasury is currently considering any capital or financing applications for the Trust.”  Whatever happened to the undertaking given just a few months earlier that ‘we will go on providing that support’?

I have fought long and hard with local residents, patients, NHS staff and local Councillors to get the money for St Helier Hospital.  We will not let the Conservative Government’s u-turn derail the campaign to save our A+E and maternity.

You can help the campaign and find out more about it by visiting: http://www.saveoursthelier.co.uk/.

Please join thousands in the fight for our hospital.

Tom Brake MP

PS: You can find out more on the Conservative Government’s u-turn here.