Foundation Status will not help Hospital Problems

11.37.15am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 26th Jun 2006

Sue Doughty, Parliamentary Spokesperson for Guildford Liberal Democrats has strongly criticised the plans for the Royal Surrey County Hospital to apply for Foundation status, while so many key services are under threat.

She said: "While so many of the services at the hospital are being reviewed it is nonsense to waste time on the status. Would Foundation status mean that the A & E, Maternity and Paediatric departments are guaranteed to be retained at the Royal Surrey?"

Although the hospital has managed to break even over the last two years, the accounting systems between the hospital and the Primary Care Trust have not been clear, and the PCT has struggled with major deficits, leading to the closure of much needed community hospitals.

Sue is now dealing with the large number of responses which she and local Liberal Democrats have received on the threat to the Royal Surrey services. She said "Local people, not only in Guildford but right down to the county boundary are terrified that they may lose A & E - for some it could be a death sentence. Nor should we overlook the potential loss of Maternity and Paediatrics. These should be close to where people live, not somewhere which may need a journey of over well over an hour. Cuts of this type to the Royal Surrey will reduce it to a local hospital. Unless Foundation status is vital to ensure that we continue to have a major hospital in Guildford these plans must be abandoned. The NHS has far more important things to spend its money on."