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| Terry Scriven |
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| Lymington Hospital |
Terry Scriven, Parliamentary Campaigner for New Forest Liberal Democrats has called for swift clarity over the future of the newly opened Lymington hospital.
The hospital was built for the National Health Service in partnership with commercial interests under a much heralded Private Finance Initiative (PFI). It was a flagship scheme of the Labour government under the stewardship of Tony Blair.
The hospital is up and running, treating patients every day. However, soon after opening, rumours began to circulate about internal problems with contracts not being signed, as anticipated.
It now seems that under the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, there is to be a review of the scheme.
On a visit to the hospital, Terry Scriven said “This is a truly wonderful facility. It looks like a great place for NHS staff to work and for patients to be treated. However, the government and the Primary Care Trust do have a responsibility to explain what has happened and whether there will be any future changes to the way the hospital is run.”
The problems that have occurred behind the scenes on this flagship scheme are likely to cause a very long shadow over any future potential NHS PFI projects.
Meanwhile, Terry Scriven wants to see the problem of inadequate car parking at the hospital resolved. He says “There is no doubt there are too few parking spaces available for staff, patients and visitors. I heard today that members of staff sometimes have to risk parking in disabled bays. This combined with an inadequate bus service makes life very difficult for many people”.
He adds “Conservative run local Councils are willing to grant permission to supermarkets to have as big a car-park as they want, yet when it comes to visiting a sick relative in hospital, it’s a different matter!” |
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