Cheam Ward

The Conservative Group has requisitioned an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to discuss this issue and in particular to involve the Government in examining how the information that was given to the Panel that produced the recommendation for the closure of the maternity and accident end emergency units at St Helier that led to such a perverse recommendation.

It also calls on the Council to set up its own scrutiny Committee to look at St. Helier. Currently there are a number of Joint Committees with other local authorities that are looking at it and the Council has no legal obligation to work through a joint committee. St. Helier Hospital is a Sutton Hospital falling wholly within the London Borough of Sutton.

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The Conservative Group on Sutton Council strongly condemn the decision taken on May 9th by a panel set up under the NHS Better Services Better Value programme to recommend the axing of the A&E and Maternity departments at St Helier hospital.

We also note that despite repeated assurances from both our 2 Lib Dem MPs and Council that in 2010 they had “saved St Helier” that yet again these have just turned out to be empty promises.

Cllr. Stuart Gordon-Bullock, Conservative spokesperson for health said,  “We as a Conservative Group will vigorously  support the  campaign to stop the axing of the two departments and to downgrade St Helier’s status especially in the light of the fact that Sutton currently has one of the highest birth rates in the country let alone London which in turn leads to a requirement for more investment, not less, in local health infrastructure. The loss of these two key departments, where there is a demonstrable need, will further call into question the viability of the Hospital itself.

One of our MPs, Paul Burstow, is a Minister of State for health and we urge him to use his influence and devote himself full-time to get this recommendation, which is manifestly perverse, reversed. Failure to do so will show Sutton’s residents that the Liberal Democrats are unable to make good on their promises and will bring into question how effective they are in Government.”