Where the blame lies

Published: 5 March 2010

• I WAS disappointed but not surprised by the hypocrisy of the Labour Party at the Save The Whittington march last Saturday.
At the rally I heard Labour speaker after Labour speaker saying that the Whittington is under threat because of the NHS management. That is not the case.
The Whittington is in danger not because of NHS managers; it is in danger because of the decisions made by Labour ministers in Westminster. It is they who have slashed budgets, leaving the NHS body that oversees services in our area so short of cash it is estimated it will have a funding gap of £560million in a few years’ time. And it is Gordon Brown’s government which has forced health authorities to adopt polyclinics, which they are using as an excuse to cut A&E services. The same government forced the NHS to adopt costly private finance initiative contracts to pay for new hospitals, leaving the NHS with massive debts.
So instead of putting pressure on NHS managers our local Labour MPs and councillors should be raising the issue with their own government.
RHODRI JAMIESON-BALL
Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate, Islington North

• THE 5,000 of us who marched on Saturday did so because we are passionate about defending an NHS free at the point of use, and our local hospital. Any closure of Whittington A&E would cut off the lifeblood of the hospital.
The regional NHS planning group (London North Central) appears to be unaccountable and unconcerned, as it tries to centralise services on two major hospitals, thus leaving Haringey and Islington with no major A&E departments of their own.
I have raised the issue several times in Parliament, and I will continue to pressurise ministers and the House to understand that health officials have no business making plans for reducing expenditure, and absolutely no business taking away crucial local services that are so obviously loved and valued by everybody. As MP for North Islington, I am very clear where my priorities lie – keep the Whittington A&E.
JEREMY CORBYN
Labour MP, Islington North