Mike Penning calls on the Government to make an urgent statement on the situation at Hemel Hempstead hospital.

Speaking in the chamber of the House of Commons, Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, called on the Government to make an urgent statement on the appalling situation at Hemel hospital.

“The Leader of the House will know that in the past year I have raised the disastrous financial situation of the hospital trust on which Hemel Hempstead relies,” he said. “Last week, it announced that all the acute units would close, including intensive care, the high-dependency unit, and the acute cardiac and stroke units. Children's paediatric services will not be available 24 hours a day. A total of 700 jobs will go, including those of doctors and nurses. Where has all the money gone? May we have an urgent statement?”

Speaking after the debate, Mike Penning said:
“The people of Hemel Hempstead have paid a lot of money in taxes to fund the health service. It is appalling that so many services are being cut. The NHS has been able to provide these services locally for many years and it is purely down to financial mismanagement that suddenly the NHS cannot afford them”.