MP’s from across Surrey and Sussex called senior officials from the Surrey & Sussex Strategic Health Authority (RHA) to parliament on Tuesday 11th October to express their frustration at the state of local health services.

The meeting in Portcullis House, Westminster, left officials in no doubt either about the extent of concern about the declining quality of healthcare across Surrey and Sussex or whom the MP’s held responsible. The performance of East Surrey and Crawley hospitals received particular attention.

Opening the discussion, East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth asked “What exactly are you doing to solve the crisis at East Surrey?” Over the next hour, amid angry and sometimes noisy exchanges, the officials sought to defend their record.

Commenting afterwards, Peter Ainsworth said: “The RHA was long on excuses but woefully short of solutions. Apparently it’s everybody’s fault but theirs that our local NHS Trust is £67 million in debt and turning patients away. They tried to argue that this region is not under-funded by comparison with others in the UK. If that is true, then the reason for the current financial meltdown at East Surrey and across their area can only be incompetence on their part.”

The officials were asked to stop acting as the agents of Government and to start representing the interests of patients and taxpayers in Surrey and Sussex. “We do what Ministers tell us to do”, said Simon Robbins, Chief Executive of the Horley-based SHA.

“We are considering tabling a Motion of No Confidence in these people”, said Peter Ainsworth, “None of the MPs present could remember a time when the NHS was failing patients as it is today, despite the heroic efforts of doctors and nurses. The buck stops with Blair, but if the SHA continues to act as the Government’s poodle, they will find themselves in the firing line.”

The MPs said that they would call another meeting in a few months’ time, when they expected to see some progress towards finding a solution to the financial crisis which does not involve denying treatment to patients or sacking staff.

The meeting on 11th October was attended by:

Peter Ainsworth (MP for Surrey East)
Nicholas Soames (MP for Mid Sussex)
Crispin Blunt (MP for Reigate)
Nick Herbert (MP for Arundel and South Downs)
Tim Loughton (MP for Worthing East and Shoreham)
Peter Bottomley (MP for Worthing West)
Nick Gibb (MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Francis Maude (MP for Horsham)
Andrew Tryie (MP for Chichester)

Simon Robbins – Chief Executive of the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority
Alisdair Cockburn – Acting Chairman
Angela Walker – Assistant Chief Executive