The petition launched by the Watford Liberal Democrats calling on the Labour government to reconsider and prioritise the Watford General Hospital (WGH) rebuild has reached 1,000 signatures a few days after it was launched.
The large uptake in the petition shows how important the WGH rebuild is for residents. This project has been eagerly awaited for many years and the Lib Dems are clear that they want this rebuild to go ahead. The petition was launched on Wednesday, January 22, after the news that the WGH rebuild will be delayed for at least seven years until 2032.
This comes after the Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor reacted to the announcement by Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP on Monday, January 20, about the delay. Mayor Taylor has also written to Mr Streeting MP, questioning why WGH was not prioritised and was placed so far down in the list of 40 hospitals in the New Hospital Programme announcement.
During the General Election campaign, Labour politicians (Wes Streeting MP and Matt Turmaine MP) stated that they were committed to the WGH rebuilding project.
Following the news, Mr Turmaine MP said that the Conservatives must ‘shoulder the blame’ for the WGH delay.
He said: “The Conservatives’ so-called ‘fully-funded’ scheme to rebuild the hospital was, it turned out, nothing of the sort as they knew all along and has become apparent – a disgraceful deception. They hoodwinked people into believing the money was there when it never was. They crashed the economy and unforgivably knowingly lied to Watford residents.”
Mayor Taylor said: “Every day, I am contacted by residents who are angry about the decision to delay rebuilding WGH. The huge number of people who have signed this petition, in only a few days, shows how important this hospital rebuild is for patients, staff, and residents.
“We can’t wait for another decade before the rebuilding of WGH even starts. Patients and staff deserve so much better.
“We’re calling on Labour Ministers and MPs to get on with it and urgently deliver the funding needed for this vital project. Sign our petition to back the campaign to rebuild WGH now.”
Watford Lib Dem councillor Ian Stotesbury said: “The delay to our hospital is a huge betrayal to our patients, our staff and our town. We’ve seen a disappointing lack of concern from the government and local MP. The rebuild of WGH was a clear election commitment and now they plan to break this promise. Watford Borough Council and West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have done so much to ensure this project is shovel ready. For the sake of patients and staff, we need work to start on the WGH rebuild now.”
The petition can be found here: www.watfordlibdems.org/our-campaigns/rebuild-watford-general
0 Comments