KEETCH INVITES NEW HEALTH SECRETARY REID TO HEREFORD

3.25.05pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 13th Jun 2003

Hereford Liberal Democrat MP, Paul Keetch, has written to the new Health Secretary, John Reid, inviting him to come to Hereford. Mr Keetch has also warned local Conservatives not to turn the hospital beds issue locally into a "Party Political Football". His warning comes as the Tory Health Spokesman, Liam Fox, visited the County Hospital in Hereford with Leominster Tory MP, Bill Wiggin.

"I want John Reid to come to Hereford to see at first hand the on going beds issue and to witness problems we are having locally with NHS dental services", said Mr Keetch.

"However I am concerned that if this is seen as a party political issue, as local Tories seem to be trying to make it, then we won't get much support from the Labour Government".

Although Hereford Hospital is located the Hereford Constituency it also serves the Leominster constituency, held by Tory MP Bill Wiggin, and the Brecon & Radnor constituency, held by Lib Dem MP, Roger Williams. Paul Keetch has always involved both MPs from the relevant constituencies in meetings with Ministers and officials, but local Conservatives appear to be trying to turn the issue to party political advantage.

"This is about helping not only my constituents but also people from Leominster and Brecon & Radnor constituencies and elsewhere who use the hospital. It's not about scoring party political points,"

says Paul Keetch.

"When I launched my beds petition last year I asked the other two MPs to join in. I invited them to come with me to Downing Street to present the petition. This is an all party and no party campaign and inviting the Tory Health Spokesman to Hereford is no more than a stunt. "

"It is after all unlikely that we will have a Tory Government in the next few years, so we have no alternative but to work with the present Government in order to sort out the problems.

"It's also a matter of fact that the hospital was designed, with the reduced number of beds, under a Tory Government with a Tory MP then in Hereford. Given that Conservatives now want to cut public spending by 20% I fail to see how they could give us more beds".

26,000 people signed Paul Keetch's beds petition last year with a further 3,000 obtained by Brecon & Radnor MP, Roger Williams, and only 500 signatures for Bill Wiggin MP's petition were submitted to Downing Street.