David Cameron aims to halt healthcare review (From Surrey Comet)

David Cameron aims to halt healthcare review

2:14pm Tuesday 13th April 2010 in

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David Cameron cut through talk of erotic poems for vegans to announce he wants to stop the South West London Healthcare Review, which threatens the future of Kingston Hospital’s maternity and accident and emergency units.

During a visit to Kingston’s maternity unit on Saturday, the Tory leader appeared live on Kingston Hospital radio and was given a book of “Erotic poetry for vegetarians and vegans” by DJ Julie Mullen.

Mr Cameron refrained from reading out one of the racy poems, which included The Well-hung Mung Beetle.

He said: “I’ve never received a gift like this before. I will look at my vegetable patch in a new way from now on”.

Mr Cameron said: “We want to stop this London review that the Labour Government has put in place, that’s threatening many services at many hospitals, including here in Kingston.

“Kingston has a safe future under a Conservative government. [Its] future should depend on the choices that patients and GPs make, and overwhelmingly patients and local GPs in Kingston support this hospital and the excellent maternity unit, which I’ve seen for myself.”

He also accused Kingston’s Liberal Democrat MPs, Edward Davey and Susan Kramer, of overstating the threat to Kingston Hospital.

He said: “I think the Lib Dems probably overstated the threat and they do that because, well, that’s what they tend to do.”

Edward Davey, Lib Dem MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said Mr Cameron’s “sudden interest” in Kingston Hospital proved the Tories could not be trusted when it comes to the NHS.

Mr Davey said: “I would like to know how the threat to Kingston Hospital could be understated?

“When the Liberal Democrats launched our campaign to oppose this threat, Cameron’s own health spokesmen claimed they wouldn’t ‘jump on the bandwagon’ to try to save these vital NHS services.

“Instead, the local Conservative candidates stood idly by while the Liberal Democrats fought to save Kingston’s A&E and maternity units.”