Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois has welcomed today’s announcement that proposals as part of the Mid and South Essex Success Regime to send all “blue light” ambulance emergencies to Basildon Hospital have been dropped.
Following a public consultation exercise and representations from local MPs, NHS Leaders have listened to concerns expressed about the plans and have now decided to develop a revised model, that would enable all three current A&E departments at Basildon, Broomfield and Southend Hospitals to continue to treat people who need emergency hospital care, including continuing to receive “blue light” emergency patients with serious conditions.
Commenting on today’s decision, Mark Francois said:
“I am pleased that the blanket redirection of all “blue light” ambulances to Basildon, which was previously considered as an option, will now not go ahead. I had many constituents who were concerned about this plan and I had asked a number of questions about it myself, particularly about how many extra ambulances would be required to make the system work. People are often cynical about consultation exercises these days but this one appears to have been genuine and I would like to thank local NHS leaders for listening to these concerns and taking action as a result.”