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Evesham Community Hospital

: I entirely agree, and I am most grateful for that very helpful clarification. The hon. Gentleman understands the role of community hospitals, and I hope that by the end of the debate the Minister will understand it, too. I feel sure that I will be encouraged in that respect. There is anger of unprecedented proportions in the vale of Evesham, and I am deeply grateful to two local institutions for their magnificent support for our campaign; the fine local paper, the Evesham Journal, and Evesham Technology, the local computer manufacturer and retailer. They have helped to give focus and expression to that anger. To understand the depth of that anger, it is necessary to understand the history of Evesham's hospital; or, rather, hospitals, because Evesham used to have two, Briar Close, built in 1879, and Avonside, built in 1930. I understand that there was also a third isolation hospital in the town, but this debate has its origins in the story of Briar Close and Avonside. In 1986, Worcester and district health authority announced plans to deal with an overspend of £1.8 million by, among other things, transferring services from Briar Close to Avonside, although, to be fair, the plans also included the building of a new theatre. Seventy health workers lost their jobs when Briar Close closed down in 1988 and the land was sold for housing development. Evesham was now down to having one hospital, in which, when it was taken over by the NHS in 1948, there had been 287 beds, many for long-stay elderly care, so it was a significant hospital. Some extensive ward upgrading took place at Avonside in 1986, but in the same year the maternity unit moved to Worcester, despite widespread public opposition. That loss of service marked the beginning of a tale of the gradual erosion of the hospital, with some bright and encouraging exceptions. In 1990, ward six closed, and Bartholomew ward went the same way in 1998. On a brighter note, a public appeal launched in 1993 led to the establishment of the Macmillan palliative care unit. However, 2003 saw further trauma as another round of cost cutting by the PCT led to a reduction in staffing at the minor injuries unit, and in 2004 the physiotherapy unit suffered reduced staff numbers. We now come to 2005 and the latest cuts, which would reduce the hospital to just 42 beds, including the five Macmillan beds, all of which is designed to contribute to a £4 million cost saving exercise by the PCT. Over the years, Evesham people have always been told that their hospital was secure, and over those same years it has been slowly chipped away at by an NHS looking to make savings to make good problems elsewhere in the county. Evesham has been the sacrificial lamb once too often, and it must not happen again. Evesham people felt very closely attached to both hospitals, and they continue to make generous donations to the remaining hospital. All the wards undertake continual fundraising to provide extra facilities. The friends of the hospital receive frequent bequests and numerous donations from clubs, groups, organisations and businesses from Evesham and the surrounding area. Over many years, the friends have supplied equipment; for example, they kitted out a young disabled person's room with a shower and hand basin with equipment specially designed for disabled use. These cuts are the reward for their loyalty. The hospital must be saved, and the long-promised new hospital must be built. That must happen not just because local people are upset and angry; indeed, it is not just local people who are upset. Evesham provides a service to the whole county, and its wonderful staff are held in deep affection the length and breadth of Worcestershire. I accept that the Minister may not have a detailed grasp of Worcestershire's geography, but it is significant that the Kidderminster Times this week has a letter of protest from Bewdley, and my first telephone call of outrage came from Hartlebury. Evesham must be saved because it provides essential services to the whole county, because closing these wards will endanger patients, and because the proposed cuts will not generate the savings claimed. I was pleased to get the support of the hon. Member for Wyre Forest, and to receive an early request from the hon. Member for Worcester to intervene in this debate; I happily give way to him now.