Mixed Report on Local Hospitals

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 30th Jul 2002

MP Vincent Cable has expressed anxiety over the latest hospital league tables which show the West Middlesex (the hospital that serves 70% of local residents) to have slipped to a 'one star' rating, which implies 'cause for concern'.

The hospital fell down badly on A&E waits, elderly patients being kept in for far too long and breast cancer treatment.

He said: "a few weeks after the very positive message from the hospital with the 'topping out' of the new building we now have this depressing assessment of service quality in some key areas. The unacceptably long waits from A&E treatment is a long standing problem but with all the money now going into the NHS we should be seeing improvements."

"What is particularly worrying about the West Middlesex is that patients who were surveyed and interviewed gave a very negative assessment of the service they received. I get a lot of complaints about the lack of cleanliness in particular and the unhappiness is clearly, widely felt. Unfortunately a lot of good and dedicated work by the medical staff tends to be nullified by the poor environment. I fervently hope that when the new hospital opens next year there will be a big lift in moral and performance".