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Tory apology over hospital 'cut' Tory apology over hospital 'cut'
(20 minutes later)
A Conservative MP has apologised after David Cameron claimed maternity services at his local district hospital were under threat.A Conservative MP has apologised after David Cameron claimed maternity services at his local district hospital were under threat.
The Tories have launched a campaign to save emergency and maternity services at 29 district general hospitals.The Tories have launched a campaign to save emergency and maternity services at 29 district general hospitals.
But Norfolk North West MP Henry Bellingham said one of the hospitals on the list, Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn, is not facing cuts.But Norfolk North West MP Henry Bellingham said one of the hospitals on the list, Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn, is not facing cuts.
He said the hospital should have been consulted about the campaign.He said the hospital should have been consulted about the campaign.
"Obviously a mistake has been made and as a local MP I wasn't consulted on this and I apologise unreservedly to the staff of the hospital," he told the BBC."Obviously a mistake has been made and as a local MP I wasn't consulted on this and I apologise unreservedly to the staff of the hospital," he told the BBC.
As a local MP I wasn't consulted on this and I apologise unreservedly to the staff of the hospital Henry BellinghamConservative MP, Norfolk North West Q&A: Hospitals under threat A&E closures 'risk lives'
"I do think there's a lesson for all opposition parties, all parties actually and the government, if they are issuing a statement that affects an organisation, be it a hospital, the police, some school, they should always consult the chief executive or the headmaster or whoever it is.""I do think there's a lesson for all opposition parties, all parties actually and the government, if they are issuing a statement that affects an organisation, be it a hospital, the police, some school, they should always consult the chief executive or the headmaster or whoever it is."
Mr Cameron launched his campaign on Monday with a visit to Worthing Hospital in West Sussex which faces the possible closure of its A&E, consultant-led midwifery and intensive care units.
He continued with a visit to Sandwell General Hospital, West Bromwich and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on Tuesday.
Mr Cameron called for an immediate moratorium, stopping cutbacks at district general hospitals and putting in place a system making it more likely that they can survive.
But another hospital named by the Conservatives as being threatened with the closure of its maternity and accident and emergency unit does not have either facilities, it has emerged.
'Bare knuckle fight'
Altrincham General Hospital in Trafford does have a minor injuries unit.
Mr Cameron has promised a "bare knuckle fight" with Prime Minister Gordon Brown over district hospitals as he predicted it would be a key battleground at the next general election.
"We believe in them, we want to save them and we want them enhanced, and we will fight the government all the way."
Other NHS trusts have contradicted the Conservative claims.
Chief executive of the Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Tom Taylor, said there is no threat to maternity services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
A spokeswoman for North Bristol NHS Trust - which covers Frenchay and Southmead hospitals - said Conservative claims that A&E services at Frenchay were under threat are "absolute rubbish".
She told the BBC. "It simply isn't true and it's very annoying."
The A&E unit at Frenchay will be closed but a new one will be built at Southmead Hospital five miles away, where there is only a minor injury unit at the moment.
A spokeswoman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which is responsible for Horton hospital in Banbury, said there is no threat to its A&E unit and extra consultants were being employed there.
Review
The government has said there are 13 NHS trusts where services are the subject of a review or consultation - which may include more than one hospital each.
"This does not mean wholesale closures of district general hospitals but it does mean that NHS clinicians and managers need to work with local communities to decide on the best organisation of services for patients in their areas," a health department spokesman said.
The Conservative campaign came as the Emergency Medicine Journal published research suggesting the closure of local A&E departments will put the lives of seriously ill patients at risk by making them travel further for treatment.
However, the government said the study of 10,000 cases in four ambulance services between 1997 and 2001 was outdated and did not take into account developments in ambulance care.