Hugh Robertson calls for downgrading of Maidstone Hospital to be halted

Hugh Robertson has called for any plans to relocate services from Maidstone to be abandoned until C. Diff is eliminated.

Hugh Robertson, the MP for Mid Kent, has today called in Parliament for any plans to relocate services from Maidstone Hospital to be abandoned until C. Diff has been eliminated. The call came as part of an urgent statement on the outbreak in Parliament.

Hugh Robertson said, “It is very clear from reading The Healthcare Commission’s report into the C Diff outbreak that management were distracted from the central issue of bringing the outbreak under control by work demanded by the government on the relocation of services. In my view, all such work should now cease until, at the very least, C Diff is eliminated and, preferably, for good.

I regret to say that The Secretary of State was unable to give me any assurances on this issue which is deeply disappointing. At a time like this, I would hope that all the management’s time is devoted to correcting the disgraceful lapses in patient care that have occurred – not dealing with structural re-organisations”.