Subject: Press release from Paul Keetch MP

Embargo; Immediate 7th September 2001

MPs join forces to call for West Mercia Health Authority

MPs for Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire have joined together 
to
call for the setting up of a West Mercia Health Authority comprised of the
three counties.

Matthew Green (Ludlow), Paul Keetch (Hereford) and Dr Richard Taylor (Wyre
Forest) have made their proposal on the day that the Government has
announced its proposals for three Strategic Health Authorities in the West
Midlands region. 

The Government's plans put Shropshire with Staffordshire and lump
Herefordshire and Worcestershire with Coventry and Warwickshire.

Matthew Green MP said the government's plan ignored the needs of rural
areas: "These new Strategic Health Authorities are fine in principal but 
it
is important that their boundaries reflect the needs of local communities.
The new Authorities will have an important public health role. If the
government's plans go ahead their focus will inevitably be drawn towards
Stoke and Coventry to the detriment of the more rural areas.  

"Our proposals, which we will be circulating to local councils and other
interested bodies in the Region, would create a health authority that 
would
understand the needs of delivering a high quality Health Service in rural
counties."

Dr Richard Taylor MP said: "The Kidderminster Hospital saga shows that
boundaries are not just administrative they can play a critical role on 
the
location of services. Worcestershire Health Authority were able to ignore
25,000 people who used Kidderminster Hospital because those people were in
other health Authorities.

"I suspect that if West Mercia Health Authority had been in existence five
years ago, the closures at Kidderminster may not have gone ahead. The
government's proposals will make it harder to get Accident and Emergency
services restored to Kidderminster."

Paul Keetch MP said: "There is little commonsense in linking Herefordshire
with Coventry. However diligent the staff of the new Authority will be 
there
is be a danger that Herefordshire would rapidly become a forgotten. 

A West Mercia Health Authority would be accepted by the public because it 
is
the way the Police are organised. My fear is that the government's twelve
week consultation period will be gone before people are aware of the
significance of the decisions being taken."

The consultation period starts today and lasts twelve weeks. There is only
one option being put forward. The new Strategic Health Authorities are
expected to come into force in April 2002.

Ends