Battersea MP Jane Ellison recently wrote in the letters page she was happy to discuss local health matters.

So it was disappointing she was not able to attend the recent election hustings on the NHS held in Balham, organised by South West London Keep Our NHS Public.

Instead, she sent a statement that listed all the “successes” of the coalition Government, which made it sound as if there was no crisis in the NHS.

Unfortunately she did not address any of the pressing issues facing our health service – the planned budget cuts at St George’s Hospital, the threatened closure of some services at St Helier Hospital, the potential loss of mental health beds and the planned closure of the Queen Mary’s Hospital psychiatric wards.

SUSAN BALDING
Via email