Bosworth Conservative parliamentary candidate, Dr Luke Evans, has taken the recent closure of the X-ray facilities at Hinckley and District Hospital directly to Health Secretary, Matt Hancock.
The X-ray facilities at the hospital were closed on safety grounds after the old equipment was beyond repair, could not be operated safely and posed a risk to staff, but fortunately not to patients.
Dr Luke Evans, himself a GP, has met with the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock to update him on the problems of a lack of local X-ray facilities and discuss proposals being put forward by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on a range of solutions aimed at improving the service for people living in Hinckley.
Commenting Dr Luke Evans said:
“Clearly the closure of the X-ray department is a blow for patients from Hinckley and surrounding villages and puts further pressure on the other areas who have to pick up the extra load.
“I am keen to find a solution and having discussed this with the CCG, I wanted to raise the issue with the Secretary of State at the earliest opportunity to get something done as a priority. I was pleased that Matt Hancock was keen to hear about the difficulties faced and has said he would look into what he could do to help.
“By working together with the Department of Health and the CCG, I hope that normal X-ray services can be resumed as soon as possible. I am keen to do all that I can to support the exciting proposals to make better use of all available existing space in Hinckley Health Centre (Hill Street) and at Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital (Sunnyside) and increase services offered.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock commented:
“I am grateful to Luke for bringing this to my attention. We want hospitals and health hubs right across the country to have the best, state-of-the-art equipment possible, to improve services for patients and support the work of our NHS staff on the frontline. I was deeply impressed by Luke’s determination and his plans to improve health services in Hinckley, and I look forward to working with him in future on this important campaign.”
