Shepway Liberal Democrats are travelling to Westminster on Tuesday 16th January to take part in a lobby of Parliament organised by the All Party Group for Local Hospitals. They will meet with the Lib Dem Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb MP and update him on the threat to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone.
Folkestone Town Councillors heard last night that the proposed sell-off of the main Victorian building at the Royal Victoria Hospital can almost certainly ONLY go ahead if the Derry Unit is moved - most likely out of Folkestone. East Kent Hospitals Trust Facilities Manager, Howard Jones, admitted to the Folkestone Town Council meeting that to keep the Derry Unit in Folkestone without the main building would be "very difficult" in the remaining hospital space.
Following months of pressure by the Liberal Democrat team, Folkestone Town Council last night voted for a zero rise in the tax they collect from Folkestone residents for the next financial year AND backed new spending to make Folkestone cleaner.
To learn that there was a proposal to sell-off the largest part of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone came as a real shock to local people just before Christmas - not least to the Lib Dems.
Like all Liberal Democrats, I am appalled at the increasingly authoritarian drift of the Labour Party. Michael Howard and the Tories don't have a good track record on this issue either.
Protesters fighting airport expansion proposals at Lydd Airport in Kent have stepped up their campaign to stop the development.
Local residents and health workers have cast doubt on a pledge from East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust to retain all current services at the RVH after their announcement that they were looking at selling the Victorian part of the Royal Victoria. This week the NHS Trust has added to fears for the future of services by admitting that it was already considering withdrawing urology services offering by the Derry unit at the hospital.
A letter from the Chair of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust to the Liberal Democrats has revealed that the Trust is considering the future of the Derry Unit Urology services at the Royal Victoria. The letter was in response to local campaigner Tim Prater, who had asked if the Trust would guarantee the future of all services at the site after the announcement that the main RVH building was being considered for sale.
The Campaign to Save OUR Royal Victoria has secured a pledge from the East Kent Hospital Trust that most key services currently available at the RVH will continue to be available in Folkestone. The pledge has been welcomed by hospital campaigner Lynne Beaumont, but fears remain that the full story is not being told. The public meeting announced for 9 January will go ahead to ensure concerned local residents are given all the information available at the allow local people to have their say on the future of the hospital.
Shepway Liberal Democrats have called a public meeting to give local people an opportunity to protest about the possible selling off of the Victorian parts of the Royal Victoria Hospital. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 9th January 2007 at 7.00pm in St Johns Church, St Johns Church Road in Folkestone.
The "must-see" DVD "An Inconvenient Truth" has been released in the UK, and can now be bought via the Shepway Lib Dems web site at www.shepwaylibdems.org.uk/amazonshop/ for just £12.99, saving £7 on the list price.
Happy New Year to each and every one of you.