MP promises to lobby ministers in meeting about trust finances

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed news that Health Ministers will meet a cross-party delegation to lobby for a fairer deal for our hospitals.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter has agreed to meet local MPs after they protested over the perilous financial state affecting the trust.

Speaking recently in the House of Commons Tim asked Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, to 'work with me and all colleagues across Morecambe Bay to help the trust recover, which includes agreeing not to now demand that the trust make £25 million-worth of savings by March, as that would further threaten the pursuit of patient safety?'

Tim has called on the Department of Health to instruct Monitor, the regulator for Foundation Trusts, to lessen the severity of the debt and agree that it can be paid back over a longer time period.

Tim said: "As a group of MPs we have been working together on this issue and I look forward to collectively lobbying the Minister. If the Government can give a clear signal to Monitor that would really help. I will continue to urge Monitor to reduce the financial pressure the trust is under.

"I will also keep working with fellow MPs and the trust's management to deal with the financial crisis. But my priority has always been patient care and improving the support that local people receive at our hospitals. The less money the trust is forced to pay to cover it's debts, the more it has to spend on care!"