Monday 5 September 2011

Teather Avoids Accountability on NHS

Sarah Teather MP has refused to answer any questions from her Brent Central constituents on the NHS ahead of the critical vote on the Health and Social Care Bill on 7 September.

Letters to Teather are, according to her office,  'in a four week backlog which is growing daily'. Constituents  asking for a telephone conversation with the MP are told 'Sarah is too busy to speak with constituents on the phone or to meet in person this week'. Asked if there is a statement on the Health  and Social Care Bill by Teather her office advises that no such statement has been issued.

Commenting on this total silence by his MP, Graham Durham from Brent Fightback said:

The Health and Social Care Bill seeks to remove the duty on the government to ensure an NHS is in place and seeks to promote more private profit taking from the NHS. It has caused  huge concern to the BMA and all doctor and health professional organisations are opposed to it. Nowhere in the Coalition agreement or in the Liberal Democrat manifesto was this change suggested.

When she was elected as an MP Sarah Teather promised to be available to listen to constituents but she has now refused to even explain her position on this critical issue. The delay in responding to constituents by
letter is the worst of any MP representing our area in the last 30 years.

It seems the only way constituents can influence Teather before the vote is to attend the lobby of Parliament on  September 7th (meet St Thomas' hospital at 6.30pm) in the hope that Sarah might look out of the window.

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