HOLMES HAMMERS HOSPITAL TARIFF CUT

Paul Holmes, MP for Chesterfield, has tabled a damning Early Day Motion condemning the Government's gross mismanagement of NHS finances, following the announcement on Tuesday that 43 nurses at Chesterfield's Royal Hospital will lose their jobs.

Commenting, local MP Paul Holmes said: "I am appalled that the Labour Government has imposed, at short notice, a five per cent. cut in the Royal Hospital's tariff for 2006-07. This has already led to the announcement of the loss of 43 nursing jobs and more staff restructuring is likely to follow later this year.

"So far 35 MPs from three different parties have signed my motion condemning the Government's mismanagement of NHS finances, and support for it is growing rapidly among parliamentarians.

"The NHS service cuts and thousands of job losses that are sweeping the country will have a devastating impact upon patient care. It is the Labour Government's incompetence that is destroying the valuable service that NHS staff work so hard to provide."