Labour Interference And Incompetence Over NHS

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 30th Apr 2007

Commenting on NHS targets, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP

for Chesterfield said:

"Two years after the problem of GPs surgeries refusing to make appointments more than a day in advance in order to meet their 48 hour maximum waiting time targets was exposed this problem is still common.

Residents of Chesterfield are still having problems making appointments to see their doctors, and many local people still have to spend hours on the phone in the morning trying to get through, only to find that all appointments are fully booked.

The Labour Government's culture of targets has distorted the NHS so that staff are forced to put targets ahead of patients' welfare.

I have written to Patricia Hewitt to demand that she takes immediate action to stop this ridiculous government interference and incompetence."