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Hospital Trusts (Essex)

I am grateful to Mr. Speaker for agreeing to my request for a statement on Colchester hospital. There is great concern and anxiety among the local population, and there is a need for urgent steps to be taken to give reassurance and to bolster the morale of staff throughout the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. That said, I attended the trust's annual meeting, and what was said there does not reflect what we are hearing now. There appears to be a battle between the various quangos. Does the Secretary of State agree that we are witnessing the consequences of a box-ticking, target-setting agenda and that there is an urgent need for local democratic accountability?