MP: Town could house military hospital
Thursday 7th May 2009, 2:42PM BST.
Shrewsbury should be one of several towns and cities across the country to feature a new military hospital, the town’s MP has claimed.
Daniel Kawczynski said that following huge pressure, the Government was considering the idea of introducing military hospitals for soldiers and members of the armed forces to use.
The Tory MP said he believed there could be plans for up to four across the UK.
He is now writing to Shropshire Primary Care Trust, Tom Taylor – the chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and top brass at the Ministry of Defence in a bid to gauge support.
Mr Kawczynski said: “All European countries have some form of dedicated military hospital.
“We are in a unique place to have a military hospital because we have a background as a military town, we have a position in the heart of the Midlands which is a good location for people from conurbations, and we would be one of the best spots for recuperation with some of the most beautiful countryside.”
He said he also planned to write to the new Shropshire Council to ask the authority to find suitable sites for a proposed military hospital.
Squadron Leader Neil Hope, from RAF Shawbury, said: “RAF Shawbury is one of the biggest employers in the area and we would welcome anything that creates jobs which helps out the local community.”
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This would be one of the few good things this Government has ever done for our Armed Forces, military/service hospitals should never have been done away with. Many years ago I was a soldier/patient in the Cambridge Military Hospital Aldershot, many years later I was a civilian patient in Cosford RAF Hospital and the standard of both compared with a civilian NHS hospital was startling, alike as chalk from cheese with the Service Hospitals beating the NHS in almost every possible way.
Last year I was a patient in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham having a heart operation, some of the nurses were soldiers (a private and a Corporal) in the RAMC, they could not have been better, they were REAL nurses, not the NHS variety of whom I have vast experience, some far from good.
This Government having run down the Army and it’s equipment to problematic levels will now have difficulty I think in establishing new Military Hospitals but bring on the day, our servicemen deserve better than what they are getting.
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And if the government doesn’t come up with the goods then Kawczynski will write the strongest of letters yet to ask why Shrewsbury wasn’t selected will he? Oh for Gods sake this lad has clearly had his ear to the door of a committee meeting and before anything more than an idea was discussed he’s called the Star to beg for some news cover. Danny Boy you remain the ‘problem child’ at Westminster that youv’e been for quite a while now.
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Pity you have to drag a sour political note into what every MP of every party should be fighting for Xhristo – fair play and good medical facilities for our service people.
You clearly know all about the Westminster village and have friends in high places to know that “Danny Boy” is the “problem child” of that place.
Sorry we can’t induce Paul Marsden or someone like him to stand for Shrewsbury again, did I hear a sudden intake of breath and a gulp of horror.
Danny Boy is the best one we have had for many years.
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i think that at the moment we are wasting money with buildings and places we dont need ie the eye saw which has ruined that sky lines of shrewsbury the theatre and some sculter also wasting money with building more uwanted building were the money spent could b spent on hosptials improvement and housing for people in dire need also i say bring back the rule save money and send it wisley
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behave dave!
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Dear Stuart,
Yes, I am fully prepared to disclose publically that I have some good friends at Westminster who keep me very well informed indeed of goings on there, the details of which do not escape through the oak doors of meeting rooms, or for that matter from the well attended commons bar for all to hear. I am not an enemy of Kawczynski, but rather, like many at Westminster gravely concerened that this loose cannon, that albeit good in the field of modelling outsize clothes for his county magazine, and continually pestering the Shropshire Star for exposure is nevertheless a real risk to the ‘comeback campaign’ of the Tory Party.
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i thought it was stupid in the first place that military hosiptals were closed down
i think on in Shrewsbury good but i hope you us military staff to run it.Service men and wemon that fought for our country need the best care and nhs docter and nurse dont stand up to military docters.
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Quite agree di, keep pushing “Danny Boy”, make it a campaign.
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i think shrewsbury is indeed fortunate to have am mp of the calibre of dk. although i do not share his politics, he makes a good point about military hospitals. a pity one of his previous leaders scrapped so many in the past.
shrewsbury is not the best site for a hospital, but somewhere like shawbury, tern hill or cosford would be ideal.
i suspect with credit crunch we are looking several years ahead, and if ever dk’s party got elected, then we might as well wish for the moon, which might arrive sooner
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Di please watch the excellent TV program Medics on the frontline you will see many NHS TA personnel doing a sterling job in Afghanistan.
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I have to disagree with regards to creating new miliary hospitals, I believe one of the main reasons that previous Military Hospitals were clsoed down was not jsut to do with costs, but the fact that at that time the demand was low, and accordingly the staff were not getting the level of training that was needed.
I would far sooner see an increase in the number of rehabiliation centres where by servicemen injured in action, and when space permits the general population can receive the longterm physio care that they may well need
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You make a good point about possible locations Cothercote, whatever solution is thought up about improving medical facilities for our armed forces anything is better than our present situation. I have been in Selly Oak and have seen the situation there, service medics and patients doing their best under “trying” circumstances.
Like everything else in our armed forces, medical services have been run down to dangerous levels albeit Capt Chaos makes the good point also about TA NHS Staff.
Of course, if we want to know at first hand what is on the PMs mind or what the Cabinet is up to or what COBRA is doing when they meet we just need to ask xhristo who appears to sit on the right hand side of the Speaker, he is so much in the know.
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