LEWISHAM HOSPITAL ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY CLOSURE

That this House notes that the South London Healthcare NHS Trust has gone into administration with debts of £150 million; further notes that this debt and the subsequent bankruptcy of the Trust is the direct consequence of unsustainable Private Finance Initiative (PFI) debt servicing of some £60 million per annum; further notes that Lewisham Hospital Accident and Emergency is faced with closure as a direct result of the collapse of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust even though it is not part of the collapsed Trust but merely its immediate neighbour; further notes that what has happened in South East London is a situation that is likely to be replicated in other parts of the country because of the PFI debacle; further notes the magnificent campaign that has been waged by the people of Lewisham to save Lewisham A&E which produced a demonstration of some 25,000 people; congratulates the people of Lewisham for that campaign; further notes that campaigners will be lobbying the House on 26 March 2013; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to withdraw any plans to close Lewisham A&E and instead to guarantee its future.