David: Before I answer this I want to say that I very much regret that Helen Southworth has chosen not to turn up at this discussion. We may get on later to talk about the role of the MP and I hope we do - it's very clear to me that part of her role is to communicate with her people and not treat them with contempt. Jo and I both gave dozens of dates where we would come in and have this discussion and Helen is not here. As regards the issues, first and foremost I would say health care. Warrington is a town which is slightly above the national average in terms of affluence and a fair bit above the national average in terms of education. However, as has been pointed out by the PCT, we are below the average on Health Care. In particular, heart disease, strokes, alcohol related illness and life expectancy. The real scandal is that although we are below the national average on these measures we recieve less than the national average from the government. If we recieved the average amount it would be an extra £10m to the PCT which would pay for hundreds of doctors and nurses or clear their deficit without extra cuts.
Jo:I think the key issues affecting people in Warrington South are, as David says, Health Care. What David says about national funding is correct but I think primary concern amongst residents is how they access GP's. This was demonstrated through the public consultation on the super surgeries earlier in the year. At street surgeries which the lib dems did in the town centre we spoke to many people who were very concerned what this would mean to them, particuarly the elderly or those without transport. We collected over a thousand signatures against thisand thought that we had succeeded in defeating it, but in the last fortnight Gordon Brown has refused to rule out this super surgery idea accross the country and the Lib Dems in Warrington will fight those plans if they come back.
David: I attended and spoke at three separate meetings against the super surgery proposal but it is important to note a few points. Other towns in the north west have succesfully implemented some super surgeries and it is true that certain procedures are better done there than in hospital. In my discussions with doctors on thsi issue, it is not they were against super suirgeris as a concept, it is that in Warrington the Super Surgeries included breaking the practices which would have broken the doctor patient relationship which is why people were marching in the streets. It is the responsibility of the PCT to get things better. I don't want to oppose change for the sake of it but they need to do a lot better with their next round of proposals than they did last time.
Jo:As I said, we listen to the people and the people don't want the super surgeries. What thye do want is a health service they can access when they want it. That includes dentists - this week a resident was telling me how they had to go to 5 different places to get a wisdom tooth removed because noone is taking on patients.