Commenting on the major incident announced by Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge last night, Cambridge Labour Parliamentary Candidate Daniel Zeichner says:

“Across the region and the country we are now seeing the real impact of savage cuts to the services provided by local councils which normally keep people out of hospital.

Labour warned about this at the last election, but the Conservatives refused to listen and just tried to score political points on the issue. When I visited Addenbrookes just before Christmas I saw that staff were doing everything possible, but they were quite clear – they need more capacity in A & E, and they need somewhere to move elderly people who no longer need to be in hospital but can’t yet go home.

I know that reopening unused capacity at Brookfields Hospital is being considered – the question is why this wasn’t done earlier.”