CAMPAIGNERS against the potential privatisation of two Merseyside hospitals have handed over a 33,000-strong petition to Downing Street.
The document – protesting against plans for Whiston and St Helens hospitals to be run by a private company – was presented to Number 10 yesterday.
MPs including Dave Watts and George Howarth were present along with campaigners from the Swash group (Save Whiston and St Helens Hospitals) and union members.
St Helens MP Mr Watts said: “It went very well and we will now wait for the response. But there is a general issue on PFI ongoing at the moment, and there is still no answer on this. We should have had a conclusion in May and time is rumbling on.”
The Daily Post revealed in April that an option was mooted in a leaked government document to partly run the hospitals using a private company.
Both are new builds, constructed with private finance initiative (PFI) funds.
It was estimated an extra £20.3m was needed to run them and it was agreed that money would come from central funds. But the document set out three options to cover the costs, including handing control to a private company.
