Councillor Rush slams Health Secretary

Heywood North Councillor Peter Rush has slammed Health Secretary Alan Johnson for "ignoring Heywood". Councillor Rush sent dozens of petitions signed by Heywood residents to Mr Johnson just before his controversial decision to axe hospital services. The petition made the plea to keep maternity and the special care baby unit at Fairfield.

Councillor Rush said: "Alan Johnson may have disagreed with the majority of residents in Heywood. The least he could have done though is have the courtesy to acknowledge our campaign. His failure to do so is a sign that he is uninterested and hasn't even listened to us. The fact that the people of Heywood were willing to send back scores of signatures shows how interested we were - it's a shame that the same can't be said for Labour's Health Secretary."

Councillor Rush's comments come at the same time that a report backed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists criticised moves for 'maternity supercentres' at the expense of closing maternity units at hospitals like Fairfield Hospital. Councillor Rush said: "Only two weeks ago Alan Johnson and Gordon Brown spoke about how the Labour Government were prioritising health services that were 'close to home'. The reality is that in places like Heywood the opposite is happening. The fight to retain key services at Fairfield continues and I hope that Jim Dobbin is pressing his Labour colleagues in the Government to stop stripping our local NHS."