3. Dr. Tony WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the financial position of Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS trust. [406]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. Alan Milburn)Latest reports from the trust indicate that it met all its financial duties in 1996–97. The initial plans for 1997–98 show a small deficit; however, the trust is confident that it will regain financial balance in the medium term.
Dr. WrightI am grateful for that answer, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his appointment. Will he take a particular interest in the affairs of the Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS trust? In the past few weeks, the chief executive has resigned and the contract for operating theatres at Cannock Chase hospital—largely paid for by the League of Friends—has collapsed. Furthermore, there has been an attempt to deal 494 with the overspend by attacking front-line services instead of attacking the bureaucracy of the internal market. Will my hon. Friend ensure that the people of Cannock Chase see that our priorities are now in place?
§ Mr. MilburnI can assure my hon. Friend that I will be keeping a close eye on the performance of the trust. I understand that the matter of the operating theatre is now in the hands of the trust's solicitors, but that the trust has re-tendered the contract and is fully committed to building the operating theatre.
I think that my hon. Friend will shortly see that our priorities are markedly different from those of the former Government, not least because we want NHS resources to go to front-line patient services.