– By-election winner Helen Morgan arrives in Westminster with demand for Javid to fix ambulance crisis
– Sajid Javid ignored a meeting request from the West Midlands Ambulance Trust despite patients dying from dangerous waiting times.
– Ed Davey welcomes Helen Morgan to Parliament saying: “Boris Johnson has still not woken up to North Shropshire’s damning verdict”
The winner of the North Shropshire by-election, Helen Morgan, will use her first day in Westminster to ask for urgent action on the ambulance crisis facing Shropshire and areas across the country.
n her first act as North Shropshire’s new MP, Helen will write to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid calling for an urgent meeting with the West Midlands Ambulance Trust, which asked to see him over four months ago.
The Trust asked to meet with Sajid Javid after declaring long waiting times posed a “catastrophic risk” to patients. Patients have been left waiting hours for ambulances to arrive, and in one case, a 95 year-old woman in Shropshire was left waiting 11 hours for an ambulance to take her to hospital.
In recent months, four local ambulance stations have closed in Shropshire despite the crisis.
The crisis has also been worsened by the surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant, which has seen ambulances being taken off the road across the country due to staff absences.
Liberal Democrat winner of the North Shropshire by-election, Helen Morgan, said: “I am here in Westminster to make sure the people of Shropshire are no longer taken for granted by this Conservative government.
“The ambulance crisis is a life and death situation in Shropshire. I can’t think of many other meetings which are more important than this one. The Health Secretary cannot ignore this request any longer.
“Despite thousands of local people signing petitions warning against local health cuts and distressing stories from those in need of emergency care, we have seen no action from this Government.
“I am determined to hit the ground running on my first day and ensure the concerns of people in our local community are no longer ignored.”
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey MP, said: “Boris Johnson has still not woken up to North Shropshire’s damning verdict on his out of touch Government. I told him after the Liberal Democrats’ victory in Chesham and Amersham that his Government must change, yet he arrogantly ignored that message from voters. If he continues to ignore people like this, Liberal Democrats will be there to represent them instead.
“Helen’s inspiring campaign gave hope not just to people in North Shropshire, but to millions of people across our country who are desperate for change. I am proud my party is fighting for a fair deal for everyone and thrilled that Helen will make an exceptional addition to the Liberal Democrat team in Parliament.”