AFTER a hectic last week of my first Parliamentary session, the House adjourned for the summer recess on July 20.

It was a productive week, ending with a meeting with Yvette Cooper, the Public Health Minister, who has special responsibility for the West Midlands. It was the first opportunity I have had to inform a health minister directly of the facts of the situation we face in Worcestershire. I made seven points.

l Unfairness: we have been treated more harshly than other downgraded hospitals regarding acute services. Hexham and Kendal are examples of hospitals that have been treated more sympathetically to local needs. We know of no density of population like ours that does not have an A&E department within 18 miles.

l Spin: attempts to disguise losses of acute hospitals services by presenting them as a benefit and as improvements are unhelpful. Press statements like Mr Musgrove's words, reported recently, about the forthcoming Professor Darzi Report, "Christmas could be coming to Kidderminster" are objectionable, patronising and only serve to show his lack of appreciation of our situation.

l Truth: the deterioration in waiting lists, the many complaints about travelling, treatment, delays and conditions in the county's hospitals and the alleged intimidation of staff.

l Waste of money: the unimaginable waste of £13.7 million to be spent on gutting the inside of "E" block, when staff say it is ideal for its purpose without alteration.

l Local medical opinion: I quoted a recent letter from a local doctor to remind her of the universal medical rejection of the downgrading when it was first announced and the acquiescence forced on doctors when services inevitably became fragile after the fate of the hospital was decided.

l The responsibility of Government: this is to recognise the health care needs and wishes of the people and to organise service provision to meet these needs. Health authority managers responsible for the A&E department at Solihull are beginning to understand this. They have reversed a decision to close their A&E department because they have realised it is "not simply a professional decision" but an issue that is very important to local people.

l The way forward: to support the all-party group of MPs investigating local hospital services, aiming to identify a consistent model for local hospitals countrywide. This would combine local access and patient acceptability and be made workable for professional staff.

Her promised answers are awaited.