HEALTH is the biggest issue for people in Wyre Forest, and not just Kidderminster Hospital. Labour hasn't just let us down - they've betrayed us. Remember Tony Blair's "24 hours to save the NHS"? Four years later and waiting lists are up, waiting times are up and medical staff are under huge pressure.

Now Tony Blair's asking you for another 10 years! He won't explain where the thousands of promised doctors and nurses will come from as training places are at a lower level than in 1997.

The Conservatives have a different approach. We're committed to a publicly funded health service, free at the point of delivery. We are also pledged to match the current Government's spending on the NHS.

But a bigger "cake" makes sense for everyone, so we would encourage employers to set up medical insurance schemes for employees, taking pressure off the NHS. If NHS patients face missing an appointment, they could be treated privately with the State paying.

We are more interested in outcomes - the quality of patient care and the success of treatment. Labour tries to run the NHS as a Soviet organisation directed from the centre.

Labour has rightly been criticised for the vast number of politicians it has placed onto NHS management bodies. Our independent appointments body would ensure those working in the NHS are chosen for their expertise, not their politics.

The big question for Wyre Forest is where we go from here. The choice is a Labour candidate who has betrayed us, a Health Concern candidate who has admitted he can't deliver, or a Conservative candidate who offers the prospect of change.

We've opposed the downgrading of Kidderminster Hospital from the outset and we continue to campaign for accident and emergency facilities at Kidderminster.

A Conservative government would implement a full-scale independent review of health across Wyre Forest and Worcestershire.

Twelve Conservative parliamentary candidates share our concern at the downgrading, welcome the independent review and support our right to campaign for A&E - a powerful parliamentary voice that a lone, isolated campaigner can't match.

There is some confusion over the Health Concern candidate's position on this important issue. The worry is that he may not win, but split the opposition vote and let Labour back in.

It's clear that only the Conservatives can be sure of sweeping Labour from office in Wyre Forest and offer a clear, deliverable alternative on health.