 | ST IVES CONSERVATIVES LAUNCH GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN |
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Derek Thomas highlights healthcare priorities
The Conservative Party’s 2010 General Election campaign in the St Ives Constituency was launched on Saturday 10 April by the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for the constituency, local man, Derek Thomas, with health focused events in both Penzance and Helston. Derek, accompanied by a large team of supporters, asked shoppers to back the party’s campaign to ensure that cancer patients can obtain the drugs that they need on the NHS. Hundreds of people signed up to the campaign in both towns.
Speaking of his commitment to health care and local services, Derek reiterated his pledges to St Ives constituents that, “I believe that healthcare should be available to people as close to where they live as possible. Where people do have to travel for treatment, this should be a lot easier than it is now. If elected, I will call together representatives from the Primary Care Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust , Cornwall Council and the voluntary sector with a view to providing a simple coordinated solution that works for everyone in West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.” He also reaffirmed his original pledges made on health issues to…
• … work to ensure that treatment is provided by the GP or local hospital whenever possible;
• … fight to keep cancer care in Cornwall;
• … fully support the Conservative pledge to take the politics out of NHS funding. An independent NHS Board will allocate funding where it is needed;
• … support local GP's to improve the frequency of health screening to prevent serious illness and increase early detection rates.
Following a successful day, Derek Thomas commented, “We have been heartened by the level of public support for one of our key healthcare policies and our commitments to ensure that West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly people are put first by ensuring they can access their health services at the right time and in the right place.”
 
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