Lib Dem councillors today celebrated a major campaigning victory as news came in that the X-ray unit at St Ann’s Hospital is to remain open. Representatives from the North Middlesex Hospital Trust met with councillors this week to explain that the campaign to keep the service open had been successful.

The Lib Dem campaign to stop the closure of the unit has gathered considerable pace in the last few weeks, as councillors and activists supported local people in their bid to preserve the borough’s only X-ray service, through coordinating a petition of hundreds of signatures from local residents.

Harringay ward councillor Karen Alexander comments:

“I am absolutely delighted to hear that we’ve managed to convince the Trust to keep this vital local health service. NHS cuts are being made left, right and centre, and it is local people who are bearing the brunt. So many people have worked hard to collect signatures for the petition, to drum up support at meetings and demonstrations, and I’m over the moon that the PCT has listened to us.”

Lib Dem Councillor Wayne Hoban, who has also taken part in the campaign, comments:

“The closure of this unit would have been a real blow to the people of Tottenham and Haringey. Labour need to understand that their mismanagement of the NHS, and the resulting knee-jerk budget cuts are hitting local people hard. This has been a hard-fought campaign, and we’re delighted that it has ended in a victory. We will be monitoring the situation closely however, to ensure that the service is not subject to further cuts over time.”