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Labour party members in Warwickshire took to the streets in Nuneaton at the weekend to campaign for the future of the George Eliot hospital.

The party has vowed to fight any plans to close major services at the hospital, after details of NHS proposals were leaked last week.

The Telegraph revealed proposals relating to the Sustainability Transformation Plan, which included potentially closing the accident and emergency department at the Nuneaton hospital.

Coun June Tandy, Leader of the Warwickshire Labour Group , said: “If the contents of this leaked document are true then this will be devastating news for local people.

“I can promise local residents that Labour will be fighting any plans to close maternity, A&E or any other major services at the George Eliot.

“We have only recently seen the upgrading of maternity services at the hospital – so to close that, then to scrap A&E would be incredibly short-sighted and damaging. The hospital is performing well and delivering good care to local people and talks of cutting services wholesale just isn’t the solution.

“There are three things people need to know about Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) – they aren’t sustainable, they aren’t transformative and it’s not a plan. It’s the Secret Tory Plan of this government to underfund the NHS by millions of pounds forcing local NHS trusts to cut vital services to good hospitals like the George Eliot – and to make it worse the whole process is happening behind closed doors, in secret.”

The draft plan also contained references to:

Encouraging more people to have babies at home to save costs.

Imposing restrictions on how people qualify for non-emergency surgery which could hit overweight people, smokers and increase the time between routine operations like hip replacements.

A review of cancer care.

Stroke care at Warwick Hospital and George Eliot to be moved to Coventry.

The man leading on the plans is Andrew Hardy, UHCW’s chief executive.

In a statement released shortly after the Telegraph’s original story was published, he said: “It is disappointing that this plan has been leaked and it is important to remember the plan is still very much draft at this stage.

“STPs need to be developed with, and based upon, the needs of local patients and communities and therefore we will be seeking the views of local people to help shape it as part of the next stage after we have published our STP.”

After the proposals were revealed, the Telegraph joined forces with its sister paper the Nuneaton News to launch a campaign to Save Our A&E.

Since the campaign was launched many people have come out in support of it, including Nuneaton’s MP Marcus Jones, his North Warwickshire and Bedworth counterpart Craig Tracey and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader Dennis Harvey.

More than 2,600 people have signed the petition, which continues to grow.

The STP is due to be released tomorrow.

To sign the ‘Save Our A&E’ petition, go to www.change.org/p/nhs-save-the-a-e-department-at-george-eliot-hospital-in-nuneaton