The Liberal Democrat spokesman on social security has called for the Government to allow greater freedom for health professionals to make their own decisions during a visit to an Oxfordshire hospital.
Lord Russell said the NHS was forced to stick to by Government policies on waiting lists and targets during a whistlestop tour of Didcot and District Hospital and the neighbouring Ridgeway Centre for elderly day patients.
Cndidate Neil Fawcett at Didcot Hospital
After chatting to hospital patients he said he was struck by the loyalty to their community hospital and towards the staff.
He said he was impressed by the facilities and the relaxed atmosphere, and that he had encountered "a dedicated staff working under great pressure".
He also highlighted Liberal Democrat pressure for greater investment in the NHS as well as campaigning for free long-term care for the elderly.
Lord Russell, whose great-grandfather was the Whig Prime Minister, Lord Russell, was in the Wantage constituency to support the local candidate Neil Fawcett. He is pictured, right, with Mr Fawcett talking to Rosemary and Jim Rolls, of Chilton, at Didcot Hospital.
**Picture: Antony Moore
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