All of the prospective parliamentary candidates in Richmond have united to criticise the Liberal Democrat Save Kingston Hospital campaign

Letter for publication in the Surrey Comet from Labour, Conservative and Green PPCs for Richmond and North Kingston

Sir, We are all committed to protecting Kingston Hospital.

It is a non negotiable service and utterly vital for the community.

If there is a threat to it, we will all drop everything to protect it.

But the new Lib Dem campaign to “save Kingston Hospital” appears to have been invented for political reasons.

As a result, thousands of residents have been alarmed by their claims that Kingston Hospital is to lose its A+E and Maternity services.

There are many people who have chosen to live near the hospital because they or their loved ones depend on it.

The Lib Dem campaign has caused them immeasurable anguish.

Senior spokesmen for the hospital, meanwhile, have said that the claims are damaging staff morale and will make it even harder to recruit vital new staff.

The chief executive of the hospital has stated categorically that there are no secret plans to cut services at Kingston.

NHS Richmond and NHS South West London have angrily dismissed the claims, saying: "We strongly refute any claims that there are secret plans to close A&E or maternity units at Kingston Hospital or any hospital."

During a recent visit to the hospital, the Shadow Health Minister said: "I simply don’t see a real threat to the hospital closing.

"The A+E or maternity services are essential to the local community."

Mike O’Brien, the Health Minister, said in Parliament that "the Liberal Democrats have a record of running scare stories and asking people to join the campaign by sending in their addresses, petitions and email addresses.

"They can then canvas those people.

"It is all about elections."

The fact that Susan Kramer’s ‘Save The Hospital’ website was registered as long ago as December 11th 2009, five weeks before she launched her ‘urgent’ campaign, suggests the campaign was timed to coincide with the election.

Daily Mirror Associate Editor Kevin Maguire’s report that he overheard a Lib Dem activist boasting that he had ‘cooked up’ the scare story at his ‘kitchen table’ also reinforces that view.

The three of us will doubtless disagree on many issues in the run up to the election, but we all agree that for politics to serve a community, politicians must stick to the truth and avoid scaremongering for political ends.

Zac Goldsmith, Conservative PPC Richmond Park and North Kingston

Eleanor Tunnicliffe, Labour PPC Richmond Park and North Kingston

James Page, Green PPC Richmond Park and North Kingston