George Osborne and Jeremy Hunt met frontline staff at Homerton Hospital on Sunday following the announcement that frontline health services across the UK are to receive £2bn extra funding.
The Chancellor and Health Secretary visited Hackney’s largest hospital together with Simon Stevens, CEO of NHS England, to discuss spending plans and to share opinions with local GPs and hospital staff.
A spokesperson for Homerton University Hospital Trust, which was informed about the visit just 48 hours beforehand, said it was “delighted and honoured”.
“They asked relevant questions to our staff and praised them. This was particularly pleasing, as the weekend staff who run our hospital out of hours often don’t get the recognition that they probably deserve.
“This Sunday enabled the staff to get a bit of the limelight.”
According to a source from the Department of Health, Homerton Hospital was chosen for the visit due to the pioneering effort it has taken to improve standards of care. This includes the development of an out-of-hours GP service intended to reduce pressure on A&E staff, and an out-of-hours emergency radiography team.
Mr Purcell added: “Staff were impressed by the questions asked by the politicians, particularly from Mr Osborne.”
“People say he can be a bit of a cold fish when you see him on TV, but he’s actually very personable and friendly.”
