SOUTH Basildon and East Thurrock MP James McMurdock has added his voice to the chorus of disapproval about the standard of service offered at Basildon Hospital - which is now classed as 'inadequate'.

And to the call for a complete change of the hospital's management, which he describes as 'woeful'.

Mr McMurdock says: "Since I was elected, in July 2024, Basildon Hospital has been a constant source of frustration, disappointment and alarm. As recent reports have highlighted Basildon has one of the worst hospitals in the entire country."

"Their maternity wards and emergency services have been deemed unsafe and orthopaedic theatres have been closed for months on end. Patients are consistently waiting months on end for poor quality services."

"My experience has also demonstrated the level of inadequacy with the hospital's communications and complaint management department.

"MP enquiries submitted by our office are rarely responded to in a timely fashion. The quality of responses is generally extraordinarily poor. 

"The 40 working day timescale they give for responding to even the simplest of complaints is unacceptable. 

"Without exception responses are almost entirely bereft of even the slightest empathy for the patients. Most enquiries or complaints require us to chase and follow up on, sometimes several times before a response is provided.

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"At present we see very little indication of positive change within Basildon Hospital.  The current management within the hospital consistently delivers failure. It's clearly time for a radical overhaul of the senior management team."