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Medical centre opening is 'act of electioneering'Date: 05/10/2007 09:57:38
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Health has been at the top of the agenda for all the major parties at recent conferences, with the NHS repeatedly put onto the ideas operating table and carved up into rival new strategies.
Contentious issues surrounding the health service were, however, added to yesterday by accusations levelled at Gordon Brown for a suspected underhand publicity stunt at an Essex medical centre.
Eagerly attending the 'opening' of the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon, members of the opposition claimed that the centre was already operational and had already been milked for publicity by a summer visit from the health secretary.
Patients did indeed start to arrive at the specialist heart and lung unit in July, when health secretary Alan Johnson paid a visit, but Downing Street hit back by citing an invitation sent to Mr Brown to officially cut the ribbon this month.
The state-of-the-art medical centre was in fact visited by Mr Johnson as a fact-finding operation, claimed the government, while Mr Brown's visit followed precedent for such openings, occurring once procedures were fully operational.
Mr Brown can be forgiven for becoming weary of the election speculation dogging him in recent days - his every move is criticised as sly and superficial electioneering by the Tories attacks on his supposed "100 days of spin".
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