FOLLOWING a meeting with foundation trust watchdog Monitor, South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt and Guildford MP Anne Milton have written to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, to try to secure a meeting about The Royal Surrey County Hospital's future. Any application for foundation trust status, which the two MPs see as the best way of securing the hospital's future, must be approved by the Secretary of State. Anne Milton said: "I was delighted to get the opportunity to discuss the future of the Royal Surrey with Monitor, including the bid for foundation trust status. "It is vital that we dispel any myth that getting foundation trust' status would cause difficulties over networking with other hospitals." Mrs Milton said the Royal Surrey has made significant and sustained progress and she hoped health bosses would listen to the watchdog, and to local people in order to secure the long-term future of the Royal Surrey." Jeremy Hunt added: "As securing the Royal Surrey's future is dependent upon approval from Government ministers, it is vital we get the chance to champion the hospital and the case for foundation status by meeting with the health secretary. "The Royal Surrey is an ideal candidate for foundation status – local people know it, health practitioners know it, now we need to make sure the Department of Health knows it."
