With the Olympic Games underway in Beijing, I want to wish Team GB the very best of luck in all their sports.

The Opening Ceremony was spectacular and it is a sobering thought to realise that in just 4 years it will be London’s turn.

The Olympic Games will be taking place less than 20 minutes travel from here in Bexleyheath & Crayford - with events in Greenwich Park, at the O2 Dome and Excel, and up at Stratford.

As someone who helped with the campaign to bring the Games to London, I know that we need to make sure everyone - young and old - gets some of the benefits from London’s Olympics.

In the meantime let’s cheer on our athletes in Beijing and use their inspiration to aim higher in everything we do between now and 2012.

The joint committee of the primary care trusts for Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham met last week in London to make its decision on the “Picture of Health” proposals.

The announcement from the local NHS Trust assured the future for Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup and also opened the door to considerable new investment in all the local NHS hospitals.

QMS will now become a centre for urgent care (casualty), planned surgery, community health, diagnostic, specialist walk-in care such as renal dialysis, cardiology, neurology and cancer; outpatient services; day surgery; intermediate in-patient care and rehabilitation including beds and services.

Accident and Emergency (Acute care) and maternity services will move to other local specialist units.

Howard Dawber said:

“No-one likes change but this one is necessary and represents better care for patients. While the Conservatives have been doom-mongering and telling local people QMS would close, Labour has been preparing to invest in our local hospitals. I think the health experts who made this decision have come up with the best way forward.”

“If you break your leg- and it’s your nearest hospital - you will still go to QMS. Acute cases and ambulance cases will go to other local hospitals - as they often do already. QMS will also now be the local centre for surgery, outpatient services and rehabilitation which is exactly what people need from their local hospital.”

“This puts an end to the local Tories’ scaremongering about our excellent local hospital provision and allows health professionals to get on with building a service for the 21st century.”

“The record speaks for itself - under Labour an extra £100m in the local health service over the last 5 years, 26 new consultants and 71 additional nurses. Now we have planned for the future and made sure QMS will stay open and get the investment it needs.”

“I’d also remind people that Tory MPs like David Evennett and Derek Conway campaigned at the last election on a policy of cutting hospital funding and subsidising the better off to go private. And under the last Tory Government we saw hospital funding cut and two local hospitals closed altogether.”

“Mr Evennett is still insisting on his website that QMS is going to close but I am afraid his talking down the local health service is looking increasingly silly.”