Today, local Members of Parliament Anne Milton and Jeremy Hunt have written an urgent letter to the Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt. The letter outlines their extreme disappointment over the decision by Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust to push ahead with bed closures at Farnham and Cranleigh Hospitals, despite the Surrey Health Scrutiny Committee unanimously referring to Secretary of State last week.Anne and Jeremy have requested an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State for Health to discuss the serious situation that the communities of Guildford and Waverley now face. Jeremy Hunt commented:“I am deeply concerned about this seemingly rash decision by the PCT, it worries me that this may affect patient welfare especially as we are now coming into the winter months, which generally has an effect on the most vulnerable in our community. We all understand and sympathise with the pressures that the PCT are under from the government, however I feel that it extremely wrong for them to put patient that care that is at risk.”Anne Milton commented:“It concerns me greatly that the PCT are pushing ahead with the decision to close beds at both Cranleigh and Farnham Hospitals. It is the elderly that are the ones that most use the beds being closed, which leads me to believe that the PCT are not choosing to put patient care at the top of their priority list, but pursuing what they believe are short-term financial savings.”