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‘Plan is arrogant and we should stop it’

2/ 3/2006

OUTSPOKEN radio presenter Mike Sweeney has slammed plans to shut Salford's maternity unit as "arrogant, condescending and patronising".

The Capital Gold DJ has been supporting the Advertiser's Hands Off Hope campaign on his show after being outraged by the plans to get rid of the maternity facilities at Hope Hospital.

Mike's two oldest children, Dylan, 36, and Siobhan, 15, were both born at Hope and the father-of-three says the place is "an institution".

He said: "I just don't understand how they can call these plans Making It Better when they're going to completely take it away. You just can't apply the logic to it and that title is typical spin.

"Salford is relatively compact and Hope's easy to get to but if you're not too well off and you don't have a car and you're child's going to be born in Bolton or Manchester - where are these people going to get the money to travel?

"Salford is not a wealthy city and a lot of people cannot get around, they literally walk from where they live to Hope and for many people it's just down the road."

Mike, 58, added: "I'm fed up with organisations whose job it is to supply us the taxpayers with a service, yet we are treated as though they are the masters and we are the servants. It's our money and we fund it - they're doing the job on our behalf and I just can't see any benefit from what they're doing."