Andrew Lewin (Labour Parliamentary Candidate) and all 12 Welwyn Hatfield Labour councillors have written to Leader of Hertfordshire County Council to demand the urgent reinstatement of a direct bus service from the QE2 Urgent Care Centre to the Lister Hospital.

Following recent changes to the timetable, there is no longer a direct bus route between these two NHS hubs for much of the day. Patients travelling from the QE2 and Lister between 7am and 2pm now have to take two buses, changing at Stevenage bus station. The journey with this change is well over an hour.

Hertfordshire County Council is controlled by the Conservative Party and this change to the timetable was at their instruction.

In the letter, Andrew Lewin and the Labour Councillors say:

“The very least NHS patients deserve is a frequent and direct bus route between the QE2 and Lister. Your decision has not only made patient journeys more difficult, it will add to the anxiety that people with health issues and their families are feeling.”

The Welwyn Hatfield Labour Party has launched a petition to bring back the bus service, which you can sign at the link below:

Bring back our essential bus route.

Andrew Lewin, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Welwyn Hatfield commented:
“Under the Conservatives, the NHS is in crisis and waiting times are at record highs. The very least local patients deserve is a direct bus between our Urgent Care Centre and nearest hospital.

It is outrageous they have cut this route and worse still that it comes at the busiest time of the year for our health service. Labour will always stand up for public services and public transport and we are demanding this bus route is reinstated with immediate effect.”

Max Holloway, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group and Councillor for Howlands commented:
“It simply isn’t good enough that patients and their loved ones no-longer have a direct route to the Lister hospital in these key hours.

We know how significant this is for our residents, having actively opposed the cutting of the direct shuttle bus from the QE2 to the Lister in 2018. It’s unfair for residents in Howlands, and patients at the hospital, to have to spend over £20 on a taxi to reach the Lister; what we truly need is a direct bus route to ensure better accessibility for everyone.”

Nationally over 1,000 bus services were lost between 2021 and 2022. The Labour Party has announced it will reform the country’s broken bus system if elected to form the next government, handing more control over to local communities through the Take Back Control Act.