David Ruffley MP has this week launched a petition in opposition to the East of England Strategic Health Authority's moves to see Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) centres sited in Cambridge, Essex and Norfolk but not in Suffolk.

The introductions of PPCI centres will see all heart attack victims receiving treatment outside the county rather than at their local hospital.

David said:

'The decision not to site a PPCI centre at Ipswich Hospital is a serious concern for my constituents in Stowmarket and Needham Market who, in the event of a heart attack, will now be facing a lengthy journey to Basildon Hospital, Papworth Hospital in Cambridge or the Norfolk and Norwich.

'Residents in Stowmarket and Needham Market, who would ordinarily go to Ipswich Hospital are, quite rightly, concerned that their health is being chanced on the amount of traffic on our roads. We all know, from using the A12 and A14, that there can be substantial delays on these key routes and the last thing a heart attack victim needs is a delay in getting treatment.

'I have, therefore, launched a petition calling on the SHA to introduce a PPCI centre at Ipswich Hospital in addition to those planned for Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk.

'While Cambridge is reasonably accessible to people in Bury St Edmunds and west Suffolk, it is of the utmost importance that the constituents in the east of my constituency are not subjected to a postcode lottery in coronary care.'