CLACTON MP Douglas Carswell has called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to ensure “patients are put first” at Colchester Hospital.

The hospital has been criticised after a major incident was declared last week.

Doctors said they were unable to cope with demand at A&E.

Mr Carswell said something had gone seriously wrong at the hospital and has called for answers from the Government.

In a letter to Mr Hunt, Mr Carswell said: “I am concerned the hospital is run in the interests of senior managers working for it, and not for the patients.”

Mr Carswell hit out at the suggestion there are too many elderly patients. He said: “The failure of local NHS management to provide healthcare for local people, who have spent their life paying taxes, is not the fault of local people needing healthcare – we must stop blaming patients.”

Mr Carswell called on Mr Hunt to outline where he thinks the hospital has gone wrong and what is needed to put things right.

“In fairness to Jeremy Hunt, I think he recognises there is a problem,” he added.

“It is the system of scrutiny he put in place that has highlighted what has been going wrong. However, he needs to let us know how things might be put right.”