THE future of health services in Southampton – and in particular a closure-threatened walk-in centre – were on the agenda again as a Labour heavyweight visited the city.

Both Shadow Health Minister Liz Kendall and Labour Itchen candidate Rowenna Davis said they would oppose any closure of the Bitterne Walk-in Centre if Labour wins the election on May 7.

And Ms Davis’s main opponent, Conservative Royston Smith, also says he will fight to keep the threatened facility open if he becomes the constituency’s next MP.

Mr Smith, Ms Davis and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) all led separate campaigns to keep the walk-in centre open when the Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group and Solent NHS Trust put forward plans to close it for six months.

They eventually decided to shelve the plans in the face of a public outcry until after the General Election, and a public consultation on its future could now take place later this year.

The issue was discussed when Mrs Kendall visited the Central Baptist Church in Southampton to speak to health professionals and party members and back Ms Davis and Southampton Test candidate Alan Whitehead.

When asked if a Labour-led Government would resist any plans to close the centre, she said: “We want to see an end to the closure of walk-in centres. It doesn’t make sense if we want to treat people in the community and at home and reduce the pressure on local hospitals.”

And Ms Davis added: “It’s absolutely essential to try and keep that open. One politician on their own isn’t going to keep it open, but I want to work with the CCG, with the people of Southampton and our nurses and patients to try and find a way to keep our centre open.”

Mr Smith said he would like the centre to contain more services such as blood tests, blood donating and flu jabs, saying it is a “vital facility on our side of the city”.

He added: “Many residents use it in an emergency and many more because they don’t have transport to get to A&E or the minor injuries unit. The CCG should however ensure it is for local people or be rebated by other CCGs whose patients travel to use it, such as Eastleigh or Hedge End.”

Other candidates for Itchen also support keeping the centre open, with Liberal Democrat Eleanor Bell saying: “The walk-in centre offers a different type of service to GP surgeries.

Not only should that be kept but you could argue there should be new ones.”

TUSC’s Sue Atkins, said: “It really is needed to alleviate the undoubted pressures that exist in the city.”

The Green Party’s John Spottiswoode said he would support an expansion of services, adding: “I think that sort of thing is vital to relieve pressure on A&E.”

UKIP candidate Kim Rose was unavailable for comment but has previously supported the centre.