Former PM ‘Stable’ After Being Taken to Hospital
Baroness Thatcher is in a “stable” condition in hospital, a spokeswoman for St Thomas’ Hospital said early today.
The former prime minister, 82, is said to be undergoing medical checks in St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The spokeswoman said Lady Thatcher was expected to spend the night in hospital for observation.
In a statement, she said: “We can confirm that Baroness Thatcher has been admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital and is expected to remain in hospital overnight for observation.
“Her condition is stable and she is speaking to the medical staff who are caring for her.”
A Conservative Party spokeswoman said: “We have been in touch with her office and we wish her well.”
It was reported Lady Thatcher was taken to hospital by car.
Lady Thatcher very rarely speaks in public, following advice from her doctors, but she does still sometimes say a few words at private functions.
Friends say she is lucid most of the time but occasionally drifts off in the middle of conversations because of difficulties with her short-term memory. Earlier this month she urged Conservatives to “hold firm to their beliefs” as she was honoured with a statue at the party’s HQ.
On her first visit to Conservative Central Office since the party moved to 30 Millbank in Westminster last year, Lady Thatcher met staff and unveiled a statue of herself in the reception area.
In a statement she said: “The Conservative Party has always been at its best, and at its most successful, when it has held firm to its beliefs.
“Today, as we face the challenges of the future, let us remain steadfast and sure. Let us set a clear course for our country.
Lady Thatcher was prime minister from May 1979 until her resignation in November 1990.
She was Britain’s first woman prime minister and the first leader to win three elections in a row.
Her supporters believe she put the drive back into the British people and while many saw her as a divisive force, history will almost certainly proclaim her as one of the greatest British peacetime leaders.
In December 2005 she was given a clear bill of health by doctors after spending a night in the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London for tests after feeling faint.
A hospital spokesman described her as a “model patient”.
In March 2002 it was announced that she would cut back her workload after doctors said she had suffered a series of strokes.
The death of her husband, Sir Denis, in 2003 is known to have hit Lady Thatcher hard.
In December 2005 she was taken to hospital for tests after feeling faint, but left with a clean bill of health after being kept in overnight as a precaution.
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