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We Will Fight to Save A&E
South London Press column, 2nd November 2012
‘Lewisham A&E to close’ is the shock headline to Administrator Matthew Kershaw’s report on the future of the South London Healthcare Trust.
Lewisham hospital, of course, isn’t part of the SLHT, so how has this happened? The Administrator was brought in to recommend how to end the huge deficit and ongoing debts of the SLHT which covers Woolwich, Sidcup and Orpington hospitals. But once he decided that the Trust had to be broken up and hospitals transferred to other Trusts, Lewisham was bound to come into the frame.
Lewisham Hospital has done extremely well in recent years. It has had good management and used the huge investment offered by the Labour government wisely. It delivers for local people but with the ever growing development and ambitions of neighbouring Kings and Guys & St Thomas’ Trusts, its future as a small Trust was always a little uncertain.
Creating a bigger unit by linking Woolwich and Lewisham has some logic but where are the clinical and treatment advantages? Will the proposals deliver a better service for local people? Most people arrive at A&E by public transport, private car or on foot. They want a facility that is on their doorstep not in a place they don’t know or cannot reach easily. Those emergencies that are serious enough for a 999 response are already taken to the most appropriate hospital i.e. for heart attacks/strokes, serious head injuries, and that will be the best approach even if the journey time is longer. But Lewisham A&E is always working to capacity, and so is Queen Elizabeth at Woolwich, so how could Lewisham be closed?
And what of maternity services? Again Lewisham hospital has made great improvements and seen a big growth in services and popularity (5,000 babies born each year). The last thing women need is to have to go further away from home at one of the most important health-care times in their lives. Convenience for families and safety for women and babies are paramount. These proposals amount to a reorganisation by the back door. This is not the way to proceed. We need to deal with the NHS in London as a whole and find the money to sustain the services we need.
Lewisham MPs will fight to keep our services.
The online petition on this issue can be signed here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lewisham-hospital/
The Special Administrator’s proposals are out for consultation from November 2 to December 13th details can be found here: http://www.tsa.nhs.uk/ .
South London Press column, 2nd November 2012
‘Lewisham A&E to close’ is the shock headline to Administrator Matthew Kershaw’s report on the future of the South London Healthcare Trust.
Lewisham hospital, of course, isn’t part of the SLHT, so how has this happened? The Administrator was brought in to recommend how to end the huge deficit and ongoing debts of the SLHT which covers Woolwich, Sidcup and Orpington hospitals. But once he decided that the Trust had to be broken up and hospitals transferred to other Trusts, Lewisham was bound to come into the frame.
Lewisham Hospital has done extremely well in recent years. It has had good management and used the huge investment offered by the Labour government wisely. It delivers for local people but with the ever growing development and ambitions of neighbouring Kings and Guys & St Thomas’ Trusts, its future as a small Trust was always a little uncertain.
Creating a bigger unit by linking Woolwich and Lewisham has some logic but where are the clinical and treatment advantages? Will the proposals deliver a better service for local people? Most people arrive at A&E by public transport, private car or on foot. They want a facility that is on their doorstep not in a place they don’t know or cannot reach easily. Those emergencies that are serious enough for a 999 response are already taken to the most appropriate hospital i.e. for heart attacks/strokes, serious head injuries, and that will be the best approach even if the journey time is longer. But Lewisham A&E is always working to capacity, and so is Queen Elizabeth at Woolwich, so how could Lewisham be closed?
And what of maternity services? Again Lewisham hospital has made great improvements and seen a big growth in services and popularity (5,000 babies born each year). The last thing women need is to have to go further away from home at one of the most important health-care times in their lives. Convenience for families and safety for women and babies are paramount. These proposals amount to a reorganisation by the back door. This is not the way to proceed. We need to deal with the NHS in London as a whole and find the money to sustain the services we need.
Lewisham MPs will fight to keep our services.
The online petition on this issue can be signed here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lewisham-hospital/
The Special Administrator’s proposals are out for consultation from November 2 to December 13th details can be found here: http://www.tsa.nhs.uk/ .