Ealing Hospital Petition Goes to Department of Health

---

Campaigners from Save Our Hospitals deliver 20,000 signatures

A delegation from Ealing borough joined others to submit a huge petition over hospital changes to the Department of Health this Friday (9 March).

Launched by Ealing along with Hammersmith and Fulham Councils last summer, the petition calls on the Government to halt NHS plans to reduce services at Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals, including the closure of the A&E services.

Thousands of people have voiced their objection to the NHS proposals to spend £300million on a reorganisation at Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals. Around 20,000 people have signed the petition.

As part of its 'Shaping a Healthier Future' proposals, the NHS is planning to lose 500 beds in north-west London, including an 80% reduction at Ealing Hospital, and the downgrading of both Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals from district general hospitals to the status of 'local hospitals'.

Both hospitals would see their A&Es closed and replaced by urgent care centres with no 'blue-light' emergency ambulance services. The remaining urgent care centres would be led by GPs, not consultants. The sites would not provide surgery, critical care or acute beds. They would also not have a maternity unit or a children's ward - which have already been closed at Ealing Hospital.

Accident and Emergency services at Central Middlesex and Hammersmith have also been closed. This means that many patients across north west London will have to travel further to receive treatment.

Defenders of the changes say that Charing Cross hospital has seen some of the largest ever investment over the past 18 months with £6 million has been spent on improvements, to include a new medical assessment unit and a further £8 million on replacing imaging equipment and installing state of the art equipment.

The London North West Healthcare Trust, which runs Ealing Hospital, had the worst A&E waiting times in the country last September and continued to fail to hit its target for A&Es in December.

An independent report published by the King's Fund and Nuffield Trust in September 2017 cast serious doubts about the credibility of proposals to reform or close acute services in the capital including at Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals.

 

 

6th March 2018