Tuesday 5 August 2014

The 'Biggest Hospital Closure In NHS History' - LBC radio news 29/07/2014

Protesters are planning a day of action to protest against what they call "the biggest hospital closure programme in NHS history".



The decision from Imperial Healthcare Trust to close and sell off parts of two hospitals in West London is to be confirmed on Wednesday.
Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith is organising the protest against the "devastating" effect it will have on NHS services in the area.
Among the changes that will be confirmed are the closure of A&E units in Hammersmith and Central Middlesex Hospitals on 10th September. The 22,000 patients per year that use it will have to travel to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
More than half of Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith will be sold off, while the number of inpatient beds will be reduced from 360 to just 24.
Mr Slaughter wrote on his website: "Charing Cross will close as a major hospital.  It will be reduced to a primary care centre with some day surgery and treatment services.
"This is simply unacceptable to many west Londoners and we are going to keep fighting to save Charing Cross which has been a landmark London hospital for almost 200 years.
"The biggest betrayal is the loss of the A&E.  Far from continuing ‘to offer an A&E service’ as Hunt promised, Imperial confirm that A&E will ‘move out’ of Charing Cross under their plans leaving ‘an emergency service appropriate for a local hospital’.  This means an urgent care centre staffed by GPs and nurses."
The protest takes place at 9am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at Hammersmith Hospital, while the board meeting which will approve the changes will start at 10am and is open to the public.

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