It is not just the A&E that is at risk - if it is closed, other units such as emergency surgery, critical care and so on are also in danger of being lost.
The suggestion has been put forward by the special administrator who has been appointed to take over South London Healthcare Trust (of which Lewisham Hospital is not a part). The intention is that Lewisham's A&E and the healthcare priorities of all who use it should be sacrificed to save a failing trust.
I can't even begin to comment on how hugely cynical and short-sighted this proposal is, without my blood starting to boil.
For the sake of my own health I will direct you to the various links below that explain it all in clear, concise detail; for the sake of your future health and that of the whole of south east London, I suggest you sign the petitions, contact your MP and attend the meetings.
Save Lewisham Hospital
Transpontine
Heidi Alexander's petition
3 comments:
I am deffinately,for lewisham hospital, particularly, the A&E being closed down because in my opinion they are taking more lives than they are saving. Due to the negligence offthe staff off lewisham hospital this year I lost my baby. And I know of many others who have sad stories to tell. It is understandable why the administrator who has taken over has decdied to close the hospital down. Their staff are untrained, unsympathetic, careless. They don't seem to realise that they are dealing with peoples lives. Above all this they are very much stereotypical, which I think is the reason they behave the way they do. I could go on for ever...but I think the only this hospital should stay is by getting new staffs or by thoroughly retrained the spoilt ones they have.
This plan does not make an ounce of sense. Lewisham is one of the busiest hospitals/ a and e's within the SE London region and the crux of the proposistion is to move the vast majority of patients to a small number of other hospitals (which are already very busy themselves). It'll end up with 750-000 to 800,000 people in the catchment area for one a and e. Journey times for both blue light vehicles, non emergency patient transport and members of the public will increase a lot which could in effect cause damage or even in extreme cases death.
With maternity services also under threat at Lewisham it will mean the closure of postnatal critical care and out of the 4,000 babies born in the hospital over half require some sort of specialist care, a number in criticial care units. Under the new plans these babies will be being transferrd across London.
All of this (and more!) to pay back debts incurred, due to PFI initiatives, by other hospitals within the SE London region (Lewisham hospital is actually financially stable and has been for a number of years)
Also to the poster above, having worked in Lewisham hospital for more than 5 years now I certainly can say all my fellow workers I know are far from spoilt!!
SAVE LEWISHAM HOSPITAL - CONSULTATION DEADLINE THIS WEEK
Please act now if you feel that leaving the borough of Lewisham without full A&E and maternity services is completely wrong and will have very serious consequences.
The deadline for public consultation about Lewisham Hospital closure is midnight on Thursday 13th December. Many people think that they've done their bit by signing the petition and attending the demonstration - unfortunately, THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. The Trust Special Administrator (TSA) is counting the petition of over 34,000 names as just ONE response.
To get your individual opinion counted properly, YOU NEED TO FILL IN THE ONLINE CONSULTATION before Thursday night's deadline.
This is so important if we want to prevent A&E, Maternity, Intensive Care, Neo-natal and other Emergency wards within the hospital from closing. The TSA is putting its proposals for Lewisham's closure together over Christmas to present recommendations to Jeremy Hunt at the Department of Health in early January. They've had an unbelievably brief 5 week "consultation" process but have not even made hard copies available in the borough for people to respond.
So far, although over 34,000 people have signed the petition, they've only had 2000 of these consultations back (because they've made it so difficult) so we need to increase this number dramatically before they use this against us.
These are the online ways to respond now it's too late for hard copy replies:
FILL IN ONLINE CONSULTATION FORM:
Go to www.savelewishamhospital.com and there are links from there with advice on how to fill it in (it's quite biaised towards closure)
Or go directly to www.tsa.nhs.uk/tell-us-what-you-think.
EMAIL THE TSA DIRECTLY:
You can do this to
tsaconsultation@nhs.net
FREEPHONE THE TSA
0800 953 0110
www.savelewishamhospital.com is the main campaign website and updates regularly with info for the public about this. Please also print out our campaign "Don't Keep Calm" poster from our website and display it in homes, shops and cars around the borough. We need to get this message out far and wide.
Please act swiftly to get your voice heard and save vital hospital departments for the people of Lewisham.
Many thanks,
SAVE LEWISHAM HOSPITAL CAMPAIGN
www.savelewishamhospital.com
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