Ealing Council opposes casualty closures and calls for fightback

Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, has publicly opposes plans to close four casualty departments in  North- West London Hospitals, including that at Central Middlesex and called for a public fightback against them.

He told the Evening Standard yesterday:

When these half-baked plans were announced, all our worst fears were realised. It beggars belief that essential keath services like A and E could be cut nearly in half without damaging health care.

The council is committed to fighting these proposals but we need people power.  I want local people to join our campaign and to tell their friends and neighbours, relatives and colleagues to do the same. With a powerful single voice we can save our hospitals.

There were promising signs yesterday that Brent Council may follow when Cllr Krupesh Hirani, lead member for Adult Care and Health, released a series of tweets on Twitter:

• This hospital serves the poorest part of the Borough 
• The Tory Liberal move to close A&E at Central Middlesex Hospital is bad for Brent 
• If we were redesigning NHS services in Brent from scratch, we would have an A&E service at Central Middlesex Hospital