The PFI funded Central Middlesex Hospital - are its services being gradually run down?
From Brent Green Party
In 2014, Central Middlesex hospital A&E department closed following a decision from the then Conservative Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt. At the time, we were told that the opening of an Urgent Care Centre at Central MIddlesex hospital would mitigate the loss of the A&E department. However, in 2019, the hours of the Urgent Care Centre were reduced when the overnight service was withdrawn.
Six years down the line, we are faced with yet another reduction of the now named Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Central Middlesex hospital. The Centre currently closes at midnight but, if London NW University Healthcare Trust go ahead with their proposal, it will close at 9pm.
The curtailing of the services at the Central Middlesex hospital is even more incomprehensible because it runs contrary to the evolution of the demographics in Brent. The Brent population went up by 9.2% between 2011 and 2021. This is a significant increase which is both higher than the population rise in England (+6,6%) and the population of rise London (+7.7%). How is Brent's growing and ageing population supposed to cope with a reduction in urgent care treatment?
Brent Green Party is therefore firmly opposed to a further reduction of the NHS services that will undoubtedly put more pressure on Northwick Park Hospital A&E and its Urgent Care Centre and will lead to fewer people getting the required medical attention as quickly as necessary, in the best-case scenario.
We call on the current plans to reduce the Urgent Treatment Centre hours by 3 hours each evening to be added as an urgent item to the Agenda of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee taking place on Wednesday November 19th. Failing this an Extraordinary Meeting should be called to consider the issue as the next Scrutiny will not be until January 2026 – too late to affect the decision. We note that the 2019 proposals were considered by that Committee on July 9th 2019 setting a precedent for the views of the Council and residents to be represented.
The reasons for the reduction in hours put forward this time are almost the same as previously, gradually taking away the service from Brent and nearby boroughs.
Zengha Wellings-Longmore, Green Party candidate for the Harlesden and Kensal Green council ward said:
The cut is now proposed at a time when the Urgent Care Centre and A&E at Northwick Park Hospital are encountering heavy demand with extremely long waits outside the recommended parameters.
At the same time the local population is expanding through developments at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Area, Grand Union, Neasden Stations, and Alperton. Alongside this are potential critical incidents at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena and on the Park Royal Industrial Estate.
It is vital that the impact of the reduction in service be considered and that the cost and long-term benefits of upgrading late night resources at the UTC be considered instead.
We note that the closure of the Hydrotherapy Pool at Northwick Park Hospital recently took place without any Scrutiny by Brent Council.
7 comments:
Cllr Ketan Sheth should be scrutinising this through being Chsir of scrutiny….. nope only interested in self promotion and his ego.
Scrutiny of CUTS to NHS services under a Labour Government does not take place because the Chairs of all Scrutiny Committees in Brent are Labour Councillors.
The running of Brent Council is in the hands of the Cabinet - currently made up of 10 Labour Councillors only.
When the Tony Blair Labour Government scrapped the Council Committee system to "strengthen leadership and improve decision making" he handed power to a few members of the Leading Party. To strengthen accountability the recommendation was for Chairs of Scrutiny to come form the opposition parties.
This happened for a while in Brent until the present Labour Leadership.
Followers of the democratic process in Brent (should I says current dictatorship) will have noticed that at every Annual Meeting of Brent Council for the past few years the Liberal Democrat Group proposed that the Chairs of Scrutiny should be from one of the other Groups on Brent Council. This proposal is always voted down by the Labour majority - for two reasons.
1. The Labour Chairs receive additional allowances - so extra gift from the Labour Leader.
2. If the Chair was not a Labour Councillor more questionable decisions would be scrutinised.
As we have seen in the case of the Northwick Park Hydrotherapy service all it took was for the Hospital to lobby the Labour Chair who then simply accepted their decision to close it without bothering to give the users of this important service a chance to have their say.
Until the Scrutiny function is taken out of control of the Labour Leadership in Brent it will remain a SHAM and nothing challenging will ever be investigated. Another good reason to kick Labour out of control in Brent.
dictatorship, how true
With all the extra tower blocks going up at Stonebridge Park on top of all the recent developments in Beresford Avenue and by Alperton Station the Central Middlesex Urgent Treatment Centre needs to retain its existing opening hours as there are surely no extra GP places being provided to cope with all these new residents.
Surely Brent Council understand this is an issue and will fight these cuts to services??????
What a tragic loss, having used this facility on a few occasions albeit a long time ago, it provides an excellent service for minor injuries I received excellent treatment with good outcome, delivered in a timely manner instead of taking up valuable time waiting in A&E at Northwick Park Hosp. It seems that NWLondon Health Trusts are literally going bankrupt.
Going bankrupt with more money than ever being pumped into the NHS???
Part of the no transparent masterplan plan Great Regression West tenanted towers city zoned
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