Urgent meeting on NW London STP tomorrow Hammersmith Town Hall 7pm

From London Keep our NHS Public

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has announced plans for legal action against the NW London Sustainability and Transformation Plan  which aims to close first Ealing then Charing Cross Hospitals. Hammersmith & Fulhan  and Ealing Councils are the first to refuse to sign off the STP -  action we need replicated across England. In a step forward last Tuesday Hounslow Council passed a motion with all party support to retain acute services at Ealing and Charing Cross and a statement was signed by 5 councils including Harrow and Brent condemning the closure plan.The public meeting called by Hammersmith & Fulham Council tomorrow is vital in demonstrating the scale of public opposition and highlighting the need to protect local health services.

North West London Healthcare Commission – Call for Evidence

From Michael Mansfield QC 

In 2012 the government consulted on proposals to make significant changes to the healthcare economy of North-West London, set out under the heading “Shaping a Healthier Future”. This involved the downgrading of several hospitals across North- West London to “local” hospitals without A&E provision, closure of acute provision and reduction or downgrading of specific services. It also promised commitments to investment in capacity of out-of-hospital and community services in order to offset reductions in acute provision.

Two years into implementation of “Shaping a Healthier Future”, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow Councils are keen to review its implementation; in particular, the impact of reductions to acute provision on the North West London population, the extent of progress with investment in capacity and capability of community and out-of-hospital services to meet local needs, and the extent to which demand for acute services has changed as a result of those investments.

The North West London Healthcare Commission was launched on 1 December 2014 by the four councils to review the impact of the changes to the North West London health economy, arising from the implementation of “Shaping a Healthier Future”, and to assess the likely impact of planned future changes. I have been appointed to chair the Commission and my fellow Commissioners are Dr John Lister and Dr Stephen Hirst.

In order to assist us in the task of reviewing the implemented and planned changes, I invite you to submit written evidence that may assist the Commission in its consideration of the impact of these changes on patient care in the area. Any such written evidence should be submitted by Monday 2 February 2015 to Peter Smith, Clerk to the Commission, at Hammersmith & Fulham Council. Submissions should be addressed to him at Room 39, Hammersmith Town Hall, London W6 9JU or sent by email to peter.smith@lbhf.gov.uk. Later submissions will be forwarded to the Commission but may not be given the same attention as those received by the deadline.

I look forward to reading any submission you may wish to make. Yours faithfully

Michael Mansfield QC
, Chair, North West London Healthcare Commission

Ealing a step nearer Judicial Review on hospital downgrading

Ealing Council has secured an oral hearing at the High Court on Wednesday, 9 October as it presses for a judicial review (JR) of plans to downgrade four local hospitals.

The council initially applied for a JR in March after the NHS approved plans to shut A&E departments and downgrade other services at Ealing, Central Middlesex, Hammersmith and Charing Cross hospitals despite increasing demand for emergency services.

This application was turned down so the council sought the oral hearing to press its case. If it is successful at the oral hearing, the council will be able to pursue a full JR.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of the council, said: "The fight to ensure local people have the health services they deserve goes on. We will present our case forcibly at the oral hearing and pursue all other opportunities to ensure there is proper consideration of our serious concerns about what amounts to the largest experiment in NHS history.”

Concerns about the safety of the NHS plans and the ability of remaining services to cope have been raised by local campaigners as well as the council. The NHS has itself admitted that 'blue light' journeys to hospital will be longer for one in three patients if the plans go ahead.

The council has also referred the issue to the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt MP, who responded by ordering an independent panel to review the NHS plans. The panel’s report will be presented to Mr Hunt by 13 September and his decision is expected around 40 days later.

Study confirms poorest hit hardest by A&E closures

An Equality Impacts report commissioned by NHS managers into the closure of four West London Accident and Emergency facilities LINK has confirmed the fears of many campaigners. The report by consultants Mott MacDonald into the closures of A&Es at Ealing, Charing Cross. Hammersmith and Central Middlesex and the reconfiguration programme under the Shaping a Healthier Future proposals concluded:

• 33% of 'blue light' ambulances across the area will take longer to reach hospital
• Among those picking up patients from poorer areas, 41% will take longer
• The four A&Es proposed for closure are all in deprived parts of London
• Elderly, poorer and disabled people who need non-urgent care will be 'disproportionately' affected
• Seven in ten people travelling by bus or tube will have journey times of 30 minutes or more
• Travel times are a key concern and warnings need to be raised about the prospect of longer and more complext journey times
• Closure could affect 'continuity of care' particularly for children
• Well-developed services at Ealing hospital to help Southall's large South Asian population, which suffers high levels of poor health, would also be lost.

The report's authors believe no ambulances will take more than an extra 10 minutes to reach an A&E  after the closures but of course that could be an extremely crucial 10 minutes.

Dr Onkar Sahota, chair of the London Assembly health committee,told the Daily Mail LINK  that he thought their calculations were wrong:  'There is clear evidence that when travel times are increased, mortality rates go up'.

NW London NHS vote to close Central Middlesex A&E with potentially life threatening consequences

Hospital campaigners from Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham assembled at a chilly 8.30am today outside the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster in the shadow of Parliament's Victoria Tower. They were protesting against Shaping a Healthier Future plans to close A&Es at Hammersmith, Charing Cross, Ealing and Central Middlesex Hospitals.

Their pleas were ignored just as were their letters, petitions and marches and the Trust went ahead and voted for all four closures.

Campaigners warned that the decision will hit many of the area's most vulnerable residents and could result  in life threatening delays for urgent treatment.

The ITN report on the demonstration and decision can be found HERE