Have your say on Thursday about the future of local hospitals

Wembley residents will get the chance to air their views on proposed hospital reform in the borough which could see two hospital trusts in North West London merge.

The meeting, held by Brent Local Involvement Network (LINk) on Thursday December 12th  will discuss plans for a proposed merger between North West London Hospital Trust and Ealing Hospital Trust.

Residents are invited to air their concerns and answer any questions from experts at both hospital trusts during the meeting in the Sattavis Patidar Centre in Forty Avenue.

Although there are no concrete plans for the merger a potential scenario could see Central Middlesex Hospital in Acton Lane, lose its Accident and Emergency Department.

Ealing Hospital Trust manages Ealing Hospital as well as community services across Brent, Harrow and Ealing while the North West London Hospital Trust manages Northwick Park Hospital and St Mark’s hospitals in Watford Road and Central Middlesex Hospital in Park Royal.

The hospital trusts are planning a merger after an independent report revealed that both trusts were among 20 trusts country wide that were not clinically or financially viable.

The evening begins at 7pm. For more information contact Carol Sealy on 0208 965 0309 or email: Carol.Sealy@hestia.org

At this stage, Brent LINk does not have an opinion regarding the merger.

Fears over NHS services if hospital trusts merge

I have received this public statement on behalf of Brent, Ealing and Harrow Trades Union Councils

Your readers may be aware that a consultation is currently underway over the proposed merger of the NW London and Ealing Hospital trusts. The proposal is that this merger should be agreed by July of this year.

We are seriously concerned that this merger of the trusts, supposedly on financial grounds, will lead to a reduction in NHS services in Brent, Ealing and Harrow. Despite stressing that the consultation is about the merger of the trusts and not about the re-organisation of services, the consultation meetings have been told that this could lead to a “rationalisation” of services, particularly in the light of the government’s insistence that the NHS is required to make £20 billion of cuts.

We believe this merger would lead to a reduction of local services and people having to make often long and difficult journeys across West and North-West London. Already the consultation process seems more a P.R. exercise for a decision that has already been made.The bigger merged trust will be even less accountable and responsive to the needs of local people than the services are now.

We have already seen the closure of the Accident and Emergency Department at Central Middlesex Hospital at night, with growing expectation that this “temporary” closure will become permanent. There are fears that one of the 3 district general hospitals involved (Ealing, Central Middlesex and Northwick Park) will close. Such moves transfer services from where they are needed to where it is financially most convenient.

As secretaries of the Trades Union Councils in the 3 boroughs involved, we intend to closely monitor what is happening, and to campaign vigorously to defend our health service in all its aspects.

To this end we will shortly be convening co-ordinated meetings in all 3 boroughs to which we will invite health campaigners, NHS trades unionists and everyone who relies on the NHS to establish such a campaign.

Any readers wishing to be involved or to know more, can contact:

Brent: Ben Rickman ben.rickman@gmail.com

Ealing: Eve Turner eveturner@btopenworld.com

Harrow: John Rattray johnprattray@btinternet.com