Thursday, November 23, 2006
Local press reports on NHS
Extracts from recent Waltham Forest Guardian reports re Whipps Cross Hospital, etc (Reporter:David Williams)
Council puts its weight behind Save Whipps campaign
The campaign to save Whipps Cross University Hospital has been backed unanimously by councillors.An emergency meeting of Waltham Forest Council was called on Monday to discuss the issue, and a motion was passed calling for the range of services currently available in the borough to be maintained. The council will now take its concerns to Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, who will make the final decision on the Fit for the Future programme of restructuring health provision in north east London. Proposing the motion was Cllr John Beanse, vice chairman of the council's health scrutiny committee.
He criticised Fit for the Future for taking decisions without involving the public, and questioned the idea of transferring services to the community when the Primary Care Trust (PCT) is making cuts to meet its own deficit. Mr Beanse said: "The PCT has said it might be necessary to travel to North Middlesex, or Homerton, or Royal London, or University College Hospital near Warren Street. But that is not what the people want. We hear a lot about patient choice, but the PCT has to grasp this fact - people want to have services locally at Whipps Cross. They do not need the choice of going to the Royal London Hospital." He called for the health body to become a PCT for the people of Waltham Forest, adding: "If we are serious about patient choice, listen to what people want." Another motion proposed by the council's Conservative group was defeated amid criticism that it was too party political.
No decision yet on options for discussion
NO decision has yet been made on which of the five possible options for the future of local healthcare will go to public consultation. A series of "stakeholder" meetings is being held to assess which three of the five will be put out to the public for consultation in the new year. Each option is being scored against criteria including the quality of care offered, accessibility, and financial implications, and only two retain Whipps Cross as a full district general hospital. Assessing them are a group of 61 representatives from organisations around north east London. Most are from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and hospital trusts covering Waltham Forest, Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge. The third stakeholder meeting, held at West Ham United FC last Thursday, was the first to include elected representatives. Among those present was Waltham Forest Cllr John Beanse. He expressed reservations about the scoring system, and information available to those giving the grades. Mr Beanse is also concerned that patients and residents are inadequately represented and more should be done to include their views at this pre-consultation stage. A fourth meeting, aiming to complete the scoring process, will be held on November 29.
The campaign to save Whipps Cross University Hospital has been backed unanimously by councillors.An emergency meeting of Waltham Forest Council was called on Monday to discuss the issue, and a motion was passed calling for the range of services currently available in the borough to be maintained. The council will now take its concerns to Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, who will make the final decision on the Fit for the Future programme of restructuring health provision in north east London. Proposing the motion was Cllr John Beanse, vice chairman of the council's health scrutiny committee.
He criticised Fit for the Future for taking decisions without involving the public, and questioned the idea of transferring services to the community when the Primary Care Trust (PCT) is making cuts to meet its own deficit. Mr Beanse said: "The PCT has said it might be necessary to travel to North Middlesex, or Homerton, or Royal London, or University College Hospital near Warren Street. But that is not what the people want. We hear a lot about patient choice, but the PCT has to grasp this fact - people want to have services locally at Whipps Cross. They do not need the choice of going to the Royal London Hospital." He called for the health body to become a PCT for the people of Waltham Forest, adding: "If we are serious about patient choice, listen to what people want." Another motion proposed by the council's Conservative group was defeated amid criticism that it was too party political.
No decision yet on options for discussion
NO decision has yet been made on which of the five possible options for the future of local healthcare will go to public consultation. A series of "stakeholder" meetings is being held to assess which three of the five will be put out to the public for consultation in the new year. Each option is being scored against criteria including the quality of care offered, accessibility, and financial implications, and only two retain Whipps Cross as a full district general hospital. Assessing them are a group of 61 representatives from organisations around north east London. Most are from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and hospital trusts covering Waltham Forest, Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge. The third stakeholder meeting, held at West Ham United FC last Thursday, was the first to include elected representatives. Among those present was Waltham Forest Cllr John Beanse. He expressed reservations about the scoring system, and information available to those giving the grades. Mr Beanse is also concerned that patients and residents are inadequately represented and more should be done to include their views at this pre-consultation stage. A fourth meeting, aiming to complete the scoring process, will be held on November 29.
# posted by John Beanse @ 5:38 PM 
