I copy below a letter from Cllr Canal sent to me earlier today. I hope his prediction is correct, but until an official announcement is made, the campaign must continue.
Dear Andy,
I was hoping to be with
you on Saturday but regret I must extend my apologies as I am
attending a family funeral in Liverpool.
I thought it would be
helpful to reiterate our position on King George A&E.
As you know, there are
no plans to close King George hospital. The hospital will serve the
needs of local residents for many decades to come. There are also no
plans to reduce the current 24hr opening of the hospital.
The review commissioned
by Labour health minister Andy Burnham’s in 2009 did however
recommend a downgrading of the site from a full A&E to an urgent
care centre.
We have consistently
opposed this recommendation. We believe the review as first
published was fundamentally flawed, underestimated the demand for
services then, and failed to take account of any increase in service
demand in future years. In our view a 24 hr 7 day a week King George
A&E remains crucial to delivering excellent care to residents
across NE London.
The recommendation to
downgrade King George A&E was originally supported by the
Redbridge CCG. Indeed, without their support for that decision, and
their subsequent support for the STP, this option would not be on the
table. This was, and is disappointing. Without the support of the
relevant CCGs, this proposal would not have taken off.
I am unable to reveal
the discussions that have taken place within the BHRUT Emergency
Department Working Group this year. Suffice to say that no-one who
provided evidence to us this year now supports the original
recommendation.
It is clear that not
only was the original decision flawed, but the new “facts on the
ground” make any downgrading untenable. Extra pressure on other
already overstretched resources would have compromised patient
safety. The only safe option is a fully functioning 24hr King George
A&E.
The formal route to
ending this madness is the publication of the Price Waterhouse
review. It’s contents confirm the views of residents and
councillors. I continue to urge immediate publication of the PW
review. It will be the final nail in the coffin for this flawed
plan.
In May of this year I
said that King George A&E was not closing. I have lobbied
extensively to ensure that is the case. Based on both evidence to the
working group and my own conversations with senior ministers and
civil servants, I will now go further. Not only is it not closing,
it will remain open 24hrs a day, seven days a week, and will attract
further investment to recent its future for many years to come.
I do not however
underestimate the wider challenges to the health economy and health
services in Redbridge and North East London. We need to build on the
excellent work of our BHRUT ED working group and convene a further
working group to look closely at health provision across Redbridge.
We need to more effectively work with and hold the CCG to account.
We need to more effectively lobby to reduce the funding gap that has
existed in Redbridge for over 30 years.
Your campaign, for
which I congratulate you, has been an exemplar in cross party work.
I hope we can continue to work collaboratively to advance the
interests of all residents in Redbridge and beyond.
I hope tomorrow
Saturday goes well and reiterate my support to the campaign.
In the meantime, I look
forward to formal confirmation of the abandonment of this flawed
recommendation, and then working with others to further improve
health services for all across Redbridge.
Regards
Cllr
Paul Canal
Cllr
Paul Canal
Bridge
Ward Councillor
Leader
of the Conservative Group
London
Borough of Redbridge
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