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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that Jeremy Hunt is off his rocker to downgrade Lewisham Hospital?

78 replies

showtunesgirl · 31/01/2013 12:51

Lewisham Hospital is NOT a failing hospital and Lewisham is a densely populated part of London.

With the proposed measures, Lewisham Hospital will now be downgraded and will basically lose it's A & E department and the nearest A & E will be miles away in Woolwich.

Also the maternity unit will now solely be midwife led so that if you are unfortunate to need intervention, you will have to be bluelighted to ANOTHER hospital as opposed to now where you are simply taken to the main maternity ward.

Jeremy Hunt had said that there were four criteria that needed to be filled in order for something like this to happen of which Lewisham has not filled at all. Nobody has supported this downgrading at all.

This decision has now set a very dangerous precendence that will be continued up and down the country where it goes to show that in spite of public consultation that said a big fat resounding NO and with no support from doctors, a thriving hospital can be shut just because the Government says so.

OP posts:
Sunnywithshowers · 31/01/2013 14:44

YANBU at all.

It's a despicable fucking decision and leaves the people of SE London ill served.

Jeremy Hunt is a disgrace.

TheSecondComing · 31/01/2013 14:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LadyWellian · 31/01/2013 14:55

Oops, sorry, I was so cross I didn't read it properly. So yes, a 'downgraded' A&E. And a midwife-led unit that "will continue to deal with 10% of existing activity". So as long as the birth rate in Lewisham drops by 90%, it'll all be fine.

amicissimma · 31/01/2013 15:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mydelilah · 31/01/2013 15:07

Thanks showtunesgirl. I will follow them. Feeling very militant about this!

LadyWellian · 31/01/2013 15:18

Amicissimma I know it's a bit NIMBY of me, but I don't quite understand why they can't close the bankrupt, failing hospitals rather than sticking a pin in a map and closing the nearest financially solvent, well-managed, recently refurbished one. And you say this is happening a lot?

I can't get my head round it. Either we have a health system where management is devolved to the local healthcare trusts, in which case they are independent of one another and can't just go and steal resources from their neighbours when they get in to trouble, or we have a national health service, in which case the financial failings of one trust should be bailed out by the whole, rather than stealing resources from their neighbours.

Can anyone explain this to me? It just feels like if I was the executor of someone's will, and they had died in a load of debt, I would be saying 'that's OK - we'll just sell the neighbours' house to pay off the debts'.

IfNotNowThenWhen · 31/01/2013 15:35

We NEED to have a national health service, which DOES work as a whole, not this parceled out quango run undemocratic bollocks we are being fobbed off with now.

last chance to save the nhs

Iggly · 31/01/2013 15:38

YANBU

This is brazen bollocks. A political decision. Lewisham is in a labour constituency?

Wouldn't happen if it were Tory IMO.

BramblyHedge · 31/01/2013 15:40

They have done this to our local hospital Wycombe. I now have to travel 40 minutes to take my kids to a and e if they get breathing problems or an accident and we now only have midwife led unit as well. Stoke Mandeville were turning people away from a and e a few weeks ago as they couldn't cope. It is disgusting. You can have an accident outside what is left of Wycombe hospital and face a long journey to another hospital. We are the biggest town in the county. Think it is happening everywhere.

Iggly · 31/01/2013 15:41

This is why they're doing it: As a consequence he also recommended that services be reconfigured beyond the confines of South London NHS Trust, across all of South East London

It's under a blanket excuse to reconfigure.

I looked at the consultation. I responded to the consultation.

The bit about lewisham just seemed ridiculous.

Tory voters - another reason why your government are idiots.

drjohnsonscat · 31/01/2013 16:39

I can't get my head round it. Either we have a health system where management is devolved to the local healthcare trusts, in which case they are independent of one another and can't just go and steal resources from their neighbours when they get in to trouble, or we have a national health service, in which case the financial failings of one trust should be bailed out by the whole, rather than stealing resources from their neighbours

LadyWelian, this is a very succinct explanation of the view I've been trying and failing to formulate in my own mind. thank you.

LadyWellian · 31/01/2013 16:47

Iggly - quite. Look at this map (page 2) -while QEH is in Nick Raynsford's (Labour) Greenwich and Woolwich constituency, I believe the rest of SLHT's 'assets' are in that big blue area in the bottom right-hand corner.

londonchick · 31/01/2013 16:52

Partly because the other local hospitals have facilities that they call core facilities. I.e. an A&E unit attached to a stroke unit has more chance of staying open due to the facilities. And I have to say, there are massive pressures put upon the stroke services in SE London.

I don't work for them but I know people who do

Original poster
showtunesgirl · 31/01/2013 17:12

LadyWellian, the political landscape was indeed pointed out by the Editor of The Big Issue when they held Question Time at Goldsmith's College a few weeks ago.

Cut the Labour hospital and keep the Tory ones. And here I was thinking that healthcare should be for all no matter your political affiliation.

OP posts:
DreamingofSummer · 31/01/2013 17:26

Jeremy Hunt is his own rhyming slang

VinegarDrinker · 31/01/2013 17:39

It's an absolute disgrace. Neither Kings nor QEH has the staffing or capacity to deal with any extra patients. It is simply unsafe.

The Lewisham MLU is lovely but it was never designed to replace Delivery Suite.

Iggly · 31/01/2013 18:46

There's a surprise Lady

pluCaChange · 31/01/2013 19:23

I'll be very interested to see the legal challenge.

Jeremy Hunt is doing as he's been told (from above, not by those consulted), which means this was all planned.

blackeyedsusan · 31/01/2013 19:24

yanbu. it is rewarding failure.

jennylindinha · 31/01/2013 19:36

YANBU
This is a total travesty and very depressing.

ScarletLady02 · 31/01/2013 19:40

YANBU

My DD was born in Lewisham and the care I received was great. The birthing centre is BEAUTIFUL and only a couple of years old. I would have been there if not for my high blood pressure and induction.

Lewisham is a highly populated place, I don't see how the are will cope.

UWSmum · 31/01/2013 19:51

Yanbu. Can't agree more that we need a coherent plan to solve the PFI legacy crisis, which doesn't put unborn babies and mums at risk. Nationally renegotiate the terms of the debt to make it manageable. Just hope a legal challenge doesn't wait for the increased maternal/infant mortality stats.

tiredemma · 31/01/2013 19:57

He is a cunt. In a party of cunts.

Anyone who votes these shower of shite back in needs to have a strong word with themselves.

HelloCheeky · 31/01/2013 20:09

Please keep up the fight everybody ! Keep checking the savelewisham a and e website and Facebook page.

25,000 people demonstrated last week. There is power in numbers.

annabeldp · 31/01/2013 20:41

I live nearby - isn't this part of the wider review of A&E services all over the country - I know they've been looking in Kent as well. If it's all part of the collapse of the other trust then it's rubbish!

But I do think we're reasonably well served for hospitals locally - Kings, St Thomas' etc are all fairly close. It's not like it's the middle of the country when they close one and it's then 20 or 30 miles to the nearest A&E.