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Hospital closes £9m operating theatres
1:20pm Monday 7th July 2008
BROMLEY Hospitals' NHS Trust is closing a surgery unit it opened four years ago at a cost of nearly £9m.
The trust has announced the £8.8m planned surgery unit, which opened at Orpington Hospital in 2003, will transfer services to the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough by autumn.
Its three operating theatres provide general and oral surgery and orthopaedic treatment.
The trust, which has a historic debt of £99m, says transferring services will save £1m each year.
Under the A Picture of Health proposals to shake up the way healthcare is provided across south east London, the unit would have closed with services transferred to Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup.
However in April the trust responded to the proposals and said the unit should remain at Orpington Hospital.
Orpington MP John Horam says closing the unit is a "colossal waste of money."
The Conservative MP said: "I'm very disappointed a unit which was put in place only four years ago and money was spent on building state of the art operating theatres, is to close.
"Closing them down shows the amount of money wasted in the NHS is colossal."
Susan Sulis, from the Community Care Protection Group, which campaigns on healthcare issues in Bromley borough, is "disgusted" by the news.
She said: "I'm disgusted, they actually said they proposed keeping it open and opposed closure under the previous chief executive, and people were reassured by that stance.
"It's obviously finance driven and not clinically driven.
"The care provided was excellent and this was fed back by patients."
The trust's chief executive Michael Marchment said: "We can close operating theatres without having an impact on patient care by improving the way we work.
"The most efficient way of doing this is to close three theatres at Orpington and bring the staff and equipment to the Princess Royal University Hospital.
"I wish to reassure patients they will receive the same high quality care wherever they have their surgery."
Your Say YourShopper
Caroline, Bromley says...
4:03pm Mon 7 Jul 08
jayjay, here says...
4:19pm Mon 7 Jul 08
These people are a joke, they seem to not care whose money they are flinging around on follies and whims
Tina, Bromley says...
4:40pm Mon 7 Jul 08
Ruth, Farnborough says...
5:42pm Mon 7 Jul 08
Grrrrr, Orp says...
8:15am Tue 8 Jul 08
Never mind about the total disregard for careful spending of public funds.
We do not know how to govern our public utilities correctly. Every single one of them is wasting bundles of cash every day.
Reg Standen, BR5 says...
11:32pm Wed 9 Jul 08
By 2006 It had improved so much that I wrote to the Secretary Of State, including the following paragraph
"A unit which, four years ago was;
A)NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
b)A prime example of cross contamination gone mad.
C)Epitomised all that could be hygienically bad about a hospital.
But which, subsequently, had been turned round into a clinical centre for excellence, must not be considered for closure".
To have spent in excess £8 million of public money makes the decision even more laughable, and indicative of the wonton waste perpetrated by the regime.
Jules, Orpington says...
2:02am Fri 11 Jul 08
Janet, Orpington says...
10:09pm Sun 13 Jul 08
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Planned surgery care will move to the Princess Royal University Hospital in autumn
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jayjay, here says...
3:38pm Mon 7 Jul 08
What a waste of time and money building a unit that has only been opened for 4 years. How dare they use our money in this wasteful way. This money could have been put to better use improving facilities at existing hospitals.
Who gives these so-called managers their jobs, they couldn't organise a knees up in a brewery cellar if the keys were provided!!