Your Shopper
Send your news, photos & videos. Text NEWS SHOPPER and your message to 80360 or click here to email us » »
|
Update: D-day for hospitals shake-up
7:35pm Monday 21st July 2008
A DECISION has been made by health chiefs on the future of hospitals in the area.
The joint committee of the primary care trusts for Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham met today in London to make its decision on the A Picture of Health proposals.
And it agreed with recommendations to approve an amended version of option two from the three original options put forward.
This will see Queen Mary's Hospital as the only major loser of the four hospitals involved.
The Sidcup hospital will lose all its emergency services, including A&E, maternity and in-patient children's services, but will become one of two centres for planned surgery.
The planned surgery unit at Orpington Hospital will close and patients from there diverted to Queen Mary's.
The Sidcup hospital will also have to wait for a decision on whether it will be able to open a midwife-led birthing unit.
Queen Mary's will be left with an urgent care centre, community, diagnostic, specialist walk-in care such as renal dialysis, cardiology, neurology and cancer; outpatient services; day surgery; intermediate in-patient care and rehabilitation including beds and services.
This may open the way for the sell-off of large parts of the Sidcup hospital site, which could help pay for the millions of pounds of debt owed by the other three private finance initiative (PFI) hospitals involved.
The Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich will remain as the two centres for acute services in outer south east London and will keep their day surgery units.
Under the amended option two, Lewisham Hospital will keep its A&E, but it will only be open to surgical emergencies from 8am to 8pm.
It will keep its pediatric and maternity services but only due to the intervention of the Academic Health Sciences Centre, made up of Guys and St Thomas's, Kings College and South London and Maudsley trusts.
They offered support to Lewisham to maintain the services but will take more complex surgical cases for children.
Lewisham will also keep its day surgery.
It is estimated that keeping day surgery at all four centres will bring in £10m a year.
The original option two was only supported by 1,491 of the 8,374 people who gave an opinion on the consultation.
The most popular option was option one which attracted 1,949 supporters.
But 2,491 people, mainly from Bexley, indicated they did not like any of the options put forward.
Your Say YourShopper
NHS Worker, sidcup says...
10:05am Sat 19 Jul 08
South East, South East says...
9:23pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Osem, Orpington says...
10:11am Sun 20 Jul 08
Will someone please show me just where the slack in this particular system is FGS??!!
If the NHS spent more of it's vast funding on front line staff/services and less on inept and overpaid suits and their plush offices I think things at the sharp end would be a whole lot better!
Caroline, Bromley says...
12:03pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Fed up with Labour, Bexley says...
1:06pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Osem, says...
4:17pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Looks very much like Same Old Labour to me !!!
L, Bromley says...
6:36pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Caroline wrote:And the sad thing is the savings that would be made by closing down the Orpington Treatment Centre will be in the region of £1 million a year.
It is shocking that large parts of QM will have to be sold off to help pay for the debt of 3 other brand new hospitals. It is completely absurd that our government is permitted to throw around BILLIONS of pounds for some things, yet sacrifices services that are in desperate need. Why do we stand for it? I just do not know. Just last week we were told that the brand new surgical wing at Orpington Hospital was going to close, even though it was only opened a few years ago and cost 9 million! This is shameful and I for one am in despair about the whole thing.
I am almost too embarassed to admit I work for Bromley Hospitals NHS.
Howard Dawber, Bexleyheath says...
7:00pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Without it I wouldn't be here, nor would several members of my family.
In an ideal world we'd leave all the hospitals as they are and the services would magically get better. The fact is that needs and technology have changed - nowadays the old model of general hospitals which provide all services is no longer relevant.
If your child was seriously ill, you might go to Great Ormond Street. If you had a spinal injury you'd go to Stoke Mandeville. Why should it be any different locally - we want THE BEST for local people, not to hold on to an outdated structure just for old times sake.
The changes going through now which are decided by DOCTORS not by politicians will provide a BETTER service for everyone in South East London by putting new facilities in specific locations. It's about MORE MONEY not cost cutting.
Don't let the Tories kid you into thinking they care about the NHS - they wanted to bribe people to go private at the last election and would happily sell off all the hospitals.
John T, Erith says...
8:15pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Do you actually live locally here in bexley or are you just another blow in 'wanna be' who probably lives in some North London elitest utopia like Islington or Camden.
We want the best hospitals but we also want a hospital to go to when we are sick. Your Party are closing down Queen Mary's, originally by stealth but now it is being done in the open. Obviously Gordon, one of your mate's I am sure (I bet you love Bliar too), has decided time is up and he is getting his revenge on bexley before he is booted out of Downing Street!
Stop playing politics with us, we can see its Labour closing down OURhospital, so get a life.
JJ, Welling says...
8:37pm Sun 20 Jul 08
Howard Dawber, if one of my family dies because of this hospital being closed down then I hope you are proud of your cuts.
Why do you imply OUR hospital is out of date? Hoping to soften the blow to us?
LABOUR ARE CLOSING THE HOSPITAL, DON'T BLAME THE TORIES YOU FOOL.
I wish I lived in Bexleyheath and Crayford just so I could see your failure at fist hand at the next election.
Max Calò, Lewisham says...
9:39pm Sun 20 Jul 08
You learned your lines to perfection, only that closure of A&E departments cannot be justified with your reasoning.
Maternity wards also are hardly specialist units that need to be placed strategically away from expecting women.
A word of advise, if you want to have a chance of being elected you have to start respecting people's intelligence.
The News Shopper wrote correctly "This could open the way for the sell-off of large parts of the Sidcup hospital site, which could help pay for the millions of pounds of debt owed by the other three private finance initiative (PFI) hospitals involved".
R Jones, belvedere says...
11:42am Mon 21 Jul 08
Given they have been in power and running the NHS since 1997, how can it be anyone else's fault?
As someone who joined the march earlier in the year, it was noticed that no Labour representatives turned up. There were Conservatives, Greens and the Lib Dems all there, but no-one from Labour.
I would have thought if Mr Dorber wants to be the MP for the area he would be joining with local people to try and save it, not defend the policy to close it.
But then, as he lives in Camden, he probably has no idea where the hospital is anyway.
FR Smith, Thamesmead says...
12:11pm Mon 21 Jul 08
My useless mp john austin is boasting in a newsletter that he wants to see services cut at Qeen Marys. Clearly Labour do not care about our local services. Instead of Brown-nosing Brown, Labour mps and candidates should be supporting us.
I will never vote for labour while they plan to risk my life by axing my local hospital services.
Mr dawber, you are not welcome here - go back to the hole in camden where you have climbed out from. Austin, changes your view or no-one I knoiw will vote for you.
LC, Bexley says...
1:42pm Mon 21 Jul 08
A, Sidcup says...
1:49pm Mon 21 Jul 08
c shell, bexley says...
3:08pm Mon 21 Jul 08
DC, Sidcup says...
3:11pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Cherith Porter, New Ash Green says...
4:35pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Any government that comes in will just be as bad as each other.
nhs worker, sidcup says...
4:42pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Hmm, Bexley says...
5:20pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Ionlyhavemyboysthank
stoQMH, Crayford says...
6:06pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Martin Johnson, says...
6:58pm Mon 21 Jul 08
ew, sidcup says...
8:02pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Bexley not decreasing and we need a local A&E department. Stop kidding yourself.
JJ, Welling says...
8:33pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Cherith Porter wrote:At least under JOhn Major and Virginia Bottomley we had a local hospital that wasn't under threat of being closed to pay of the debts created at other hospitals.
It was the same when John Major and Virginia Bottomley along with the Tories were in power back in the 1990s. No better. Any government that comes in will just be as bad as each other.
The current Governement are using us, here in Bexley, to pay for and keep afloat Lewisham and Woolwich.
We should not stand for this, our tax has paid for this hospital, if you break a leg you want a service close-by, not 10 miles away. Do Labour suggest you hope on the train to get to Woolwich, because I have tried parking there, and theres no chance!
So, how do you hop on a train with a broken leg?
Maybe this Dawber bloke can tell us as he has all the answers!
nhs worker, sidcup says...
9:37pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Howard Dawber, Bexleyheath says...
10:14pm Mon 21 Jul 08
JJ wrote:JJ - here's the answer. If you get a broken leg you will go to QMS, that's "Urgent Care" aka casualty WHICH IS STAYING AT QMS. If you are more seriously injured (eg, brain injury and in a coma) you will go in an ambulance to a specialist A&E.
Cherith Porter wrote: It was the same when John Major and Virginia Bottomley along with the Tories were in power back in the 1990s. No better. Any government that comes in will just be as bad as each other.At least under JOhn Major and Virginia Bottomley we had a local hospital that wasn't under threat of being closed to pay of the debts created at other hospitals. The current Governement are using us, here in Bexley, to pay for and keep afloat Lewisham and Woolwich. We should not stand for this, our tax has paid for this hospital, if you break a leg you want a service close-by, not 10 miles away. Do Labour suggest you hope on the train to get to Woolwich, because I have tried parking there, and theres no chance! So, how do you hop on a train with a broken leg? Maybe this Dawber bloke can tell us as he has all the answers!
Local, Swanley says...
11:24pm Mon 21 Jul 08
the way your party has treated us we are best left to die in our homes and be buried in our back gardens or have you taxed that to the hilt as well?
Ionlyhavemyboysthank
stoQMH, Crayford says...
12:19am Tue 22 Jul 08
Martin Johnson wrote:We wouldn't have made it to any other hospital!!!!!!!!!! QM's has one of the best neo natal units!!
If we want an improved health service with better life expectancy in emergency situations this has to be the right option. If I suffered a shooting injury then I would rather go to Kings, where they have better experience of such injuries. If I had a stroke I would want to go to the hospital best equiped to deal with it. Sadly QM is not!
JJ, Welling says...
10:02am Tue 22 Jul 08
Howard Dawber wrote:You already go to a specialist hospital with brain injury and if you present to a&e in a coma. It already happens and has done so for years. Your not from round here are you otherwise you would know that you fool!!!
JJ wrote:JJ - here\'s the answer. If you get a broken leg you will go to QMS, that\'s \"Urgent Care\" aka casualty WHICH IS STAYING AT QMS. If you are more seriously injured (eg, brain injury and in a coma) you will go in an ambulance to a specialist A&E.Cherith Porter wrote: It was the same when John Major and Virginia Bottomley along with the Tories were in power back in the 1990s. No better. Any government that comes in will just be as bad as each other.At least under JOhn Major and Virginia Bottomley we had a local hospital that wasn\'t under threat of being closed to pay of the debts created at other hospitals. The current Governement are using us, here in Bexley, to pay for and keep afloat Lewisham and Woolwich. We should not stand for this, our tax has paid for this hospital, if you break a leg you want a service close-by, not 10 miles away. Do Labour suggest you hope on the train to get to Woolwich, because I have tried parking there, and theres no chance! So, how do you hop on a train with a broken leg? Maybe this Dawber bloke can tell us as he has all the answers!
So idiot how do I get to my local A&E with a broken leg if there's an urgent care centre, i don't recall there being a blue light service in the new plans for QMH
Chris Maines, Lewisham says...
1:22pm Tue 22 Jul 08
Howard Dawber wrote:We are here because of Gordon Brown's adherence to PFI - where millions is pouring into the NHS and then paid straight out to fat cats in the City.
I am the Labour Candidate for Bexleyheath & Crayford and I am fiercely proud of Labour\'s NHS. Without it I wouldn\'t be here, nor would several members of my family. In an ideal world we\'d leave all the hospitals as they are and the services would magically get better. The fact is that needs and technology have changed - nowadays the old model of general hospitals which provide all services is no longer relevant. If your child was seriously ill, you might go to Great Ormond Street. If you had a spinal injury you\'d go to Stoke Mandeville. Why should it be any different locally - we want THE BEST for local people, not to hold on to an outdated structure just for old times sake. The changes going through now which are decided by DOCTORS not by politicians will provide a BETTER service for everyone in South East London by putting new facilities in specific locations. It\'s about MORE MONEY not cost cutting. Don\'t let the Tories kid you into thinking they care about the NHS - they wanted to bribe people to go private at the last election and would happily sell off all the hospitals.
There is now more pressure on PCT's to use private providers than under Thatcher.
These decisions have been driven by the Labour govt, taken by Labour appointed members of QUANGOs.
It is amazing that a Labour candidate does not undertand the direction of his own party policy.
Osem, says...
3:28pm Tue 22 Jul 08
Howard Dawber wrote:Brown's abject ineptitude in running the economy is why we're in this financial crisis. Amongst many other things, our 'Prudent Chancellor' sold half our entire gold reserves at pretty much the bottom of the market and has chucked vast sums of taxpayers money around like so much confetti...
I am the Labour Candidate for Bexleyheath & Crayford and I am fiercely proud of Labour's NHS. Without it I wouldn't be here, nor would several members of my family. In an ideal world we'd leave all the hospitals as they are and the services would magically get better. The fact is that needs and technology have changed - nowadays the old model of general hospitals which provide all services is no longer relevant. If your child was seriously ill, you might go to Great Ormond Street. If you had a spinal injury you'd go to Stoke Mandeville. Why should it be any different locally - we want THE BEST for local people, not to hold on to an outdated structure just for old times sake. The changes going through now which are decided by DOCTORS not by politicians will provide a BETTER service for everyone in South East London by putting new facilities in specific locations. It's about MORE MONEY not cost cutting. Don't let the Tories kid you into thinking they care about the NHS - they wanted to bribe people to go private at the last election and would happily sell off all the hospitals.
You have the audacity to say don't trust the Tories but just how many promises made by Bliar and Brown since 1997 have been broken??
Have you already forgotten all the lies and spin surrounding the weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein supposedly had lined up against us?
New Labour are a disgrace and worse than the Tories ever were - at least they didn't pretend to be something they're not!!
How dare you compare the self serving hypocrites you align yourself with now to those responsible for creating the NHS!!
LC, says...
1:36pm Thu 24 Jul 08
Howard Dawber wrote:JJ - I don't think you know what the UCC does/doesn't see. If a patient with a broken leg arrived on their doorstep, they would refer them into A & E because they are not able to deal with this type of injury!!!! What do you think will happen when A & E closes - they will no longer be able to send them into A & E for a specialist Orthopaedic opinion, but would have to call for an ambulance to transfer them to PRU or QEH. How cost effective is that, let alone making the patient suffer and wait longer for the treatment they could have received in A & E at QMS. I think you and the rest of the public need to know exactly what the UCC are capable of treating - you must remember they are nurse practitioners and GP's, not specialist doctors.
JJ wrote:JJ - here's the answer. If you get a broken leg you will go to QMS, that's "Urgent Care" aka casualty WHICH IS STAYING AT QMS. If you are more seriously injured (eg, brain injury and in a coma) you will go in an ambulance to a specialist A&E.Cherith Porter wrote: It was the same when John Major and Virginia Bottomley along with the Tories were in power back in the 1990s. No better. Any government that comes in will just be as bad as each other.At least under JOhn Major and Virginia Bottomley we had a local hospital that wasn't under threat of being closed to pay of the debts created at other hospitals. The current Governement are using us, here in Bexley, to pay for and keep afloat Lewisham and Woolwich. We should not stand for this, our tax has paid for this hospital, if you break a leg you want a service close-by, not 10 miles away. Do Labour suggest you hope on the train to get to Woolwich, because I have tried parking there, and theres no chance! So, how do you hop on a train with a broken leg? Maybe this Dawber bloke can tell us as he has all the answers!
p, london says...
11:57am Fri 25 Jul 08
John Hemming-Clark, Indepndents to save Queen Mary's Hospital, Chislehurst says...
1:01am Sat 26 Jul 08
Helen, Barnehurst says...
3:46pm Mon 28 Jul 08
Your sayYourShopper
Add your comment
Register for a FREE News Shopper account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, could be the main loser of the healthcare changes
In this section
- Suspected homophobic murder: Appeal for information
- Addicks and Pardew part company
- Take it easy during bad weather
- Week in review
- Collapsed manhole causing problems in New Cross
- On This Day
- Violent jewellery robbery in Catford home
- POLITICSWATCH: Battle of the Blogs
- Bishop Justus School Spanish teacher missing
- DISCUSS: An amnesty for illegal immigrants?
Sponsored Links
Explore News Shopper
Claim your first Kindness Club rewards
Five per cent off package holidays with Tickets Travel in Bexley.
Twenty per cent discount at Bonmarché fashion store in Orpington.
An £8 reduction on the price of MOTs at Sidcup Test Centre.
Dan handed hot and spicy dare
DAREDEVIL Dan Keel successfully completed a half-marathon last month - but for his next challenge he will be going on a different kind of run.
Police Academy to panto star - Steve Guttenberg
Ahead of starring in panto, movie star Steve Guttenberg opens up to Kerry Ann Eustice about everything from John Travolta to philosophy
Panto prizes for mini Cinderella and Buttons
NEWS Shopper today launches a new competition to find the cutest little Cinderella and the cheekiest junior Buttons.
Swap Shopper: Open to offers again for £2,000 party voucher
THE deal has not been done - which means a £2,000 voucher to spend on the party of your dreams is once again up for grabs. What could you swap for it?
Little Britain's David Walliams talks The Boy in the Dress
Little Britain's David Walliams explains how his sister dressing him up as a child inspired his first children's book, The Boy in the Dress
Local Links
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
JJ, Welling says...
6:45pm Fri 18 Jul 08
They ARE going to shut Queen Mary's down, I wonder if Gordon Brown and Labour are proud of the NHS and its 60 years now!
I hope I don't get some fool from Labour come knocking on my door otherwise he/she can take a trip to the nearest A&E.