THE NORTH EAST London Council of Action won big support yesterday at the picket of Chase Farm Hospital with its demand that the hospital is occupied to stop it’s closure.
Cheers went up from the picket as car after car honked their horns in support, while patients, doctors, nurses and hospital staff joined in the picket and made it clear that they supported the call to occupy.
Barry Greenford, a local resident, said: ‘We must not be robbed of our hospital, bearing in mind it is a very local hospital that serves the wider community.
‘Assurances were given but where have they gone now?
‘It’s in close proximity to the motorway, in the event of a major accident this is the nearest hospital in this part of the world.
‘North Middlesex is a long way away and Barnet General is also a long way from here, particularly for those who rely on public transport.
‘Once you have older people who aren’t so fit, it becomes more and more difficult for them to travel.’
Ambulance worker Eva Demus said: ‘We must keep this hospital open because I work here and we need it.
‘If they close it, it will be extremely dangerous, especially for the elderly.
‘This is ridiculous! As an ambulance driver, I can tell you that the nearest hospital, which is Barnet, is too far.
‘In case of an emergency, they just won’t be able to make it alive.
‘If you have a heart condition then you have a critical window period of 10 to 15 minutes. You will not make it to Barnet in that time.’
Stephanie Reynolds, who works at Chase Farm, said: ‘I am an auxiliary nurse, I assist the nurses.
‘If they get away with this here, then we will be stuffed, the staff and the patients.’
Mrs Shah said: ‘It’s really important to have a local service that you can get to on time.
‘We get to see a specialist and a consultant, which is very important for my daughter’s condition.
‘This is why I’m coming to the conference.’
Her daughter Khia Shah added: ‘I was born at the QEII in Welwyn Garden City and they are trying to close that down as well.
‘Hospitals are to help people get better, at my allergy clinic in Chase Farm the nurses are really kind and I got to see a special doctor.’
Simeon said: ‘I have come all the way down from Welwyn Garden City to join the picket and to save the Accident and Emergency at Chase Farm Hospital.’
Khush Shah said: ‘I am hoping to become a medical student, at the moment I am doing voluntary work at Chase Farm Hospital.
‘It has always been what I wanted to do, I want to care for people.
‘I saw my uncle die of cancer and it has changed my life.
‘Hospitals are so important as places where people can receive quality care and Chase Farm is the biggest in the area.
‘That’s why I’m going to bring my friends to the conference to discuss plans to keep the hospital open.’
A qualified staff nurse Adeyemi Mosun told News Line: ‘We must keep this service open so that the people of this community will not suffer.
‘The RCN and Unison must take action to defend the NHS and to save Chase Farm.
‘If there is an occupation of this hospital, then we will definitely come and join in and support the occupation in every way that we possibly can.’
A school student at Chase Community School, Georgia, said: ‘I was born at Chase Farm Hospital.
‘When the sit-in at this hospital begins, I am going to bring all my school friends to come and help out.’
A senior nurse at Chase Farm, Kumaree Dhoubun, said: ‘I think action has to be taken to preserve the very strained service that we provide.
‘We need to retain what meagre service that we have got.
‘People’s lives will be put at risk, especially children.
‘This is discouraging people to use local services.
‘It is a deliberate plan. At a time when they are feeling vulnerable, they are being discouraged.
‘Private treatment centres are a ploy.
‘They are only initially funded by the NHS, but when the funds run dry how are they going to be funded?
‘Who is going to pay for it?
‘It will be the general public, they will have to pay for it out of their own pockets.
‘There are people in this hospital who are members of the RCN and Unite unions.
‘We have made the call to action and now we have to respond.’
A nursery nurse at Chase Farm Hospital, Holly, said: ‘I work here and also my child is a patient here.
‘The services are absolutely vital and must stay open.’ Bill Rogers, secretary of the North East London Council of Action, said: ‘We are having a lively picket today.
‘Everyone we are speaking to opposes the closures at Chase Farm.
‘Lots of people are signing up and buying tickets for our conference to organise the occupation of Chase Farm Hospital.
‘I learnt from the ambulance staff that yesterday the A&E at North Middlesex Hospital was closed, and all blue light ambulances were diverted to Chase.
‘Right outside the hospital today you have got a continuous traffic jam that is at least a mile long and this is what patients at Chase Farm would be stuck in, in order to get to Barnet Hospital.
‘We want local trade unions, firefighters, ambulance staff, local unions like the BMA and RCN and Unite to support the occupation and to bring big delegations to our conference on October 1st.’
A member of the maternity staff, one of the departments threatened with closure, said: ‘The labour ward in Barnet Hospital is always closing and pregnant ladies in labour are referred to Chase to give birth.
‘If we were closed I don’t know where they would go.
‘Barnet is very overstretched, it’s manic, and Chase Farm is like an overflow.
‘In the news they announced last week about the closure of Chase Farm Hospital, but none of the staff have been informed about what is going to happen.
‘We will support the occupation of Chase Farm Hospital.’
Paul Childs came down from the Tulse Hill Young Socialists to join the picket.
He said: ‘The Young Socialists is for defending the NHS and we will be bringing all our members to the conference.
‘We need loads of young people when we occupy the hospital and the YS members are keen to get involved.
‘We just need to keep this hospital open and make sure it does not close.’
