EX-VISTEON workers who successfully occupied their factory after being sacked, joined the picket of Chase Farm hospital on Tuesday reinforcing the call for occupation to stop the closure.
Doctors, nurses, local residents, patients and workers organised in their trade unions also joined the North East London Council of Action’s call to occupy the hospital, stopping to participate in the lively hospital picket.
Passing motorists blasted their horns in support as pickets mass leafleted everyone going in and out of the hospital.
Ex-Visteon/Ford worker Dom Barone who joined in the picket said: ‘This is an important struggle because we do not want the hospital to close.
‘We need the locals to support this struggle and we need the hospital workers themselves, we need everyone.
‘The hospital workers will be fighting for their jobs.
‘I am an ex-Visteon/Ford worker. We were Ford and then they created Visteon.
‘The liquidators came in and told us that we had six minutes to get our belongings and go.
‘It was like a shock, like a nightmare! I had been working there nineteen and a half years.
‘Instead of accepting the mass sacking we occupied our factory for eight weeks and we stopped them getting their machinery out.
‘We blocked off the gates and eventually after eight weeks Visteon gave in and offered us a substantial redundancy package.
‘So people have to fight and never give in until you get what you want.
‘Occupying is the only way to go. If nothing else works then we have to take drastic action.
‘I support the occupations going on outside St Peter’s in Rome, Italy, outside St Paul’s in London, in Spain and in New York.
‘It is the banks that got us into this mess.
‘We should definitely occupy Chase Farm, we have no choice because we cannot afford to lose the hospital – especially for the old people.
‘We cannot do without this hospital.’
Local resident Penny Jacobs said: ‘ I have had four children at Chase Farm. I have five children, one was born in East London at Bancroft Road hospital.
‘It would be a big shame to lose these services at Chase because we have always been well cared for here.
‘I cannot see a pregnant woman, especially if she is heavily pregnant, going all the way to Barnet.
‘I have been reading a book about when the welfare state was created.
‘I remember when I was young if you wanted to see a doctor you had to pay two and sixpence.
‘This generation have grown up under a welfare state and there would be a lot of people who would not be able to afford treatment.
‘I plan to join the march and bring as many people as I can and I will try and bring all five of my children on the march.
‘I was born the same year the NHS was created!’
Stella Singh who works as an administrator at Chase Farm said: ‘A family member of mine was treated here for twenty five years for a long term illness.
‘He got specialist treatment and they were so kind to us.
‘I do not know what I would have done without them.
‘I am now working at Chase Farm.
‘I had the opportunity and I took it because I was inspired by the service that they provided and in a type of pay-back to the community I decided to work for the hospital.’
James Allwright a local resident said: ‘It is disgusting!
‘They should stop bombing the world and concentrate on funding our hospitals.’
Council worker, Stephen Cranfield said: ‘I work for Barnet council and I am in the Unison union.
‘We are currently balloting for strike action over pensions on the 30th November.
‘I would hope the health unions join us in our nation-wide strike.
‘This is a good local service and the A&E is absolutely essential as there is nowhere else nearby. Distances travelled in an ambulance is of immense concern.’
Expectant mother-to-be Lucy Austin said: ‘I use the threatened maternity services at Chase Farm hospital and it is excellent, friendly, well run.
‘But the main point is that it is local so I can walk here.
‘I have had a few complications so I have to be here practically everyday so you can imagine if I had to go to Barnet every day it would make a huge difference.
‘Barnet is already at capacity and they are referring women to Chase.
‘If I am able to, obviously depending on my pregnancy, I will go on the march.’
Bill Rogers, secretary of the North East London Council of Action, said: ‘We’re having a good start to the picket today.
‘We had a successful conference on October 1, where we had a unanimous vote to occupy Chase Farm to stop the closure.
‘We have received a lot of support locally for our plans to march and occupy Chase Farm Hospital.
‘When we speak to people about occupation in Rome, or in New York, in all the city centres, occupation is on everybody’s lips.
‘The plans of the North East London Council of Action have become very popular.
‘For four years we have insisted on the strategy of occupying and more and more people are coming round to our way of thinking.
‘We are having a meeting next Tuesday at St Michael’s church hall at 7.30pm and we want trade unionists, local workers and youth to attend.
‘Also, put December 10th into your diaries and join our mass march and demonstration through Enfield town.’
Mrs Roskilly, a civil servant, said: ‘This is a great community facility and it is important to keep it open.’
Adeola Adeosun, an accountant at Chase Farm, said: ‘As far as I’m concerned, Chase Farm must be kept open for the local community as otherwise the patients would have to move elsewhere to receive the necessary treatment.’
Alison said: ‘They have more patients than ever.
‘They have had record amounts of patients in one day in Chase Farm last week.
‘Usually on average they have 250 patients a day.
‘Last week they had over 300 patients a day.
‘Where are all these patients going to go?
‘Chase Farm has a successful A&E. It is one of the most successful A&Es in the country, it’s up there with the best.
‘And yet they are closing it.
‘We need to get all the unions out on strike together, not just in this country but all over the world.’
Preeti said: ‘I was born at Chase Farm hospital.
‘We should keep Chase Farm open, it has been here for a long time and everybody likes it and they do a lot of good work.’
Danielle McTaggart said: ‘I’ve started working here at Chase Farm and I’m working in the threatened Paediatrics Department.
‘It is absolutely essential to keep both the Paediatrics and the Maternity departments open.
‘I was born here at Chase Farm and now I work here at Chase Farm, so it’s part of my personal history and the history of the area.’
Mr Latis, a local resident, said: ‘There is an over-population in Enfield, with so many new houses being built and not enough services.
‘Chase Farm is a very convenient hospital.’
Sue Pieri, a patient at Chase Farm, said: ‘We need this hospital, at the end of the day where are we all going to go?
‘Barnet is too far, North Mid is too far, and we don’t want more people unemployed in the borough, we need our nurses.
‘I would support an occupation of Chase Farm Hospital because I do not believe they should close it down.
‘We are going to keep this hospital open by any means.
‘The local people of Enfield will not let it close.’
Yvonne, who works at the hospital, said: ‘I am behind the struggle at Chase Farm and I support you all the way.
‘I will support the occupation like I support what they’re doing in the centre of London and all over the world.
‘It’s time we took some sort of action.
‘It will be fantastic when everybody fights together.’
Anish Abraham, a local resident, said: ‘What the government is doing is wrong.
‘There is no space at Middlesex hospital, there are not enough facilities, Barnet is too small.
‘Chase Farm has a good atmosphere, it’s a nice place to recover and that is why I am definitely coming on the march on December 10th and I’m bringing my family.’
Hospital worker Brian said: ‘I work in Barnet doing anaesthetics. But really I work in both Barnet and Chase Farm.
‘I worked in Edgware when they shut Edgware Hospital down.
‘This is being really badly handled.
‘They won’t tell us anything.
‘We don’t know what we are doing from one day to the next.
‘The unions must take action and jobs must be protected.
‘I am in the RCN.’
Local resident Brian Hall said: ‘This is a hospital we have always come to.
‘I have lived in the borough for 40 years and my wife has lived here even longer.
‘We regard this as our hospital and we will not let anything happen to it.
‘My wife is under examination and I have to say that the service is very good.
‘And we would rather come here than North Middlesex and the same goes for my mother-in-law and she’s lived in the borough for a good 60 years. She’s 101 years old now.’
A patient, Darryl Johnson, said: ‘It’s not right that we would have to travel so far to the next hospital.
‘That’s all the way to Edmonton, it costs enough money just to get here.
‘It’s sad that doctors and nurses are losing their jobs.
‘These are highly-qualified, highly-trained people.
‘They are trying to cut back and save money to pay for the government’s debts. Why should we pay for their debts?’
