AROUND 150 people marched from Blackheath past Lewisham Hospital to a rally in Ladywell Park on Saturday, against plans to shut the south London hospital’s Accident and Emergency department, maternity and paediatrics units.
A leaflet calling the march said: ‘NHS London commissioned Professor Sir George Alberti to review proposals for reorganisation of health services in Outer South East London (Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham).
‘The proposals, named “A Picture of Health’’ (APOH), contain three options for public consultation.
‘We understand that Alberti prefers the third option.
‘Queen Mary’s Sidcup (QMS) will lose services under all three options, and Lewisham (UHL) will lose services under two of the three options. The third option will mean
• ‘Loss of Lewisham and Queen Mary’s Hospitals’ A&E Departments. No admissions for medical, surgical and paediatric emergencies.
• ‘Loss of their acute medical admissions beds, with inevitable impact on older people.
• ‘Loss of their intensive care units.
• ‘Loss of their midwifery delivery and inpatient beds and baby intensive care unit.
• ‘Loss of their inpatient children’s services.
‘Providing these services only at Woolwich (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) and Orpington (Princess Royal University Hospital) will affect the most vulnerable people in our community.
‘It will take away choice and increase travelling time.
‘After five years there will only be three hospitals.
‘Demonstrate your opposition to these proposed changes.’
The first speaker in Ladywell Park was the Mayor of Lewisham, who said: ‘These changes are concerning everyone in the borough.’
A GP from North Lewisham said the changes that are proposed in the Picture of Health document ‘will be devastating and are misleading’.
She added: ‘By separating surgical and clinical care, patients could be transported to the wrong hospital.
‘It proposes “mini A&Es’’, in other words people being treated in ambulances.
‘These cuts are being made to pay for the PFI sites at Princess Royal in Bromley and Queen Elizabeth in Greenwich.’
Another speaker said: ‘We already have a polyclinic in Beckenham. It’s so expensive, even GPs won’t use it.’
One local resident said that, if necessary ‘we’ll all have to lie down’ in front of the Accident and Emergency department, to prevent it being shut.’
