HEALTH chiefs on the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy Board, yesterday denied that the decision has already been taken to shut the A&E unit at Chase Farm hospital in north London.
The board, which is due to come forward with two options for ‘public consultation’ on the future of the hospital, claims that no decision has yet been made.
However it is well known in the area and amongst health service workers locally that the board has already decided on two options and they don’t include retention of the A&E.
The two selected options are: ‘downgrading Chase Farm to a community hospital’ or ‘cutting A&E services and moving women’s and children’s services to Barnet or North Middlesex University hospitals’.
Either of these options will mean the end of ‘blue light’ services, a huge slashing of the hospital’s budget, and the end of the hospital as a viable unit.
On Saturday 3rd March there is to be a march to the hospital, meeting at 2pm at Enfield War Memorial at the bottom of Windmill Hill.
Bill Rogers, Secretary of the North East London Council of Action to stop NHS cuts and closures, told News Line yesterday: ‘I urge all trade unionists and the whole of the local community to turn out for this march.
‘There is only one way to deal with this threat and that is to occupy the hospital to keep it open and keep it treating members of the local community.
‘All trade unions should affiliate to our Council of Action to prepare an occupation of the hospital.
‘As well, we must organise national strike action to defend the NHS by bringing down the Blair government and bringing in a workers government that will return the NHS to being the best in the world.’
Next Saturday, 3 February, there is to be a march to save Whipps Cross hospital, assembling at 12 noon outside Whipps Cross hospital, Forest View Avenue, for a march to Walthamstow Town Square and a rally at 1.30pm.
Rogers told News Line that the Council of Action will play a full part in this march.
‘We will be telling people that all of the hospitals in this area must be kept open and fully working.
‘We will not tolerate hospitals being played off against each other and competing with each other.
‘The whole NHS must be kept open and functioning.’
l The Amicus union warned yesterday that the school nurse crisis in Cornwall is getting worse – despite Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt branding the workload of one school nurse in the county as ‘horrific.’
Amicus said that since the minister’s comment in October, one health visitor who has been covering school nursing is going on leave for six months and will not be replaced and another qualified school nurse has handed in her notice because she is relocating, and her job has not yet been advertised.
Amicus Head of Health, Kevin Coyne said: ‘The loss of another school nurse in the trust will be yet another blow to the health of Cornish school children, if that post is not replaced.
‘The diminishing number of school nurses will affect counselling for such problems as teenage sexual health, the obesity time bomb, mental health and drink and drug problems.
‘The stress on overworked school nurses will affect their own health for the worse. This situation can’t continue.’
When a Cornish school nurse told Health Secretary Hewitt last October that she had a 9,000 caseload, the minister described the situation as ‘horrific’.
