‘I HAD both my babies here and I had the best possible care. I live in Southall, I know how important Ealing Maternity Unit is to the women of the area and I support occupying to stop the closure.’
Local school dinner lady and GMB union member Parmjit Toor was talking to News Line on the West London Council of Action’s daily picket of Ealing Hospital yesterday morning. On Tuesday night the council of action held a public meeting of over 100 local residents which voted unanimously to march into the hospital and occupy on Wednesday 24th June, which is when the management intends to close the maternity department.
Ealing maternity delivers over 3,000 babies each year. Shani Bucchus, a medical secretary at Ealing Hospital, had attended Tuesday’s meeting. She said: ‘It was a good meeting and it made an important decision. Ealing maternity must be saved. When they start dispersing services it results in a lack of coordination which compromises safety and patient care. These closures make things more difficult. Patient care needs to be coordinated within the existing hospital. We must save our maternity.’
Christen Kojo, a local mum, said: ‘We have to fight to defend our NHS. We need to change our leaders and make our unions fight. I’m going on the march next Wednesday. I believe in fighting.’ Maira Ahmed said: ‘My two children were born here and four of my sister’s were too. We’re coming on the march.’
Local mum Fowsia Siad said: ‘I went to the meeting and voted to occupy. It’s our hospital, it doesn’t belong to Cameron and the Tories, it belongs to the people of Ealing and Southall. We can’t imagine life without it. After they’ve closed the maternity they intend to close paediatrics and then the A&E. I’m telling everyone to come on the march. We must save the maternity unit so local mothers can still have their babies at Ealing Hospital.’
