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Campaign Update 21 October 2007
"Listen to the People"
Nick de Bois on his way to deliver your signatures demanding an end to the program of cuts and closures the government are seeking for Chase Farm Hospital
Thousands of signature's have been delivered to local health chiefs, demanding an end to plans to close Chase Farm's A&E Unit. Delivering the petition to the NHS Project Board based at Imperial College Hospital last Thursday, local campaigner Nick de Bois hailed it as a major boost for the campaign to defend Chase Farm. Mr de Bois said "It's time NHS beaurocrats listened to local people and took their hands off our hospital. Thousands of people are united in demanding that 24 hour A&E stays open, and that vital services, such as the Children's, Women's and Maternity units should not close or be downgraded ."
The petition has been put together by Mr de Bois over recent months, in response to Enfield primary Care Trust's consultation on the future of local hospitals. The petition argues that the two options now under consultation are inadequate as they each involve major cuts to Chase Farm. It demands that a previous option preserving and investing in current Chase Farm services -'Option E'- should be implemented instead.
The pledges have been delivered, along with many other campaigners pledges hot on the heels of David Cameron's recent visit to Chase farm, where he pledged that he would stop the closure plans on day one of a Conservative Government.
The Project Board is due to make its final decision public within the next month.
Notes:
The signatures were raised by the following means
Street campaigning for petitions
Postcards distributed to households requiring signature and address to support 'OPTION E'
Campaign Update 8 October 2007
David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party, visited Chase Farm Hospital to see for himself the level of public opposition to the Labour governments plans to close our 24 Hour A&E, and other clinical services at the hospital. In front of the national and local media yesterday ( Thursday 4th October) he made a very clear pledge,
"On the first day of a Conservative government we would halt the closure program of 24 hour A&E and other clinical services underway at Chase Farm"
David Cameron, Thursday 4th October 2007
He is accompanied by Hands Off Our Hospital campaigner and Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Enfield North, Nick de Bois (left)
Campaign Update 16 September 2007
The official consultation is due to END on October 19th 2007.
The consultation document will only contain TWO options- both represent a massive downgrading of Chase Farm hospital. Once again we have been betrayed with empty promises.
The Project Board and the Primary Care Trust promised they would retain the option of "retention of current services at Chase Farm". This option (Option E) is mentioned in the consultation document. We urge all campaigners to respond to the consultation insisting that Option E is the only acceptable option.
For more information email nickdebois@enfieldnorth.org
Diary update 15 May2007
Nick de Bois sent this letter to the next leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister
14 May 2007
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown
Chancellor of the Exchequer
House of Commons
London
SW1A 4WW
Dear Mr Brown,
At your campaign launch, you made it clear that many of Mr Blair's policies are up for review, most notably his policy on Iraq. Following the launch, you and your campaign team have suggested that the current programme of NHS cuts is also to be reviewed -and in particular, that the threat to close a swathe of London Accident and Emergency Departments may be lifted.
Our local newspaper last year carried a report using FOI responses to reveal that Enfield North's MP had neither written to you, nor met with you, about the cuts planned for Chase Farm Hospital. It is therefore possible that you do not have detailed knowledge either of the savage cuts about to be implemented by the local Hospital Trust, or about the massive public opposition to those cuts. Less than 8 weeks ago over 10,000 people took to the streets in Enfield to protest and over 12,000 people have signed our 'Hands off our hospital' campaign.
Were these cuts to go ahead, people in Enfield would be left without a Maternity Unity; Children's Services or A & E. The Trust is callously wrong when it argues that this does not matter -because of the poor East to West transport routes, use of Barnet Hospital is simply not feasible; while North Mid's crumbling Victorian buildings are already at full stretch. The London Ambulance Service has already stated that the extra time taken to access these hospitals means that people will die if the cuts are implemented.
Might I therefore ask you to draw a line under the past ten years of broken promises about Chase Farm, and to make clear that a Government led by you will not support the closure of chase Farm's A&E, or any other of its Departments. You said in your campaign launch speech that you wanted to lead a Government that was 'humble' enough to represent the people -surely acknowledging that people in Enfield want to keep Chase Farm as a proper hospital would be fine example of converting words into action?
Yours sincerely
Nick de Bois
Hands off our Hospital Campaign
276 Baker Street
Enfield
EN1 3LD
Diary update 22 April
Hands off our Hospital is able to report that the truth is finally coming out.
PCT Chairman Sally Johnson let slip at the Enfield Council Health Scrutiny meeting this month that option 'E' is not viable – in effect, this means they are not seriously looking at keeping A+E, maternity and children's services at Chase Farm Hospital. This is despite the fact that it remains as one of the consultation options, and exposes yet again what a sham this process really is.
We wonder how many of the other options being considered are only there ‘as a benchmark' which is the explanation given for leaving this option on the list!
Sally Johnson's comments tell us all we need to know about this sham consultation.
So we have a situation where public opinion is clearly against these plans to decimate the hospital. We also have The Kings Fund independent report highlighting massive flaws in their plans and yet It seems that NHS bureaucrats are blindly following government policy and determined to destroy Chase Farm, and don't care less about local opinion.
It is down to us all not to let this be the case. We fight on.
THE 'HANDS OFF' CAMPAIGN DIARY 4 MARCH 2007
The police estimated about 10,000 took to the streets to support the march through Enfield Town demonstrating against the governments plans to cut services at Chase Farm Hospital. A big thank you to all those who turned up.
A critical part of our fight to keep A&E, children and women's services at Chase Farm depend on the massive public opposition to the governments plans. This march went along way to proving that support.
Some pictures follow......
THE 'HANDS OFF' CAMPAIGN DIARY 12 February 2007
Rumours have emerged over the past few weeks
that just two options are now being considered for the future of Chase Farm.
· Option 1 - Chase Farm A&E closes; maternity
and children’s services move to Barnet
and North Mid.
· Option 2 – Chase Farm becomes a
‘community hospital: it loses all inpatient
services; A&E closes; maternity and children’s
services move to Barnet and North
Mid.
Either of these options is a death sentence for Chase Farm. Highlands was a
‘community hospital’ once –now it’s housing.
Health chiefs have said that they will consult on a plan to invest in Chase Farm rather than decimate it. But privately, they have let it be known that if people vote for this option, they will ignore them.
So this is still a sham consultation. The one option that local people want is being vetoed by bureaucrats.
If the Government insists on pushing these cuts through we must do all we can to stop them.
You can help by joining the public protest march planned for March 3rd - meet at the Enfield Town War Memorial , Windmill Hill, Enfield Town at 2pm. This march takes place just two days before the formal process of consultation begins and this therefore is the time to make them understand that we do want the government to INVEST in Chase Farm, and not decimate it. Please do join us!
17 January 2007
It was good to see over 250 people at the public meeting on Saturday 13 January held in Enfield Town. There was overwhelming opposition to the plans and immediate calls for action. Amongst the ideas we raised was the need to keep up the public campaign and pressure; challenge the process with whatever legal and procedural means at our disposal and of course press the government to reverse their plans.
Nick de Bois addresing the packed public meeting on Saturday 13 January
11 January 2007
Sally Johnson, Chief Executive of Enfield,Barnet and Haringey Clinical Strategy Project Board has made it clear that they will NOT consider maintaining full hospital services at Chase Farm, or indeed re-invest in the hospital. In short, in her opinion, the hospital has no chance of avoiding cuts, including the closure or 'downgrading' of A&E, moving maternity and paediatric services elsewhere, probably to Barnet.
There has never been a more important time than now to continue the pressure by demonstrating public support against these plans. We will continue to lobby for that support. Please do sign our pledge and encourage those who have not done so to do so now.
2nd DECEMBER 'PETITION DAY'
Having gained some extra time in November we were determined to use every day of it, so we took to the streets of Enfield on the 2nd December to collect even more signatures for our growing petition.
We now have over 6000 signatures opposing the massive cuts to services that are currently being proposed and demanding that we retain Chase Farm Hospital.
Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to talk to our campaign teams and sign the petition.
We had stalls in Enfield Town, Ordnance Road and Hertford Road, and we met and spoke with residents from across the Borough, and they all said the same thing:
That they oppose any loss of services at Chase Farm.
Nick & some of the campaign team out & about in Enfield
27 NOVEMBER 'CONSULTATION EXTENDED'
After tremendous opposition and pressure from Enfield residents the NHS agreed a 6 week extension to the engagement process, which meant that the formal consultation process now starts in mid-February 2007 rather than in January 2007.
The combined activity from across the Borough including this campaign, pressure from local residents and politicians, and in particular the work of the Enfield Health Scrutiny team forced this change. We had all made it clear that we are deeply unhappy with how this process has been handled so far and that we expect and demand much better.
Dr. Peter Barrett the Chairman of the Independent Review Panel suggested that the engagement process should be extended for another 6-8 weeks. This is hopefully in order to introduce some openness and transparency into the process.
Dr. Barrett also stated that the NHS must ensure that any scenarios demonstrate benefits for patients. Crucially, he accepted that while finance is important the needs of patients, quality of patient care, safety, accessibility and sustainability are paramount to any proposal.
It was agreed that the process would be improved by allowing time for:
-
Further scenarios from whatever source to be considered
-
The NHS to answer further questions
-
The NHS to set out what it would take for current services at Chase Farm
-
Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals to be clinically safe and sustainable in the future
-
And for this information to be published as part of the consultation
We welcomed the sentiments expressed by Dr. Barrett and welcomed the extension of the formal consultation period. We are encouraged that he agrees with us, that clinical matters must take priority over purely financial ones. A person's life is worth more than financial targets.
However, experience tells us that we should wait and see if it happens.
After all, thousands of us have already made clear our opposition to the current plans, and yet the Government continues to push their plans forward. We therefore hope that this U-Turn is sincere, and not just another attempt to paper over the cracks in this flawed consultation process.
If the consultation is genuine then health managers will reinstate the one option we all want to see:
The option to keep a local hospital which will offer a full range of services including vitally, Accident & Emergency.
6th NOVEMBER 'CITIZENS JURY MEETING BRANDED A FARCE' BY ENFIELD RESIDENTS & POLITICIANS
PROTEST ABOUT THE SHAM CONSULTATION TAKES PLACE!
We asked you lend us a few minutes of your time and join us and others on the 10th November to picket the Novotel Hotel in Euston where the 'Citizen's Jury' was to meet, and you did!
Despite clear and massive public opposition to the closure of A & E, Maternity and Children's services at Chase Farm the reconfiguration panel continued with the so called "Citizens Jury" of 100 people who were to be asked to vote on four options, none of which involved retaining all of these services and providing a fully functioning hospital locally.
Indeed, they may have voted to close the hospital.
The case was to be presented to the jury members by the PCTs at a smart London hotel (The Novotel). The SHA (Strategic Health Authority) that takes its directions from the government was to be there to oversee the whole farcical episode.
The local Conservative MP, local politicians and even the impartial Enfield Health Scrutiny Panel were to be denied a voice at this event. In effect, the jury would hear the case from one side only without any option for keeping the hospital as residents of Enfield want, being presented at all.
We asked: Is this any way to decide the future of your hospitals?
You agreed with us that this consultation was a sham and you joined with us to form a cross-party group who protested outside the Novotel Hotel in Euston on Friday 10th November. We distributed information to members of the panel as they entered the meeting and we tried to give Chase Farm a chance of survival
A lot of you came from Enfield to be there for the 9am start and many of you who work in London joined us to show your support for our local hospital and your opposition to the underhand and dishonest way that important decisions are being undertaken!
If you were there - THANK YOU.
Nick joins with other campaigners in Euston to lobby the 'Citizens Jury'
1st NOVEMBER 'THE CITIZEN'S JURY EXPOSED'
On Friday 10th November the new reconfiguration board had organised the so called 'Citizen's Jury' which they had established to get the views of Enfield residents about the remaining 4 options for Chase Farm Hospital; all of which condemned the hospital to a bleak future, or no future at all.
They told us that they were inviting 100 residents 'randomly selected' from the electoral register to a large venue (which they were unwilling to disclose) where they would be grilled in front of key witnesses and asked for their opinions.
What they did not tell us was that these 'residents' in fact came from other parts of North London including Barnet, Hampsted and Tottenham, and only a small proportion of those invited came from Enfield at all.
In other words possibly less that one third of the so called Citizens Jury came from Enfield and our hospital's fate may be decided by people who do not live here and do not use Chase Farm. This is a scandal! It shows what a farce this whole 'consultation' is.
All this was revealed at the Health Scrutiny Panel held by Enfield Council, and the hospital chiefs were finally forced to answer detailed questions from members of the public.
In addition when asked, they refused to put back for discussion any option that would provide for investment in, or the preservation of the hospital. They insist that consultation must continue to determine not if, but how our local hospital should be downgraded or even closed.
We asked:
Why are they were wasting yet more money doing this when a petition of nearly 30,000 signatures has already been sent to 10 Downing Street opposing any reduction in services at our local hospital?
Why when more than 5,000 people had marched in protest did they not accept that the public have already rejected these proposals?
Why when Enfield Council have come out and unanimously rejected the four remaining options on the table do they persist with this sham of a consultation and at vast public expense?
Why? - Because this is all very carefully staged so that they can argue that they have fully 'consulted'.
Why? Because they don't want members of the public to show up and demonstrate their true feelings about this sham of a consultation.
Why? Because they do not want to listen and never did!
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