News Date: Thursday 5th April 2007
KEEP WORTHING AND SOUTHLANDS HOSPITALS
www.kwash.org.uk - kwashcampaign@googlemail.com
EASTER UPDATE 2007 - Calling all KWASH supporters
We hope you are having a Happy Easter and we thought we would provide you with a brief update on how the campaign is doing and where we need your help in the future.
Phoney war over hospital closures about to end?
Ever since August 2006 we have been waiting for the West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) to publish its detailed proposals for the options they are looking at to reconfigure the hospital services in West Sussex. It now looks as though that document could be available in mid-May soon after the local elections on May 3rd. It is likely that all the proposals will only allow for one major general hospital in the whole of the County and that will either be St Richard's in Chichester or Worthing. Southlands and the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath could lose all their acute work and cease to function as proper hospitals.
We will obviously strongly oppose any such proposals. We believe that West Sussex, with around 770,000 residents needs at least 2 major hospitals with fully functioning A&E, maternity etc. Recent studies have shown that the Sussex County in Brighton is struggling to cope with its workload now let alone the impact of transferring services from Worthing.
At a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Health Group at the House of Commons Tim Loughton MP and Peter Bottomley MP were joined by Worthing consultants Mark Signy and Mike Rymer. There, they challenged the Government's 'Tsar' for accident & emergency services Professor George Alberti about the proposals for Sussex. He agreed that a major general hospital could serve a population of around 300,000-350,000 and that leaving one major general hospital in west Sussex would not be enough. Similarly maternity departments in other parts of the hospital have been deemed sustainable for around 3000 births a year (Worthing had over 2800 last year) but in Sussex the figure is mysteriously put at nearer 4000.
Yet again we are not being dealt with on a level playing field and it was good to get the Government's expert on our side. Surprise surprise he was later 'nobbled' by the local PCT and tried to backtrack but his comments at the meeting were quite clear to all those present.
When these proposals are published it is therefore essential that the KWASH campaign moves up a gear and everyone pitches in. We need as many people as possible to respond to the consultation with their own real life experiences of how they would be affected by the downgrading or closure of Worthing and Southlands. Send the originals to the PCT with copies to KWASH or your MP. We will publish the full consultation document on the KWASH website and suggestions for the points you can make as soon as it is published. We would like to publish some of your responses too.
The PCT itself will be holding a series of public meetings and it is essential that they are well attended. The KWASH campaign will also be holding the following events and we desperately need more volunteers to help with the organisation.
Whit Saturday May 26th - picnic on the prom and party in the park
There will be a series of events on Worthing promenade from lunchtime and simultaneously in Shoreham close to Southlands. We are particularly keen to attract all those people who were born or who gave birth in Worthing or Southlands hospitals. You will be able to register and we will construct a chronological line of babies with a prize for the oldest. Also included will be:
- Nurse Sunshine look alike contest
- Novelty bed push race from Southlands to Worthing
- Sea based raft race from Splash Point to the pier
- Stalls and sideshows
- Presentations about the state of the campaign etc
Can you help with this event?
Please e-mail us at kwashcampaign@googlemail.com letting us know what help you can offer on the day or beforehand.
Bed push to London
The KWASH petition has now exceeded 100,000 signatures. Together with the Support St Richard's campaign and Support the PRH approaching 300,000 people across West Sussex have signed up. We are liaising with our sister campaigns across Sussex to coordinate a bed push to Westminster to deliver the petitions and this will be spread over several days. Businesses may like to help sponsor us and advertise on the side of the bed. We will be holding bed push races on the prom with finals on Whit Sunday and are asking local organisations and businesses to enter with their own novelty bed constructions. We will decide on a date soon but again can you help?
Posters
We have just taken delivery of a new print run of Nurse Sunshine campaign posters with a slightly altered design, having distributed 20,000 of the originals. They are available in A3 and A4 size. In addition Tim Loughton's Annual Report is currently being delivered to every house in East Worthing & Adur and includes a tear out Nurse Sunshine poster. But we need these to be displayed. Not enough of them are in prominent places. Please make sure they go on show in visible places and if you need more copies e-mail us.
We are also producing high quality correx boards for high visibility sites on major roads. If you have a suitable site in your garden or place of work then please let us know. Remember we also have a supply of car stickers and T shirts available at ?5 each. Contact the office if you would like some.
Raft Race
It has been suggested that KWASH runs a raft race between Splash Point and Worthing Pier on May 26th as part of our event after the news that the Adur Bath Tub race is to be discontinued by the organisers. This would be great publicity and great fun and we will ask for entries on a medical theme from local businesses and organisations who can raise sponsorship too. Again we can only run this if we get volunteers so who is up for it either as organisers or entrants?
Other help
We also need volunteers to help man our regular stalls in the town centres and with clerical work inputting supporter's details onto computers etc. It would also be good to have someone help with the KWASH website to keep it completely up to date as we approach a busy time for the campaign. There is a lot to do but we need lots of volunteers to make it happen so please offer your time however little you may have available. If you have any ideas for generating publicity or fundraising then please let us know.
The timetable from here
We have always said that the campaign is going to be a long haul. Even if the consultation proposals are published in May it could be well into 2008 before we will know the final fate of our hospitals. The latest likely timetable is as follows:
Mid-May to Mid-September
Consultation period of at least 15 weeks by the PCT
Mid-September to Mid-December
PCT to consider responses and publish its preferred option probably around Christmas
New Year 2008
West Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee can 'call in' the decision and have it referred to the Secretary of State for Health who can in turn refer it to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel for consideration before she gives a final ruling to uphold or reject the PCT recommendations. Subsequently West Sussex County Council with Adur and Worthing Councils and KWASH and other hospital campaigns could seek a judicial review to have the recommendations overturned in court.
This is going to be a long fight but the KWASH campaign has won excellent support and publicity so far and together we will win. So make sure you are doing your bit to help.
,
