Browse Sections
Interactive
Popular Sections
Partly cloudyNews
| 
Submit Comments
NOT deterred... the Healthy Futures Joint Primary Care Trust committee sitting at the Town Hall to ratify the decision to axe the Infirmary’s accident and emergency, maternity, neo-natal and children’s wards.
Hand on heart, can you say lives won’t be lost?
Beatriz Ayala9/ 1/2007
IT WAS the decision everyone feared, but expected.
Despite mounting anger and huge public protest, regional health bosses on Friday continued to back government policy and ratify the decision, taken in September, to axe urgent accident and emergency care at the Infirmary.
They also agreed that the decision should have no bearing on the earlier ruling that the maternity, neo-natal and children's wards at the Infirmary should also close.
About 70 people packed into the Town Hall committee rooms and made impassioned pleas to members of the Healthy Futures Joint Primary Care Trust committee to delay their final decision.
David Hennigan, agent for Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, who was unable to attend, said the decision should be suspended until questions surrounding the changes and the claim it would cost an estimated £40M to develop maternity and children's services at the Infirmary were answered.
Councillor David Clayton told the committee: "You are not accountable to anyone and you are only an unelected quango making decisions people are going to have to live by. It's a crying shame."
Councillor Jean Ashworth, who works on the children's unit, said cutting services was 'absolutely appalling.' She said: "Can you honestly, hand on heart, tell people that lives will not be lost?
"I beg you, on behalf of the people of Rochdale, to postpone the decision and have a rethink. By taking this decision, you have made a huge, huge mistake."
Angry outbursts continued throughout the meeting, but committee chairman Tim Presswood made it clear the meeting was not to reopen the debate over the future of Infirmary services. He said: "We have heard what has been said. The purpose of this evening was not to open discussion, but to discuss the compatibility of the two reviews."
Tom Wilders, director of strategic planning at the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs hospitals in Rochdale, Bury, North Manchester and Oldham, said the main problem facing the Trust while changes took place would be holding on to professional teams. But he said delaying the decision would create concern and unrest for staff and services would be difficult to sustain.
Dr Nick Dawes, GP and committee representative for Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton PCT, said: "I've got great reservations in delaying the decision. A lot of our services are very fragile and we have difficulty recruiting and retaining professionals in the health service. Patients' lives are currently being put at risk because of that fragility and it would be very detrimental to delay the decision being made tonight."
Most recent 2 of 2 user comments
10/01/2007 at 16:52
Got an opinion you want to share?| Card | BT Fee |
| Virgin Credit Card | 2.98% |
| Capital One Low Rate Balance Transfer | 1.7% |
| Capital One Low Rate Platinum | HASH(0x2b6023328f30) |
| Capital One Fixed Rate Card | 0.0% |
| Company | Typical APR |
| Platinum Exclusive Loan | 7.8% |
| Halifax (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 8.7% |
| Lloyds TSB | 8.9% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Savings Account |
5.50% |
|
PRINCIPALITY BS e-SAVER |
5.35% |
|
ANGLO IRISH BANK Easy Access Account Issue 2 |
5.25% |
|
FIRST DIRECT Everyday e-Saver |
2.75% |
|
ALLIANCE & LEICESTER Online Tracker |
4.75% |
|
BRADFORD & BINGLEY eSavings 6 |
4.60% |
|
SAINSBURYS FINANCE Internet Saver |
4.00% |
|
ALLIANCE & LEICESTER eSaver - Issue 2 |
5.00% |
|
POST OFFICE Instant Saver |
3.75% |
What is the point in these exercises of public consultations regarding the hospitals? At the end of the day the top brass at the NHS has very careful through this plan through and knew there would be massive resistance, but I bet the powers that be also planned for this and how to get round the problem. With the population of this land being apathetic I also the NHS also know that this will, as has always been, blow over and the population will; "accept the change."
I'm also making an educated guess that IF there will be a slight raise in deaths because Accident and Emergency is too far away that the slight percentage in increases of deaths will be acceptable. Besides... There are plane crashes, road accident fatalities and the few train accidents, but the percentage of deaths is small so it's "acceptable". Sorry, it's not acceptable to me.
So this policy has been pushed through. At least it proves that the elected council does not have the clout that we all think they have. If the council has the guts then the Rochdale Infirmary would still have its full accident and emergency facilities, and keep them. I'm really losing my faith in the council.
I think it would not be very far off the truth that whatever the NHS or big businesses want to do then the council will put on a nice show for the people residing in Rochdale, make the residents pay for the show and then simply just bark a bit and just watch things happen. All bark, no bite.
How bad will this get? Recently someone close to me needed to have treatment to stop Macula Degeneration. She's lucky she's managed to be a patient at the Manchester Royal Eye hospital because our wonderful NHS wanted to make an pensioner travel to Liverpool!
So remember folks… It's quite possible that the slight rise in the mortality rates from scene of the incident to accident and emergency may rise slightly, but the slight rise will be statistically and economically acceptable.
You need to ask yourself a question. When it boils down to it, nowadays which is more important? Money or Life? Make your own mind up on that one.
12/01/2007 at 14:18