You may have heard that the Epsom & St Helier Trust have announced their plans for the future of hospital services in our area, and the news is not good.
The plans offer three possible outcomes, all of which involve the loss of Acute services, from one or both of Epsom Hospital And St Helier Hospital.
The services threatened include Accident & Emergency, Maternity, Children's, High Dependency Care, Emergency Surgery, and Coronary Care, and the proposal is to build ONE, smaller facility to house these services at one of three possible sites.
The sites offered for this new proposed single "facility" to replace the two which we currently enjoy, are the Epsom Hospital site, the St Helier Hospital site, or what's left of the former Sutton Hospital site - and we understand that this is the preferred option of Paul Scully MP and the Epsom & St Helier Trust.
Whichever of these options is selected, it will mean longer waits for emergency ambulances and longer journey times for most people in the event of an emergency - precisely when vital seconds can make all the difference.
Increased journey times, lead to worse clinical outcomes.
This terrible plan, if allowed to proceed, would cost lives.
On the same day as this plan was announced, the Epsom & St Helier Trust released a video on YouTube which sought to justify their dangerous scheme, by suggesting that the existing buildings at both Epsom and St Helier Hospitals were not fit for purpose.
Watch the video below and see what you think?
In the wake of this news, despite his repeated claims that he will fight for St Helier Hospital, according to this article Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington, in which St Helier stands, Tom Brake, has apparently written to the current Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt in support of these dangerous plans.
Important events - coming up very soon
Public Meeting organised by Tom Brake MP,
Thursday the 31st of August 2017, 7pm
Tom Brake has arranged a public meeting to discuss the future of local hospital services, and we think as many people as possible should come along to let Mr Brake know exactly what they think of these dangerous plans, and indeed ask him how his support for this scheme can possibly be described as fighting for the future of St Helier Hospital.The event is to take place on Thursday the 31st August from 7pm at Strawberry Lodge, Mill Lane, in Carshalton, SM5 2NQ - please do come along and make your feelings known.
Public meeting organised by Sutton Healthwatch,
Tuesday the 5th of September, 4:30pm
In a surprising echo of Mr Brake's apparent approval of this worrying plan, local charity, "Healthwatch Sutton" who exist to protect the interests of local people in terms of healthcare, have published this piece which seems to offer no challenge to the assertions made by the Epsom & St Helier Trust, and invites people to come along to a public meeting on Tuesday the 5th of September at 4:30pm. We think you should come along and let them know what you think.
Public Meeting organised by Paul Scully MP,
Thursday the 7th of September at 7pm
Paul Scully has already voiced his enthusiastic support for this plan to remove acute services from our two closest hospitals, and replace them with only ONE acute facility. He has also said that his preference would be for this to be located on or adjacent to what's left of the former Sutton Hospital site (next to the Royal Marsden).
He too is holding a meeting (Thursday 7th of September, 7pm, Sutton College, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1EA), which, like the meetings arranged by both Tom Brake, and Healthwatch Sutton, features the Epsom & St Helier Trust Chief Executive and champion of this terrible plan, Daniel Elkeles as a speaker.
We have no doubt that the number of people attending these meetings will be counted by the Trust, and later used as evidence of the Trust's 'engagement' activities.
It is therefore essential, that the Trust are left in no doubt that the general public DO NOT WANT to have our two local hospitals downgraded from the Acute hospitals that they currently are. And we do not want our Acute facilities cut from the two which we currently have, and which are located where we need them, down to just one site, located further away from most people.
It is also important that MPs & Local Councillors are made aware that if they allow this to happen, we will not vote them back into power.
What's Paul Scully's preferred option, and how do they intend to fund it? Watch this shocking video from earlier this year to find out:
We hope to see you at these events. Let's make it very clear, that we intend to keep our local hospitals, and we will not allow them to fool us.
