The Loss of Vital Children’s Hospital Services - Join the March in Protest Tomorrow
As time ticks on, more and more local children and families are facing the huge difficulties and extra strain of the loss of vital local children's hospital services, and yet we have heard nothing of any plans to restore services to Bedford. We know only that the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group is planning to consult on unnecessary, permanent cuts to services. That's why tomorrow's (Saturday) march in support of children's A&E services and of Riverbank Children's Ward is so timely, as there is clearly a need to get the message across to the decision-makers in the NHS that our community expects nothing less than a united effort to bring these vital services back as soon as possible.
For details of tomorrow's march, click here. In advance of the march, I sent out an email on this deeply copncerning issue for our Borough. Here's the text:
"More than six weeks have passed since the General Medical Council confirmed the removal of junior doctors from the Paediatrics Unit at Bedford Hospital, and four weeks since the removal of vital children's health services started. Shockingly, we have not heard any commitment from the NHS that it will work to get all the services lost back to Bedford, let alone any plans from them. Instead, NHS Commissioners are planning to use the crisis for local families to consult on permanent, damaging and unnecessary cuts to local children's hospital services, which are completely unnecessary and unrelated to the particular issue which needs to be resolved, namely the supervision of junior doctors. There is no need for a consultation about permanent reductions to these highly-valued services.
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There is another opportunity to make our feelings, as a community, clear about this issue this Saturday. The Save Riverbank Ward campaign is organising a protest march through the town centre, setting off from the Town Hall Car Park off Horne Lane in Bedford town centre at 1pm. I will be there, and if you are interested in coming along, you can find the latest details for the march and information about the campaign at the Save Riverbank Ward Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/SaveOurRiverbankWard
The louder, more united our voices are against the loss of vital children's hospital services at our local hospital, the more likely we are to get them back.
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What the decision makers in the NHS need to appreciate is the real impact of the loss of crucial health services on local children and their families. As each day, week and month passes, more and more families are having to contend with the huge extra strain caused by the reduction in A & E services for children and the absence of inpatient services. These changes are placing additional distress and difficulties on families at times when they are already very anxious, when children are seriously unwell. All families will be extremely worried by the situation and, of course, the implications will be greatest for families with children with long-term conditions.
Our community needs the vital children's services which have been lost due to the Hospital's errors, and all parts of the NHS have a duty to bring them back. The Clinical Commissioning Group must put aside its stated agenda of achieving the aims of the abandoned 'Healthier Together' programme, which proposed cutting children's services at two of the five hospitals in our area (with Bedford being one of the two smallest hospitals of the five). As a reminder, here is another short piece I wrote about the campaign against attempts to downgrade our local hospital when these plans were revealed last autumn:www.mayordave.org.uk/en/article/2012/622895/join-the-fight-to-protect-bedford-hospital-from-downgrading-and-severe-service-cuts
I hope to see you on Saturday on the march.
Best wishes
Mayor Dave Hodgson"