Now I trust that you have a few minutes to spare to read through the following saga - for saga it surely is!
Back on 23rd September 2013, I address Redbridge Council's Health Scrutiny Committee. In fact, more than that, I led a deputation of six brave souls who all spoke, including the Revd Kate Lovesey, Priest-in-Charge at St. Peter's Aldborough Hatch. And this is what I said - the exact words:
Chairman: I speak as Chairman of
the Aldborough Hatch Defence Association – on behalf of the patients of the
Surgery at 1 Spearpoint Gardens.
I call on your Committee,
Chairman, to censure NHS England for their arrogance and incompetence in
handling the closure of the Surgery – which first opened in1935.
The first patients knew of
its closure was a letter stuck on the front door of the Surgery on Friday 21st
June giving a week’s notice of its relocation to King George Hospital.
Letters from NHS England
arrived five days before closure – and in some cases 14 days afterwards. I am
aware that a number of patients have yet to receive letters – some three months
later.
One of those is a lady (who
is here this evening). Not only has she not received a letter about the move,
but she has been wiped off the system for bowel and breast cancer screening.
The letter from NHS England
suggests that patients travel by car and pay parking fees – or use one of three
buses, only one of which goes to the hospital.
Has anyone from NHS England
tried to travel from Aldborough Hatch on a 396 between 8am and 10am on a
weekday in college term time? Are elderly pensioners on fixed incomes expected
to pay to park or to travel by taxi or mini-cab, and walk a considerable
distance to the Surgery?
There is evidence that the NHS
gave notice to quit the surgery a year ago. To state that Dr Mustpha, the owner,
would not renew the lease as he wanted to sell the building is totally untrue. There
were rumours of closure – all denied – but why were patients kept in the dark
until a week before the closure? What did the NHS want to hide?
We urge your Committee to call
on NHS England to investigate alternative premises in Aldborough Hatch to
enable the elderly and disabled patients – and families with young children –
to receive care within a reasonable distance of their homes. If NHS England would consult with local residents we
could point out to them suitable sites.
On Tuesday last, 26th January, I paid a return visit to Redbridge Council Health Scrutiny Committee and here is what I had to say that evening:
Chairman: I speak as Chairman of
the Aldborough Hatch Defence Association – on behalf of the patients of the Spearpoint
Surgery.
Thirty months ago – on 23rd
September 2013 – I addressed this Committee.
Spearpoint Surgery dates
back to 1935. With the closure patients could no longer walk to see their GP.
They could take the 396 bus – but in the mornings – during term time – these
buses are filled with students of Redbridge College.
Or they could go by car or
– if they do not drive – they could ask someone to take them – and pay parking
charges. Or pay for a mini-cab.
I was one of many who said
that a Surgery at King George would fail as patients would leave – and I have been
proved right. One reason given for the closure is that 500 patients left since
the move and the 2,500 remaining were not viable for a surgery. How is it that the
NHS website reveals that there are 11 surgeries within three miles of here with
less than 3,000 patients – one has 1,761 and another 1,324.*** Why are those
surgeries not being closed?
30 months ago I asked NHS
England to investigate alternative premises in Aldborough Hatch – to enable
elderly and disabled patients – and families with young children – to receive
care within a reasonable walking distance – for not everyone has a car – which
may come as a surprise to some in the NHS.
I suggested that the Community
Care Centre in Aldborough Road North would be an ideal place for a surgery. NHS
England said it was inappropriate – but I subsequently discovered that no
assessment of the Centre’s suitability had been carried out. Staff are about to
vacate the Community Care Centre – so now is the right time to look at this
afresh.
I appeal to your Committee to adjourn
this item and to require NHS England to investigate locating a surgery at the
Centre. You will be aware Mr Chairman that a business man in the area has
offered his services free of charge to assist in a feasibility study. Please
put patients first.
Thank you.
I
am hoping to download scans of two extracts from today’s ILFORD RECORDER regarding
Spearpoint Surgery (they are below!). The first is a report of the Health Scrutiny Committee
Meeting at which I spoke on Tuesday evening. The second
is a letter from Loraine Sladden who campaigned when she was a ward councillor
for Aldborough – and an excellent letter it is too.
I have today written to Councillor John Howard, who chaired the meeting and who is backing the campaign. The gist of my message to John and his fellow Ward Councillors and our MP, Wes Streeting, is as follow:
I
am sure that you will agree that we cannot leave it to the Clinical
Commissioning Group (CCG) to take this forward. The representative may well
have given a “clear and equivocal commitment” to investigate – but
we cannot leave it there and hope they will do something.
May
I implore you to please contact Wes, our MP and Ward Councillor, without delay
and ask him to come on board with this? Then we need to bring in the local
businessman who has contacted you and has offered to carry out a feasibility
study with a local builder free of charge of the viability of the Community
Care Centre site being used – either as it stands or with a rebuild with
residential accommodation above and a surgery with possibly a chemists and post
office on the ground floor.
You,
Sir, and your fellow Ward Councillors and our MP need to take the lead on this
having got so far – if this fails it cannot be because we did nothing. The
community will never forgive us if we do not keep up the pressure on the CCG.
It is in their interests to pay lip service to any assessment and then to
report back that nothing can be done. That is what they want. Let’s show them
that the residents of Aldborough Hatch are not going to take this with our feet
in the air!
The
AHDA is prepared to help – but we need the top brass to take the lead – and
quickly!
So let's see what happens next - and if
