It is highly regrettable that any of our local A&Es are being closed by NHS North West London’s ‘Shaping a Healthier Future’ plan and clearly many people will be disappointed by the closure of central Middlesex and Hammersmith A&Es last week .
However, many local Labour politicians are being unduly negative when they talk about the future of our NHS in Ealing. They are well aware of the local NHS plans for North West London which will see Northwick Park opening a brand new A&E this Autumn having invested £21milion on a new facility there – details of which are already online on Get West London. The local NHS is confident that this new A&E will provide an excellent service to all who need access to an A&E. On top of this, there will be a new walk-in healthcare centre in Acton, new specialised services such as diabetes and arthritis and 7 day a week GP surgeries. In total over £100 million is being spent in our area by the NHS for improved services.
The intervention of the Conservative Secretary of State means that the two A&Es at Charing Cross and Ealing will remain and will have beds for admission should they be need by patients. Furthermore, both Central Middlesex and Hammersmith hospitals will continue to offer an Urgent Care service, both 24 hours a day. So while it is true we are losing two A&Es, albeit Central Middlesex was only open during daytime hours, there are some positive developments.
In more general terms there are huge pressures in the NHS as it deals with the reality of an ageing population. But its performance under that pressure is very impressive. Compared to Labour’s time in office, each year there are now nearly a million more operations, and nearly three quarters of a million more people have been treated for cancer. At the same time, record numbers say they are being treated with dignity and respect, and this summer according to the independent Commonwealth Fund the NHS was rated the best healthcare system in the world, ahead of France, Germany, the US and Japan.
Any reconfigurations of service in Ealing are down to these pressures and the so-called 'Nicholson Challenge' implemented by the last Labour Government. The current Conservative government has increased the health budget by nearly £13 billion. It is truly deceitful to talk about cuts!
There are of course genuine concerns and uncertainties going forward but we must have a rationale debate about this and challenge our local doctors to explain the changes and how they benefit patients. Rather than attacking those who have actually intervened to save two of our A&Es (as Jeremy Hunt did for Ealing and Charing Cross) Labour politicians should focus their attentions on our own local doctors to make sure their plans for implementation are appropriate for the area and protect the people of Ealing.
The continued party-politicking around this issue by Labour continues to devalue all our reasonable concerns about the reconfiguration process and does a disservice to the residents of Ealing who deserve to know the full facts from their elected politicians.
