Gordon Birtwistle & Burnley Liberal Democrats

Posts Tagged ‘hospital’

Queensgate Councillor Darren Reynolds

The Deerplay children’s ward has been earmarked for closure since 2006. It is due to close within the next few weeks. Arrangements have already been made for staff to move to Blackburn.

But campaigners are claiming that the move violates new rules introduced when the coalition government took office, and want it stopped.

Gordon Birtwistle, Burnley’s new MP, said that the closure had to be stopped because it does not have the support of the area’s GP’s.

The new NHS rules require that proposals “demonstrate support from GP commissioners”(1). The MP says that nearly all the letters he has received from GPs are objecting to the proposals, and only one has written in favour.(2)

Mr Birtwistle said, “When I was elected, people expected me to do something about the hospital, and I have. The new government introduced new rules to ensure that changes like this can only go ahead when they have the support of the area’s GPs. This closure does not have the support of GPs, so it has to be stopped.

“We met Mike Farrar, the regional NHS chief, to explain this to him ourselves. It was a difficult meeting. I cannot understand why the NHS management are still ignoring our evidence, so I am holding several meetings with ministers to ensure this is made clear to them from the top down.”

Coun Darren Reynolds, Burnley’s Health Scrutiny councillor, also attended the meeting. Coun Reynolds said, “I worry that the only way to give Burnley people the facilities we deserve is with directly elected health boards. These are a Lib Dem policy that is in the Coalition Agreement, but so far there is no sign of the Government implementing them.

“At first the NHS management wouldn’t accept that our letters represented a majority of GPs. We said to them, if we can prove that a majority of GPs object to the closure, will you accept that it has to be stopped?

“They said no, because the changes affect the whole of East Lancashire, not just Burnley.

“So we asked them whether letters from the GPs in the whole of East Lancashire would be enough, and they still said no, because the letters were about the Children’s Ward. The closure is only part of a wider programme of linked changes called, ‘Meeting Patients Needs’.

“The letters would need to consider the whole programme, they said, including Burnley’s new maternity unit.

“So we asked them whether letters from all the GPs about the whole of the Meeting Patients Needs programme would be enough, and they still said no.

“They said that the public had voted for the closure and they had to take that into account.

“At this point I’m afraid we became rather angry. The official consultation in 2006 gave the public a choice of closure or closure. To say this amounts to a vote for closure is a blatant misrepresentation.”

Mr Birtwistle was due to ask the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley about the GP rules this afternoon and will meet Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about the matter this evening

Local Campaigner Gordon Birtwistle has hit out at plans to close Burnley hospital children’s ward and transfer most services transferred to Blackburn.

Inpatient beds will be moved to Blackburn by the end of the year.  Whilst children with minor illnesses will still be treated in Burnley, anyone requiring an overnight stay will have to go to Blackburn.

Gordon said: “What we will have is a new maternity facility, but no children’s ward or paediatricians. If that is the case then the lunatics really are running the asylum.

“This is totally unacceptable. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this happening. It’s a death by a thousand cuts and this is the latest cut in the death throes of Burnley General Hospital.

“Parents will be facing a round trip of over 20 miles to visit their sick children, and those without a car will have to struggle with public transport.

“The people who have dreamed this up should resign and have their places taken by people who understand what is needed in Burnley.”

Local health bosses have been ordered by the Government to make £50 million worth of cuts over the next three years, which they have described as the most severe they have experienced.

“It may prove that only extra money will permit Burnley to have its own facilities. If so, then the government needs to respond. Burnley people and their local representatives will always prioritise public health over illegal foreign wars, useless ID cards and disastrous defence procurement projects. This money must be spent instead on helping people to stay fit and healthy, and that is what we expect our government to do.”

Now is the time for local hospital bosses to hold a truly independent inquiry into the closure of Burnley’s A&E unit.

“We now have a new Chair and Chief Executive of the local hospitals trust”, said local campaigner Gordon Birtwistle.  “Now they can start to undo the mistakes made in recent years.”

The Trust’s new chief executive is also the Chief Exec for two successful A&Es in Halifax and Huddersfield.  These serve two towns closer together and with a smaller population than Burnley and Blackburn and show that it is possible to have an effective solution with two A&E units.
Gordon led the fight against the Labour government’s plans to shut Burnley’s A&E unit and recently presented a petition signed by over 9000 local people calling for it to be re-opened.

Sign the petition today