The Whittington’s future is far from certain and, while the threat is real, there have been no final proposals for the Whittington or its A&E.
We have put together some facts on the danger facing our local hospital.
What is the threat?
NHS North Central sub-region is considering the future of hospitals in the sub-region of North Central London, which covers the London boroughs of Islington, Camden, Haringey, Barnet, and Enfield.
There are 6 hospitals in the North Central sub-region. Which will be reclassified as either ‘major acute’ or ‘local’.
These are:
- UCLH
- Royal Free
- Whittington
- North Middlesex
- Chase Farm
- Barnet
We know that due to the size of The Whittington it will be classified as a ‘local’ hospital.
Some of the proposals as part of these changes include closing the A&E at The Whittington.
What will the alternative be if there’s no A & E at the Whittington?
If The Whittington A&E department closes, there will no longer be any A&E department in Islington. During the day, there will be some urgent care for ‘walk in’ cases at a new clinic, but at night, Islington residents would be expected to travel to UCLH down in Camden, or the Royal Free in Hampstead, both of which are far further away and difficult to get to.
If the Whittington A&E is allowed to close there would be a massive gap in services and lives could be put at risk.
Whose decision is it anyway?
This decision is in the hands of unelected, bureaucrats who run our local NHS services.
A meeting of the Joint Committee of the 5 Primary Care Trusts (the JCPCT) affected by these proposals will take place on December 10th. They will consider different proposals and decide which to look into further, with next steps then being taken in January.
Why wasn’t I told about the threat to the Whittington’s A&E sooner?
The JCPCT paid for consultants hold an event in Mid-November to talk to a representative sample of local residents in order to determine their views on which services should go where. However this wasn’t an open meeting, and most people didn’t even know this was taking place.
The first time that local Labour councillors and Jeremy Corbyn heard about this was when an email from the Trust’s Chief Executive was leaked – and our campaign to Save the Whittington was launched immediately.
How can I support the ‘Save the Whittington A&E’ campaign?
The campaign to save the Whittington needs your help.
You can join the hundreds of people who have signed our online petition to save the Whittington. Don’t forget to send it to all of your friends and neighbours too:
http://www.savethewhittington.org.uk/petitionYou can join us to have your say at the public meeting on 9 December from 7pm at Archway Methodist Church.
Click here to view a map to the venue
Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North has tabled an Early Day Motion in the Houses of Parliament (EDM 87 – WHITTINGTON HOSPTIAL) calling for the Whittington’s A&E to be saved, and he has secured a parliamentary debate on the matter on 2 December.
1 Comment for What’s the threat to the Whittington
cathy tyson | December 10, 2009 at 12:21 am
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my mother was admitted to A&E on 1st Dec 2009 and she has been in the hospital since .The a and e department vital to local people . It is Marveloous that her stay has been consistant and that she hasnt had to be moved around . My mother is critically ill and is the grand young age of 86 . thank you to all the carers from the paramedics , nurses, doctors ,auxillary nurses reception staff, porters . The atmosphere in this hospital is serene . Thank
you for answering my questions with gracious patience . It is a tense time for all my family both near and far. Lets save the A& E
Cathy Tyson