Parliament yesterday debated the NHS.   We were pleased to see the Whittington came up several times in the debate.  We were particularly happy to see this response from the Health Minister to a question from Islington South MP, Emily Thornberry.

The decision about the future of the Whittington is down to the local NHS authorities, but the Minister, Mike O’Brien, sounded his frustration at the poor consultation by North Central London NHS and pointed out that no convincing case for closure has been made by the authorities.

Emily Thornberry MP (Islington South and Finsbury)

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that NHS Islington is currently engaged in a so-called pre-consultation about the future of our greatly loved Whittington hospital? That so-called consultation is as chaotic and incoherent as it is alarming and wrong. Will he instruct NHS Islington to listen to local MPs and the public and dismiss any suggestion that Whittington A and E and maternity unit should close?

Mike O’Brien (Minister of State (Health Services), Department of Health)

As my hon. Friend knows, I have said in a debate on the Floor of the House in December that I have concerns about what is happening in relation to the Whittington. She has fought a strong fight on the issue and spoken to me about it on several occasions. We need to see strong clinical evidence for any change to the status of the Whittington. It is being discussed locally, but the national clinical advisory group will need to look at any case put forward. It is local now, but we have invested £32 million in the Whittington, much of it in A and E, and unless the case for change is established, there will be no change. At the moment I am not convinced of the need for the Whittington A and E to close. Those discussing these things need to know that. I have serious concerns about it and I would want to see a serious clinical case made for saying that the £32 million that the Government have decided to invest in the Whittington should be overridden. I do not see any justification for closure of the A and E at this time, and I would want to hear the case for closing it during the next Parliament. I have seen no such case.

Read more from the debate here.

Now that the NHS officials’ review of the Whittington is even being criticised by the Health Minister, it is surely time for the uncertainty to end and to save the Whittington and its A&E.

Emily Thornberry, Parliament

Jeremy Corbyn MP secured an adjournment debate on the Whittington in Parliament last night.

The Islington North MP spoke against any closure of the Whittington’s A&E Department. He said:  “If we allow the proposal to go ahead and if we lose the A and E department, everything else is at risk, entailing a huge waste of public money and resources.”

In response to the debate, the Health Minister, Mike O’Brien MP criticised consultation on ‘fuzzy’ proposals and, in response to a question from Emily Thornberry MP, said that in his view, no case for closure had been made.

Click here to watch the debate (begins at 8:43.40)

Parliament