King George Hospital Motion – Council meeting Thursday 19 November
Nov 17
Following the recent announcement of a consultation on the future of healthcare in the Borough that could have an impact on King George Hospital, I am tabling a cross-party motion with the support of Cllrs Elaine Norman and Hugh Cleaver at the Council meeting on Thursday (19 November).
This is an issue that I know will be of great interest to residents and I would welcome your views and comments.
Thank you.
The details of the motion are below:
Motion to be Moved by Councillor Prince and Seconded by Councillors Norman and Cleaver:
“Council notes that proposals have now been produced for significant changes in the structure of the health service in north-east London.
The review includes proposals for a substantial downgrading of medical facilities at King George Hospital, which is the only remaining general hospital in the borough.
The Health Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the local Boroughs will be scrutinising the detail of the proposals and making their response in due course.
This Council is very concerned at these proposals and the potential effect that such changes will have on the quality of health services provided in the Borough. It is particularly concerned at the proposals with regard to Accident and Emergency provision and the risks that this may have for local residents.
This Council resolves to request the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Executives of NHS London and NHS Redbridge and the Secretary of State for Health to seek reassurance and information about how these proposals are intended to safeguard and improve the quality of medical care in Redbridge and regarding the long term future of emergency medical services in Redbridge. Copies of these letters should be sent to the MPs representing Redbridge.”
Nov 17 at 21:56
Anyone even considering the downgrading or closure of King George Hospital and the removal of accident and emergency services in Redbridge is courting disaster on a major scale. Queens Hospital will not be able to cope – they can’t even cope now. Why don’t NHS London & Redbridge understand that there are far too many residents in Ilford alone and the removal of any medical services from the borough will put people’s lives at risk? We have noticed (reading the Ilford Recorder over the past 12 months) that every time an accident is reported upon, the ambulance crew have taken everyone to Queens even if the accident occurred in Ilford. Why?? Because someone in the Trust wants to manipulate statistics to suit their own end game, so any reports will show that A&E at King George’s isn’t being used but A&E at Queens is brimming over.
We are supposed to live in a Democracy (although the way Labour and Gordon Brown behave, we are fast becoming a country under dictatorship) the people of Redbridge have already campaigned and demonstrated against the closure of King George’s and/or reduction of A&E services. What doesn’t the Trust understand? How many times do we have to do this before they get the message? It is no different from the fiasco that was the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The People vote No, but then they are made to vote again until the politicians get the answer they want. What a complete joke. If only Queens remains, then I hope the decision-makers have to use the “facilities” themselves – but I suspect they either live in a different borough, or use private healthcare. Should services at King George’s be reduced/removed in spite of all the opposition past & present, whoever is responsible for this will ultimately have our blood on their hands. I just hope they will be able to live with that on their consciences.
Nov 20 at 19:08
Please keep King George A + E open. Queens Hosiptal is too far and parking facilites are terrible. If it takes longer get to hospital from i.e. 7 Kings you could be causing disaster as death as every minute counts. King George less then 5 minutes drive or 15 minutes walk.
There is facebook group against closure or downgrading hospital. I have also sigin online petition to the government.
Nov 26 at 14:15
Like many people who use the NHS I complain from time to time about this and that but 99% of the time I am very happy with the service I receive. King George V Hospital is a vital part of the Redbridge community and to limit it will be detrimental to all of us
Nov 27 at 00:20
Claire – do you really think that? Does anyone else feel that ambulances taking people to Queens in every emergency is just a way of manipulating the figures so that officials can justify removing A and E at King Georges?
I ask this because my mum had a stroke in 2008 and she was to Queens even though we live almost opposite King Georges. They said it was because Queens had better facilities. Now I’m wondering maybe they were ordered to take patients to Queens so the NHS Trust can justify closing King George’s A and E saying ‘look it’s not used’.
If this is the case then words can’t describe how I would feel about it as my mum died.
Nov 27 at 10:57
Your “Pldge ” section is not working – It’s been like this for over a week! can it be sorted?
Nov 28 at 18:29
I am in complete agreement with Claire Dawson’s comments. I have lived in Redbridge for nearly 30 years and have observed the gradual dismantling of all hospital services here and in the surrounding area. When the old King George Hospital closed we were pleased that a new one was being built to replace it, barely 15 year ago. Then Barking Hospital’s maternity wing and then the hospital itself was shut down reducing our options of treatment. This was followed by the closure of Harold Wood and Oldchurch Hospitals. Whilst Queens was built with great fanfare and private finance (HSBC has just taken a 50% stake in the PFI Project for £24 million yesterday), King George’s demise was stealthily being planned with complete disregard to the increased population density of Ilford South. The population has nearly doubled in the area over 5 years and more high rise flats are still going up, including the 31 floor monstrosity opposite Sainsbury’s in Ilford. So why then is the infrastructure of Ilford being dismantled in such a way? The people of Ilford were not responsible for the credit crunch. They are the victims of it with huge job losses. Why are the political parties competing to cut public services in this way? It’s time for the people of Ilford to stand up and be counted. This literally is a fight for survival in peacetime.
Dec 12 at 16:22
I want to express my utter dismay at the proposed closure of the A and E at king george hospital – I live in Gants Hill – 3 new large developments are being built with a huge increase in the number of residents in the area – King George hospital is the nearest emergency centre for us – it is a relatively new hospital – will it take a tragedy or many tragedies before the authorities realised that they made a big mistake in closing the unit – KEEP IT OPEN – IT IS NECESSARY – IT SERVES A LARGE POPULATION .
Dec 13 at 12:03
Salam, I am so sorry that you lost your Mum. I can’t say categorically that this is as a direct result of your Mum being taken to Queens, you would have to contact PALS (Patient Liaison Service) and request to view her medical records so that you can satisfy yourself that everything that should have been done, was done. If you do this and are not happy that your Mum received the level of treatment she had a legal right to through the Patient’s Charter, then I would urge you to pursue the matter through the complaints process. Ask the Hospital why she was taken to Queens, and ask if your Mum could have been saved by being treated at King Georges – and do not allow them to fob you off and make excuses or spout statistics at you – your Mum deserves more than this. I hope time will prove to be a healer for you. Losing your parents is so traumatic, and my thoughts are with you (I lost my Mum in 2006 and my Dad 2009)
Dec 13 at 15:21
Am I misunderstanding ? threat to close King George ? more staff and friendlier * at that, is what is required. Appointments for Chronic treatment or follow-ups are difficult to come by ( is 3 months a standard waiting period ? ) This is only ONE instance I myself have experienced, what about the numerous situations I have not yet began to think about ?
* obviously due to pressure, the majority of staff I have had communication with have probably been unaware of the extent of their hostility.
The current Government must get its’ house in order and ” throw funds ” in the right direction !
Dec 13 at 15:29
I must emphasize that my earlier comment relates to closure of A & E at King George.
My comment about my personal experience relative to delay of appointments is an indication of staff problems ( shortages ) in other areas as well as A & E .
Dec 15 at 11:05
great topic, thanks for sharing this
Dec 16 at 15:10
I could not agree more that we need to prevent the further decline of hospital services in Redbridge. It was the outstanding work of Doctors at King George that saved my daughters life by diagnosing her serious condition but they were then hampered by the lack of a suitable surgical team to be found locally, Neither Queens or Whipps Cross were able to take her as they did not have sufficient resources and eventually she had to be taken to the other isde of London to get the emergency surgery she needed. Thankfully she got that in time and has made a full recovery, but had she been in a even more critical condition I dread to think what might have happened.
Please please please fight any reductions in service
Dec 16 at 16:24
The closure of King George A & E would be nothing short from diasterous. The Trust would have blood on their hands. My partners dad recently had an awful heart attack, luckily we live a few minutes drive from King George’s. He actually died for 20 minutes but thanks to the fantasic and dedicated team at King George A & E they were able to resucitate him and he is fit and well. If they had taken him to Queens there is no doubt in any of our minds that he would have died. When a person has a heart attack, stroke etc, time is crucial, those extra 10/15 minutes drive to Romford will be the difference between life and death. Why should we pay our taxes when we will not be within easy distance of a hospital? The sick and elderly in Ilford will have to traipse their way up to Romford which will no doubt be heaving at having to put up with 2 boroughs worth of patients. The idea of King George closing is absolutely ridiculous. The Trust obviously have no care for the residents in Ilford and definitley no respect for us.
Quite simply King George Hospital A & E cannot and must not be closed.
Dec 18 at 22:10
To Salam,
I’m very sorry to hear what happened to your mum, this must be a terrible time for you but I hope what I am about to say will reduce some confusion.
I am in no way affiliated with the council/govt but I do have medical training. I would find it extremely shocking if your mum was taken to Queens for political reasons, in fact I think this is highly unlikely. The treatment for stroke is to do something called thromobolysis, perhaps the reason they took her to Queens was because they might not have the equipment to do that at King Georges.
Sometimes it’s better to go to a better equppied A and E even if it’s further away than a hospital close by where they cant do much and send people again somewhere else leading to more delays.
I hope this helps to ease your mind and troubles a little but don’t let this discourage you from looking into what happened.
Dec 19 at 00:46
Local services are already under so much strain and I cannot imagine what the consequences would be if there are any downgrading of facilities in King George Hospital. I hope the local community wakes up.
Dec 24 at 11:01
The proposal to close A&E at King George is outrageous. It is ludicrous to even contemplate depriving a borough with a population as large as Redbridge of accident and emergency facilities. Travelling times to either Whipp’s Cross or Queens will be much longer even at times when there is no traffic congestion. The extra time could well be the difference between life and death.
My experience of Queens – my mum was taken there two years ago – is that they are struggling to cope as it is. It is hard to see how they would manage the inevitable increase in A&E patients if King George were to close.
Dec 29 at 12:37
sometime ago about when the services at King George started to be downgraded, and there was the beginnings of rumours of major cut backs in servuces at KG, and eventual wholesale moves to Queens.
I had a labour party canvasser on my door, some elction was looming,; I angrily asked him about developments at KG and asked why was the government on depriving us of s local service.
He quickly responded by saying”It’s nothing to do with us,it’s all the fault of the trust” Now I always thought that the trust was created by the government therefore they the government was in charge.
My canvasser, who was a vwry experienced labour party worker, said otherwise.
My question therefore to those of you who knows more than I is,
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THESE PROPOSED RUNDOWN OF SERVICES AT KG.?
bY THE WAY I. an ol party member stopped voting labour due in a big part to this issue.
Dec 30 at 16:25
Thanks to Severine Kaleem for the post on Halal meals in schools. I have found out a bit more about the situation at William Torrbitt.
The headteacher and the Governors have considered this issue in detail and it was their conclusion that providing a good vegetarian option was the best way to esnure that people with a variety of different dietary requirements were well catered for. Ultimately this is a matter for the school and its governors to decide.
Dec 31 at 10:18
Living in “Central” Ilford, I already find it quite a trek to get to A&E at KGH. When I recently broke a bone and had to get the bus to the hospital it was a long and painful journey. Had I needed to go all the way to Romford, I’d have likely passed out from the pain. I can see no reason for causing such a large and increasing population to have to travel this extra distance for A&E. If the new polyclinic provided a Casualty service this would be a different matter, although still a little worrying as are any health cutbacks. What’s next, culling of people over 70 to reduce the burden on the NHS ?? This closure would be tantamount to a back door cull, as people would die who needn’t. Keep the service open until it can be replaced locally, or there will be trouble I’m sure.
Jan 17 at 18:48
As every line of public service this one has to be cut at the expense of public. As the tax payers we deserve to have hospitals that are equipped and ready to deliver A+E and out patient services round the clock.
Feb 07 at 21:00
My elderly parents and two aunts live in the borough and rely on the A&E of KGH. Where are they supposed to go if it is closed? Queens is not a serious option and Whipps Cross is much too far for visiting. Who makes these decisions? Please, for sanity’s sake, urge them that this would be a senseless and ill considered decision.
Mar 01 at 13:51
If you look at US you will see that even in its current state of affairs our NHS is a god send. We pay for it and we should carry on paying for it.
Mar 01 at 16:55
I agree with most of the people here this would have a serious affect on the local community and in this day and age it should be about upgrading not downgrading!
Jul 25 at 08:51
More and more hospitals are “downgrading” and this can only have a negative effect on the community. We need the NHS to realise that King george hospital is vital to the people in the area.
Jul 26 at 12:46
I absolutely support this motion. It is disgraceful that facilities in the area are being stripped even further. The potential for risk to life if A&E is closed is horrendous. This has to be stopped
Jul 28 at 08:32
This is indicative of what’s happening in the UK at the moment. I know we’re strapped for cash, and need to pay back the massive amount of debt that the previous labour government so recklessly ran up for us – but closing hospitals and attacking healthcare budgets is not the answer. Personally, I favour massive increases in tax on foods containing more than x% of sugar, fat or salt, alcohol and tobacco. There are people who are deliberately damaging their health every single day by stuffing themselves to the point of obesity with junk food, smoking and excessive drinking. They are the ones putting a massive burden on the NHS – and taxing the root causes of these lifestyle choices is the way to make them pay. If I smoke the occasional cigarette, then I won’t care about the extra tax. If I enjoy the occasional drink, then I won’t care about the extra tax, if I indulge in the occasional unhealthy treat then I won’t mind the extra tax – It’s fair. Closing hospitals is NOT.
Aug 05 at 20:02
What was the outcome of this meeting?