20 thousand march against hospital closure
Cornish friend | 19.04.2002 15:07
Amongst those present were previous patients from the hospital who would not have survive if they had had to drive 20 miles or wait for ambulances to reach them in remote rural areas.
From "The Cornishman"
09:30 - 18 April 2002
Twenty thousand people - one in three of the population of Penwith - marching for their hospital must not be ignored.
This was the largest demonstration seen in Cornwall in living memory and it was just magnificent.
The trust's mealy-mouthed response to this mammoth protest is not acceptable.(see story this page).
They are staring in the face of 20,000 of the silent majority who have been stirred from inactivity by the unwillingness of the trust to listen to their simple demands.
These are the people the trust seeks to meet with it minuscule meetings in a number of not yet announced venues throughout West Cornwall, continuing a 'consultation process' that has failed to engage, let alone consult, from the outset.
A consultation process based on two options, neither acceptable to the people of Penwith, calling into question the integrity of the whole process.
Meanwhile nurses and other sources at West Cornwall Hospital are seriously challenging assertions made by the review team over the number of casualties being taken to the hospital by ambulance and treated there and the status of the casualty unit.
Again such obfuscation by the review team will not wash. They will not be allowed to get away with such 'spin' - and that's the polite word for it.
It is time for them to listen to 20,000 Cornishmen. The message is clear and simple: Retain and improve services at the hospital and make the necessary investments to meet the standards required: Nothing more, nothing less.
been alive had it not been for the department. These included heart attack victims who had survived but would not have done if they had had to wait to ambulances to reach them in remote rural areas.
From the Cornishman:
Cornish friend
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