Save King George's Hospital!
W J Watkinson | 09.12.2009 23:16 | Culture | Health
The recent results of the NHS inspections from around the UK make for worrying reading. NHS institutions are being poorly run all over the UK. But it seems the residents of East London and Essex seem to be getting hit the hardest, with the lingering possibility of King Georges Hospital in Goodmayes, Essex closing.
In 2007 Margaret Hodge the Labour MP for Barking got a ‘guarantee’ that the King Georges Hospital in Goodmayes, Essex would remain open for years to come. She declared her ‘Save King Georges’ campaign a success. But only two years later the Hospital is yet again under threat, with plans to seriously reduce the services offered here and possibly permanent closure. This cannot be allowed to happen.
Margaret Hodge can be forgiven for not paying too much attention to her constituents she’s had the rather taxing duty of being a government minister and is currently head of the department for Culture and Sport, a busy position with the Olympics coming to town in a couple of years. So we are back where we started a new campaign has begun despite her promises. With the sickening prospect of the BNP set to run Labour close in 2010 I think it’s time Mrs Hodge started paying attention to the people in her borough. This Hospital is declared as ‘weak’ by the NHS on its website.
Then there is Queen's which replaced two Hospitals; Oldchurch and Harold Wood in 2006. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few times and when I first arrived at the Queen's hospital in Romford the strikingly huge 'ballroom' is completed by the latest NHS must-have, a grand piano. Don't ask me why, or who had this brainwave. Then I squeezed into a tiny waiting room that included standing pensioners. Many of my friends agree that the Hospitals waiting times are not acceptable here and the quality of care leaves a lot to be desired. On the NHS website they also declare this Hospital as being ‘weak’ and that is by NHS standards! Any reduction of service will put extra strain on this already ‘weak’ Hospital.
The area of Barking, Havering, and Redbridge NHS trust looks after an estimated 700,000 people and is under massive strain as it is. So with the population increase that is occurring in the UK at the minute how can an area that used to make do with 5 Hospitals now be served by just three?
The piste-de-resistance has to be Basildon Hospital. An NHS inspection revealed that the floors, curtains and equipment were stained with blood; the mattresses were soiled and stained; and evidence of re-use of tubes and other items designed to be thrown away after each patient. What has gone wrong here? Surely someone has to take some responsibility. This is totally unacceptable, it’s almost like they have forgot the recent panic over the MRSA and MSSA bugs. This is a Hospital we can expect an overall quality score of ‘good’. It seems like we really are in trouble.
How can this amount of people in the area be served so poorly? It becomes harder and harder to believe that the NHS is capable of delivering a decent service. At the bare minimum we expect is clean hygiene and decent waiting times, and maybe...a little common sense, keep King Georges Hospital open.
W J Watkinson
Margaret Hodge can be forgiven for not paying too much attention to her constituents she’s had the rather taxing duty of being a government minister and is currently head of the department for Culture and Sport, a busy position with the Olympics coming to town in a couple of years. So we are back where we started a new campaign has begun despite her promises. With the sickening prospect of the BNP set to run Labour close in 2010 I think it’s time Mrs Hodge started paying attention to the people in her borough. This Hospital is declared as ‘weak’ by the NHS on its website.
Then there is Queen's which replaced two Hospitals; Oldchurch and Harold Wood in 2006. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few times and when I first arrived at the Queen's hospital in Romford the strikingly huge 'ballroom' is completed by the latest NHS must-have, a grand piano. Don't ask me why, or who had this brainwave. Then I squeezed into a tiny waiting room that included standing pensioners. Many of my friends agree that the Hospitals waiting times are not acceptable here and the quality of care leaves a lot to be desired. On the NHS website they also declare this Hospital as being ‘weak’ and that is by NHS standards! Any reduction of service will put extra strain on this already ‘weak’ Hospital.
The area of Barking, Havering, and Redbridge NHS trust looks after an estimated 700,000 people and is under massive strain as it is. So with the population increase that is occurring in the UK at the minute how can an area that used to make do with 5 Hospitals now be served by just three?
The piste-de-resistance has to be Basildon Hospital. An NHS inspection revealed that the floors, curtains and equipment were stained with blood; the mattresses were soiled and stained; and evidence of re-use of tubes and other items designed to be thrown away after each patient. What has gone wrong here? Surely someone has to take some responsibility. This is totally unacceptable, it’s almost like they have forgot the recent panic over the MRSA and MSSA bugs. This is a Hospital we can expect an overall quality score of ‘good’. It seems like we really are in trouble.
How can this amount of people in the area be served so poorly? It becomes harder and harder to believe that the NHS is capable of delivering a decent service. At the bare minimum we expect is clean hygiene and decent waiting times, and maybe...a little common sense, keep King Georges Hospital open.
W J Watkinson
W J Watkinson
e-mail:
will_yam@hotmail.com