HOSPITALS
Thank
you
‘WE WANT A FAIR DEAL
FOR EALING’
A spokesperson from the North West
London Collaboration of Clinical
Commissioning Groups, on behalf of
the NHS, said: “All parts of the NHS
are now in agreement to draw the
SaHF programme to a conclusion and
bring our on-going efforts to improve
health and care together in a new
programme as part of our NHS Long
Term Plan response. This means we will
not be taking forward the plans as set
out in SaHF for changes to Ealing and
Charing Cross hospitals, but this does
not mean that services across north-
west London will not change.”
They added that remaining challenges
in NHS budgets, recruitment and
dealing with growing demand meant
some ‘difficult decisions and trade-offs’
were still likely.
Councillor Binda Rai, the council’s
cabinet member for health and adults’
services, responded: “I am optimistic
we can influence the NHS to develop
a better health plan for the area that
improves the health of local people.
“We want a fair deal for Ealing and
believe that any future health plan must
guarantee ‘blue light’ A&Es at both
Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals.
We also want local GP services to be
improved and fair investment in health
and social care services, from the
cradle to the grave.”
The seven-year battle
In 2012 the council started a campaign to oppose the
Shaping a Healthier Future plans and later took the
NHS to court to challenge the proposals. The council,
in partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council,
commissioned an independent review led by Michael
Mansfield QC which provided a strong evidence base for
why the proposals were wrong.
The council refused to sign-off the region’s health plan
because of the planned cuts. It also organised several marches
with local health campaigners Ealing Save Our NHS, as well as
rallies and public meetings attended by thousands of people,
to demonstrate the level of local opposition to the plans.
In the summer of 2017 Ealing and Hammersmith
and Fulham councils commissioned an independent
survey, conducted by BMG Research, which canvased
1,514 residents about their views on health and
social cares services. The survey found widespread
opposition to the planned cuts.
The two councils then also launched a new petition
calling on the government to halt the proposals and
instead make the sustainable investment needed in health
and social care services in north-west London. It was
signed by nearly 22,500 residents and handed in to the
Department of Health and Social Care in March 2018.
around ealing Summer 2019
11