Following 18 months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Greg and Hammersmith & Fulham Council, with the Health Secretary and at Downing Street, the campaign to save Charing Cross Accident and Emergency services has paid off.
On Wednesday (30th October), in a statement given in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, said it was ‘time to end the uncertainty’ over Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals. Mr Hunt said he could ‘absolutely confirm that A&Es will remain’ at both hospitals following advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) of health experts. The IRP advised that further work is required to decide exactly what the long term changes at Charing Cross hospital will be, but that whatever the outcome of further discussions, there will remain an A&E at Charing Cross.
Chelsea & Westminster Hospital will continue to have A&E facilities, as originally proposed by the IRP.
Additionally under the new proposals, Charing Cross will become a world-class centre for elective (non-emergency) surgery, from 2017.
In further good news for local health services, the Health Secretary also announced there will be a new, custom-built hospital at Charing Cross costing £80 million. It will be designed to deliver the specific services most needed in our communities. Nine medical directors across North West London have supported the health reforms.
Greg said “The protection of these vital services will be a welcome relief to my constituents in Fulham in particular. It is great that the Government has responded to the views of local people and to my strong representations behind the scenes the last 18 months. We have achieved far more than would have been achieved through simply opposing any change, as the Labour Party did. These revised proposals will save lives, are in patients’ best interests, and I look forward to the further improvements in patient care and experience of the NHS.”