Health cuts: Weavers Croft is priority

The situation is very bleak indeed - we need all the support and energy we can muster to fight all these cuts.

At the Stroud Town Council meeting on Monday night it was heartening to see over 130 people turned up to have their say about the massive threat to Stroud's health services. Mayor Kevin Cranston chaired the meeting which had numerous expressions of support from all sections of the community and all parties.

These cuts to Gloucestershire's NHS go beyond all sanity - 9 hospitals, 500 NHS jobs and up to 240 beds face the axe along with many other services to meet a £38 million deficit. Locally Stroud Maternity Hospital, Stroud General inpatients and Weavers Croft all face the axe along with other services in Gloucestershire that Stroud residents use.

Weavers Croft is the priority as we only have a month of consultations - that means we must act now if we are to save this important in-patient assessment and treatment hospital for older people with mental health needs. Please see below for what you can do to help this vital facility and what we can all do to stop the other cuts. I will post seperately another Blog on why these cuts are taking place.

Weavers Croft is sited just below Stroud Maternity and also provides day hospital facilities and is a base for community staff. This 18 bed facility has a proven record of providing high quality sensitive health care in a very safe environment and to move all those patients to Cheltenham makes no sense. It would be environmentally and socially damaging to increase the distances we need to travel - the journey for many older carers to Cheltenham from the areas served by Weavers Croft is difficult and often daunting even more so to those without access to cars.

To close Weavers Croft would be a move contrary to the principles of the recent White Paper on Health which encourages the delivery of health care nearer to where people live. It looks to give more choice to people as to where they receive health care. Our General Practitioners also strongly support the retention of Weavers Croft because it is offering an excellent service to our community.


Great urgency - what you can do to help Weavers Croft

This vulnerable group of people need our support. Please act quickly - we have only until 23rd June:

Write letter - Please write to the Gloucestershire Partnership Trust to express your views: Mr Jeff James, Chief Executive, Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Rikenel, Montpellier, Gloucester GL1 1LY

Or complete consultation document questions - in the Cotswold and Vale PCT consultation document on these proposals, which are online at:
http://www.partnershiptrust.org.uk/content/services/mh_consultation.htm

See also below how to save Stroud Maternity and join rally, march and more.


Stroud General Hospital In-patient Surgery

At Stroud General Hospital, the NHS is proposing that surgical services are provided on a day case basis only (this will include endoscopies). This will enable both Berkeley and Stroud Hospitals to focus on medical and rehabilitation care. It will mean that surgery, requiring an inpatient stay, such as the fine breast care and gynaecological surgery will cease. Patients will have to travel to Gloucester or Cirencester. Consultation details are still to be announced.


Stroud Maternity

This small midwife led maternity unit in Stroud with nine postnatal beds, two delivery rooms and a third room with a birthing pool, together with a 24 -hour helpline faces the axe. The staff have a high reputation for their very caring approach to both mother, baby and the whole family

At an emergency meeting at Stroud District Council at Ebley Mill today it was great to see cross-party support to prevent these cuts. It was also announced that SDC would offer secetarial assistance to the campaign against the cuts and help with compiling a financial report to illustrate the Maternity Hospital is cost effective: closing Stroud will mean simply more costs - as the homebirth rate rises, for instance, more community midwives will be needed.

Read more about this wonderful facility in The Guardian article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1779415,00.html

The timing of the consultation period regarding these proposals is to be decided on 31st May by the County Council's Oversight and Strategy Committee. See details of rally on that day below - we won the battle to keep Stroud Maternity open in 1998 we must win this again now.

Write expressing concerns to:

1. Richard James, Chief Executive, Costwold & Vale Primary Care Trust, Trust Headquarters, Cirencester Hospital, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Glos. GL7 1UX
2. Paul Lilley, Chief Executive, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, Trust Headquarters, 1 College Lawn, Cheltenham, Glos. GL53 7AG

What else can you do?

1. Rally at Shire Hall, Gloucester - join rally at 9.30am on 31st May to meet the County Council’s Oversight & Scrutiny Committee who will meet then to discuss Stroud Maternity.
2. Consultation meeting - attend Gloucestershire Partnership Trust consultation at 2.00pm or 6.00pm at Sub Rooms, George Street, Stroud
3. Stroud march - starts at 11.00 am on 10th June at Park Rd- it looks set to be the largest march ever in Stroud and will pass all the Hospital complexes down Middle St, High Street onto Glos street to finish with a rally in Stratford Park. Cllr John Marjoram on 01453 750962 is coordinating the march that has cross-party support.
4. Write to David Drew MP - Stroud Labour Party, 5a Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BB or email him at: ,
5. Write to Rt Hon. Patricia Hewitt M.P., Secretary of State for Health - Department of Health, Richmond House, 79, Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS email:
6. Write to Trevor Jones - Chief Executive, Avon, Glos. & Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, Jennor House, Langley, Park Estate, Chippenham, Wilts. SN15 1GG
7. Write to local press
8. Choose Stroud for treatment: when patients and their GP agree that a hospital visit is needed, then under the new 'Choose and Book' system, patients can choose their hospital or clinic from at least four options, one of which must be private. Supporting our local centre of excellence will help keep our services local.