Latest on health cuts

Support against the cuts is building

For background to cuts and for action you can take see Blogs dated 23rd May 2006

Some 300 people gathered on Wednesday outside Shire Hall to protest with by far the largest group coming from Stroud. Yesterday at the two Gloucestershire Partnership Trust consultation meetings opposition was again strong, but equally the more we learn about these cuts the more worrying it is becoming.

At this morning's meeting of councillors representing Stroud District Council Against the Hospital Cuts, the latest on how the cuts are being fought was discussed. It includes hand delivering a leaflet to every home in the District.

I had raised earlier that Government guidelines suggest that the minimum for public consultation should be 12 weeks. It is outrageous that Weavers Croft has only 5 weeks and even more so in that there are no proper costings on how much the alternatives will cost. Even more so there has been no consultation with SDC, GCC and volunteer bodies who it has been suggested will pick up some of the costs - these bodies are already stretched to limits.

The question of when and if to go to a judicial review is still open, but such a move seems inevitable to me if we continue on the current course.

How can it be right that a 78 year old Paganhill woman with her husband who has severe senile dementia be made to travel on 3 buses for over 2 and a half hours to Cheltenham to see him? At the moment he is in Weavers Croft and she can visit him 3 times a day as he can only manage short visits. What sort of a society are we creating when we put such intolerable pressures on carers who are often already stretched? Words fail me.

Please act now on Weavers Croft: 35% of cuts are going on services for elderly people - this is a disproportionate amount and will hit some of our most vulnerable members of our community hardest.

Stroud march - 10th June

Please don't forget to join the march organised by Stroud Town Council - 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.