Cllr Rampton – I read your Echo letter 13th December with disbelief.
Extract:
“The CCG have stated that the proposed 24/7 urgent treatment centre is an A and E in all but name, as 80% of current visitors will continue to recieve treatment there, that journey times are not an issue for Poole residents, many of the current maternity services will remain in Poole, and that the planned investment and the proposed reconfiguration future proofs both sites to ensure services are sustainable”.
Extraordinary meeting of the Overview Health Scrutiny committee this Monday 17th December : “I am fully confident that the members of that committee will make their decision on whether or not to refer to the Secretary of State based on hard facts and evidence, not because of pressure from neighbouring authorities, nor spculation and rumours from unoficial sources.”
And this is what you call “stepping up to the plate” Cllr – selling a pack of culpable misinformation to the general public ?
Poole A&E is closing down. The 24/7 urgent care unit is not “all but in name an A&E unit”. How outrageous Cllr to put out such palpable lies to the public.
Check page 13 of Poole Annual Report 2017 – pdf of specific page attached. 68,070 attended Poole A&E last year. Of that number 37,487 (non-elective inpatients) were taken in for treatment.
They will not be treated when Poole becomes an urgent care centre. It will be impossible. There will be no emergency theatres. No on-duty consultants and surgeons. No beds for emergency patients.
POOLE A&E IS CLOSING. Shocking lies to lead the public to believe otherwise.
The 24/7 Urgent Care Unit will deal with sprained ankles, some simple fractures, non-acute burns, insect bites, all the many minor cases that are dealt with by any doctors surgeries. But all those needing admission for treatment and/or emergency operations will be referred to RBH.
And that Cllr Rampton is all 37,474 who currently would be admitted to Poole A&E. The 31,000 with relatively low level needs will still be dealt with by the 24/7 GP led urgent care unit. And that Cllr is 45% of current attendance at A&E – not 80%.
The 80% figure is the capacity of the UCC (55,000) as a percentage of the number of visits to A&E (68,000). A figure which is then hugely misleading. As a FACT on 2017 figures only 45% of those visiting Poole A&E (31,000) will still be treated by the UCC. Not 80%.
As for Maternity services how can you possibly say “many of the maternity services will remain” when the entire department along with paediatrics is scheduled to close down and move to Bournemouth.
How egregiously dishonest Cllr Rampton. Welded to government policy you will clearly put out any pack of distorted misinformation you think will take pressure off Poole Tories to refer the issue to the Secretary of State.
It is a lie to lead people to think an urgent care unit (no surgeons, no consultants, no acute admission beds) is “all but in name” an A&E unit.
It is a lie to lead peoole to think that maternity services will remain in Poole when the entire department with children paediatrics is scheduled to move to RBH.
It is a lie to suggest there is “hard facts and evidence” to support downgrading A&E to UCC when there is not. As stated repeatedly the Sheffield Research (all referenced below) expressed deep concerns that downgrading caused huge public distress with no benefits.
No other major conurbation in the country of our size has lost a major A&E department. It has never happened before Cllr. Try and hold on to that FACT.
The Keogh report states the number of A&E departments should remain roughly the same. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN POOLE IS UNPRECEDENTED IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. We are a 460,000 population in the conurbation. That is the world of difference to downgrading an A&E in a town of 30,000.
Close down one of two major A&E departments in a major conurbation we have NO CONTINGENCY BACKUP. All pressure falls on the one hospital and road network to that hospital. And for RBH there is of course the gridlocked A338 with the hospital in the Stour river floodplain.
And you need to grasp Cllr that all A&E departments carry out life critical stabalising procedures. However far the specialist unit – for instance Southampton – all A&E departments (such as Poole) carry out the life saving stabalising. In cases of aneuryism, sepsis, coronary, stroke, poisoning, internal bleeding, stabalising action will be taken at the nearest A&E.
THE FURTHER THE NEAREST A&E THE MORE PATIENTS WILL DIE. The nearer the stabalising A&E all the difference between on-route life and death patient stabalising.
BRAIN TRAUMA CASES TRANSPORTED TO SOUTHAMPTON THAT YOU AND STOLLARD AND GIBSON WANT TO CITE AS SUPPORT TO CLOSE POOLE A&E IS ONE CASE TO A THOUSAND OF SERIOUS EVERYDAY A&E CASES (coronary, sepsis, bleeding, strokes, appendicitus, meningitus, aneurysm).
You want to talk facts Cllr then recognise DCCG are taking £157 million out of Dorset operational budgets. Operational budgets slashed to fund capital investment predominatly at RBH. RBH gains considerably – DCCG fulfills their mandate to illiminate underfunding deficits – Poole pays the cost with loss of A&E and maternity.
That is what is happening and you Cllr along with colleagues refuse to stand up for the people of our town. As said by others the whole pack of Tories in Poole run from Westminster and that an unforgivable assault on our own town by our own Cllrs.
And as for “pressure from other authorities” all authorities in Dorset are involved in this. We are all in the same A&E catchment area. That is why we have had joint scrutiny meetings and of course those who lose out most will be the most outspoken and that includes the people of Poole – the borough you are supposed to be taking a lead to protect.
Check out media Cllr Rampton – do you not see the dozen or so letters in the Echo every month condemning the close down of A&E and maternity in Poole? And this along with petitions – in and from Poole residents – mounting to over 50,000.
In all you are a disgrace Cllr peddling gross dishonesty on this issue – along with your chums Gibson and Stollard in B’mouth – as if it could be clearer you people are determined to avoid referral to Secretary of State.
And notably the show for Monday 17th all choreographed with lengthy DCCG presentations but – the last thing you have the courage to face Cllr – scrutiny from informed representatives of the public. So five Tories with 3 non-Tories you will I am sure have your strategy to avoid referral. And yet if it was referred Cllr – if you all had the courage to stand up for Poole – we may get a stunning success – more funding from the funding promised from both the Chancellor and PM this year.
YOU SHOULD BE PUTTING THE CASE TO MINISTERS FOR FUNDING – STICKING UP FOR OUR BOROUGH – NOT SELLING A PACK OF LIES TO THE PEOPLE OF OUR TOWN. YOU’RE POINTING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION CLLR – YOU NEED TO BECOME A POOLE CLLR – NOT A TORY CLLR.
Beyond all belief rising A&E demand – hospital manager after manager throughout the country voicing alarm and dismay at the overload of A&E departments – yet in Poole you and colleague Cllrs support closure of our town A&E serving a population of 200,000 out to Wimborne and the Purbecks. CLOSING DOWN A MAJOR A&E DEPARTMENT IN THE FACE OF MASSIVE OVERLOADING. BEYOND ALL BELIEF.
OUR CONURBATION NEEDS TWO MAJOR A&E UNITS. NEITHER SHOULD BE CLOSING DOWN. THAT IS THE ISSUE.
You sow the wind Cllr then as the packs of lies that launched Brexit you will reap the whirlwind. Loss of Poole A&E and Maternity people will die on-route to RBH. Court cases will follow. All the evidence in the world in public meetings and in media you and colleagues have been told time and again (as referenced from local SWAST and national studies) risk will be enormously higher.
YOU HAVE A DUTY IN LAW TO PROTECT THE SAFETY OF RESIDENTS IN POOLE CATCHMENT AREA. YOU HAVE ABYSMALLY FAILED FOR OVER A YEAR. MONDAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE NOTE OF CRITICAL PUBLIC VIEWS AND CONSIDER THE PLANS WITH OPEN MINDS.
For those Cllrs in Poole who do have open minded interest in the facts of the issue they are all laid out carefully below – all referenced – unlike the sweeping claims from this Cllr.
Jeff Williams
Poole
Working independently on this issue – from and in Poole.
