For anyone any doubt on Dorset NHS merger/closer plans then do keep in mind the mandate for Dorset NHS is to reduce NHS budget in the county by **£147 million every year**. Clinicians are doing their level best but the FACT is where we are getting A&E and maternity excellence at one centre, RBH, we need the self-same services, to excellent standards, at both Poole and RBH.
Most regrettably whilst it seemed yesterday we were getting from Poole council full referral to the Secretary of State, to then commission an Independent Panel, it seems what we have got is yet another deplorable squirmy move from Poole Tories with a watered down letter to the Minister, rather then full blown referral.
Clearly these people find it impossible to be honest with the public, thus we get Poole Cllr Karen Rampton telling us an urgent care centre (no theatres, no consultants, no surgeons, no A&E admission wards) is all the same as an A&E centre
This then downright lying mixed in with blind ignorance in equal measures. And no less Cllrs d’Orton-Gibson in Bournemouth telling us all not to worry about those who will have ambulance response times well over an hour. But then the man is a landlord letting agent and clearly has no problem with human collateral damage. ie for instance collateral damage from his local businesses (landlord letting marketting company) the homeless in the streets of Bournemouth.
But good news – publicity is spreading far and wide :
Front page “I” News Friday 14th : Hundreds of patients in Dorset at risk of dying under NHS cuts.
Dorset Eye yesterday : Decision made in Poole council to refer … this has it seems gone *viral*. Well done the campaign group earning huge respect throughout Dorset, and nationally.
BBC News … Longer Dorset hospital travel times ‘won’t affect patients’. So you are run over in the street with massive injuries and after “changes” it makes no difference if you are in Christchurch, 1 miles from RBH, or Swanage 30 miles from RBH. Such is the state of propaganda from DCCG.
Notably DCCG argue on “averages” – not on comprehensively safe modelling for everyone. As on Gibson’s view, collateral damage is the acceptable price to pay for the £147 million cut in funding.
Youtube – BBC coverage 17th Dec meeting
The Independent 19th Dec : and we will end up in Dorset with no backup A&E – no reserve capacity. Bare bones NHS stripped of capacity and resources. Well done the Tories – Brexit melt-down destruction – wholesale NHS destruction … the list grows year on year.
Jeff Williams
I think we all need to offer the biggest thank you with huge gratitude to the NHS campaigners who for three years have tirelessly pursued this issue to save Poole A&E, and save Poole maternity. And a big thank you to Poole People and Poole Lib Dem groups who three weeks ago presented and supported the motion to refer to full Poole counci.
From hugely hard working lead campaigners we have had painstaking research to bring to light all in DCCG plans that will enormously reduce access to public health services throughout Dorset.
The largest issue of all the lengthy extended life-threatening travel times with the one major A&E, and no less urgent maternity unit, to RBH on the eastern edge of the county.
And we should make no mistake about it, this important step forward in Poole council, to refer to the Secretary of State, is absolutely 100% no thanks to Cllr Jane Newell and Cllr Karen Rampton and the Tory group in Poole council. Rampton only days ago speaking against referral trying to tell us all an A&E is no different to an urgent care unit.
These Cllr have had to be petitioned, lobbied, persuaded, dragged every inch of the way until finally, with overwhelming public opposition for two years to DCCG plans, the scrutiny committee had no option but to comply with public opinion.
The truth is this could all have been done and dusted two years ago at a joint scrutiny meeting with Dorset and Bournemouth Cllrs but Tory Cllrs Newell, and Gupta, instead of supporting referral at that meeting, they abstained. And so it is we are a full year behind where we could have been in referral.
And as for DCCG commissioners, time and again Chief Exeutive Goodson and others repeat the same elitist mantra “We are the experts” and in that entirely losing sight they are the experts in delivering public services : we are the public they are serving. If they truly believed in their plans they would have no concern in having their work further assessed (peer reviewed) by the DHSS commissioned Independent Panel. The panel itself them made up of national experts – all to the good of all of us.
But then bottom line DCCG target is to reduce Dorset NHS budget by a huge £147 million a year. This is the mandate of DCCG to take down Dorset underfunding deficit, mounting higher every year. So now it’s referral to an Independent Panel and government to fully fund and modernise our NHS, a matter of supply meeting demand as in any enterprise.
The need could not be clearer, we need two fully functioning modernised A&E hospitals at both RBH and Poole, both with A&E, both with maternity, both with urgent care units. The case is overwhelming as our 460,000 population grows larger by tens of thousands every year. And to take into account hundreds of thousands of visitors every year all adding to NHS demand in our areas.
WE CAN AS A COUNTRY AFFORD TWO MAJOR FULLY FUNCTIONAL A&E Units – IT IS A MATTER OF PUBLIC DETERMINATION TO DEMAND WORLD CLASS SERVICE – AS DCCG HAVE CLAIMED WORLD CLASS IN RECENT PRESS RELEASES.
Well done Defend Dorset NHS and all campaigners. It has been a privilege to join in your brilliant inspiring work the past couple of months.
Thank you.
Jeff Williams
Poole
