This meeting discussed the IRP and CQC reports over 3 hours with around 15 people speaking so these are very brief notes only. Heather Mullin Outer North East London Chief Executive said the two year target to improve local NHS services was a stretch and ambitious. The NHS would seek to minimise the risk of the wrong sorts of patient presenting themselves at the proposed Urgent Care Centre. When questioned about whether any research had been done into the safety of stand alone urgent care centres after a recent Radio 4 show critical of their safety record, Heather said she would respond by email.
Heather did not know whether the 12 December deadline could be met for planned caesarean sections to come back to Queens and the KGH from the Homerton.
Roger Evans, the Conservative GLA representative and Havering Cllr said if the two year deadline could not be met the KGH closure plans should be abandoned. Dr Hector Spiteri. Clinical Director, NHS Redbridge said that some patients would make the wrong choice and go to the proposed urgent centre rather than A&E, but that they would be stabilised and transferred to the appropriate hospital.
I expect the committee to request some form of monitoring of implementation of the CQC report in the near future. Research evidence that the the proposed closures are in the interests of residents is lacking and I will continue to work with other committee members to expose these dangerously flawed closure plans in the hope of reversing them in due course.
The senior NHS staff speaking at the meeting did their best, but did not give me confidence that they would be able to provide a better service for an increasing population by cutting 25% of the medical staff over the next few years and closing two vital units at KGH.
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