The campaign has organised several marches over the years. There have never been problems and we have marched from King George and Queens Hospitals per the links at the end of this post.
However, this time I am concerned that permission may be denied. Earlier this year I asked BHRUT to march form Queens again and got this reply.
5) I am part of a team organising a march from Queens Hospital to Redbridge Town Hall Hall on October 14th to say the KGH Closure plan
for 2019 must be scrapped.. I am minded to say 1pm outside the Queens main entrance as a meeting point. Is that meeting point OK with you?
for 2019 must be scrapped.. I am minded to say 1pm outside the Queens main entrance as a meeting point. Is that meeting point OK with you?
Queens Management replied:
"As I’m sure you’re aware, Queen’s is a very busy hospital with hundreds of patients attending appointments
each day, as well as staff and visitors needing to move freely around the site. We must prioritise the needs and wellbeing of our patients, therefore, a march of this kind would not be appropriate on the hospital site.
each day, as well as staff and visitors needing to move freely around the site. We must prioritise the needs and wellbeing of our patients, therefore, a march of this kind would not be appropriate on the hospital site.
It’s likely that an event with this number of people would affect patients accessing our car parks and
therefore lead to missed or late-running appointments, access for our emergency and patient transport ambulances could also be affected.
therefore lead to missed or late-running appointments, access for our emergency and patient transport ambulances could also be affected.
As well as our overall safety concerns, as an NHS hospital we do not allow any kind of campaigning on
our premises for political reasons.
our premises for political reasons.
You should also be advised that all marches or demonstrations of this size need to be registered with
the Metropolitan Police, particularly in the current climate following a number of terror attacks.
the Metropolitan Police, particularly in the current climate following a number of terror attacks.
Therefore, I’m afraid we cannot allow you to begin this march from our hospital. However, advise you talk
to the Metropolitan Police, which may be able to offer a suitable alternative.
to the Metropolitan Police, which may be able to offer a suitable alternative.
We trust this assists with your queries." ENDs
The campaign then requested to meet at Oldchurch park well away from the hospital, but it would means Queens was in the background for photos. The request to use the paark was refused (Queens not the council own Oldchurch Park)
I set out in detail below why we should be allowed to march past Queens on the 14th October in an email to the Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge Safety Advisory Groups sent yesterday.
Dear Sir or Madam
I seek permission for a march leaving from Dagenham Central Park at 12:15 to Redbridge Town Hall on October 14th. The aim of the march is to unite the elected representatives of NE London along with faith groups to ask Mr Hunt, the Secretary of State of Health to review the proposed closure of King George A&E, set to happen in 2019.
Redbridge Council wrote to Mr Hunt in 2015 seeking a review of the proposed closure, but their request was denied. Havering Council came out for a review last week in the Romford Recorder. It is hoped Barking and Dagenham will support the call for a review of the closure decision in the near future.
The route the campaign team request is as follows:
Leave Dagenham Central Park from Fourth Avenue Entrance at 12:15pm
Left into Dagenham Road
Right onto Rush Green Road
Left on Rom Valley Way
Past Queens Hospital
Continue on A125
Onto London Road and then stay on this road, which becomes Chadwell Heath, Seven Kings and Ilford High Road until we reach Redbridge Town hall
The part that will need the most stewarding is past Queens Hospital. The save King George A&E campaign originally wanted to meet in Oldchurch Park, but the management of Queens Hospital denied us access.
I attend Queens and King George Board meetings and from questions I have asked at these meetings I anticipate objections from Queens management saying that the march risks access to the hospital meaning the march should be banned from walking past Queens. While there is a very slight risk caused by walking past the Hospital, it can be reduced to virtually zero with good stewarding. A request will be made to the police to provide an officer on the day outside Queens to reduce the risk even further.
The greater risk to patients at Queens is closing King George A&E in 2019. It must be a concern that the bed closures that have already taken place at King George have contributed to the excess pneumonia, sepsis and urinary tract infection deaths at King George and Queens Hospitals (1) The further bed and staffing cuts that are being considered for 2019 are a threat to Queens ability to hit the 4 hour A&E 95% safety benchmark, a statutory guideline that Queens rarely makes and earlier this year went down to 77% (2) There is compelling evidence that over crowded A&E departments, such as Queens, lead to worse patient outcomes, leading to longer stays in hospital and higher mortality rates (3) While King George and Queens have had problems with excess pneumonia deaths, nationally there has been an improvement in pneumonia survival rates. (3a)
The most recent attendance figures for Queens and King George for July were an all time record 28,000 patient visits smashing the previous record set earlier this year of 25,000 attendances (4) With a declining GP numbers and a growing population the presures on Queens seem set to intensify.
The campaign seeks to march past Queens for photos of marchers going past Queens Hospital. The aim is to get a photo on the front page of the Romford Recorder and other local newspapers so as to get the message out to as many people as possible in NE London what is at stake. The more people the campaign can get out on the 14th, the easier it will be for NE London MPs and Councils to get Mr Hunt to agree to a review of the closure decision.
If the TV cameras do not turn up, local trade unions will be providing professional quality video on the day and the best shots would be marchers going past Queens. What the campaign really want is something on TV to really bring to Mr Hunt's attention what residents think about the plan to close King George A&E in 2019.
Meeting at Dagenham Central Park and going down side roads to avoid Queens and then on to Redbridge Town Hall will reduce the effectiveness of the protest.
I was the organiser of earlier marches from Queens and King George Hospitals to Redbridge Town Hall (5) and the march from Valentines Park to Redbridge Town Hall earlier this year. In both cases the campaign had a large number of volunteers to make the events successful. The campaign still has many of the key people from before plus new volunteers with many years experience of organising marches. We meet each week at Redbridge Town Hall to make sure the event will go as smoothly and safely as possible.
I attach some of the documents prepared already. I and other campaign members would be delighted to meet you to discuss the matter further.
Regards
Andy Walker
120 Blythswood Road
Ilford IG3 8SG
07956 263088
1) Page Board papers and minutes Sepsis and UTI reviews at page 13. Pneumonia excess death review with a verbal report at September board meeting
2) Our Performance figures here Our performance for May 2017 show 77.6% 4 hour A&E waits for Queens
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the report states
There is strong evidence that the symptoms felt in emergency departments led to worse patient outcomes. We know, for example, that patients run a 43 per cent increased risk of death after 10 days if they are admitted through a crowded accident and emergency (A&E) department. (Richardson DB, 2006) Waiting for admission in A&E is also associated with significantly longer hospital length of stay – on average 2.35 days longer where a patient stays in A&E for more than 12 hours. (Liew D, Kennedy M, 2003)
We know that speed of treatment is vital in many conditions. For example, people with the most severe form of pneumonia have less than a one in two chance of surviving. Those chances improve considerably if effective treatment is started early. However, research suggests that delays of more than four hours in administration of antibiotics to patients coming into hospital with pneumonia can affect 70 per cent of patients on days when an A&E is crowded. (Pine JM et al, 2005)This undoubtedly affects mortality.
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4) Usually, King George and Queens management publish attendance figures. They did not this month and during public questions at the BHRUT board meeting the new record of 28,000 attendances was announced.
This 2010 march from King George to Redbridge Town Hall
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2011 March from Queens
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