Why Tony Chambers has misled Keith Prince AM

I wrote to my elected representatives to seek assistance about the closure of the type 1 Children's A&E at King George Hospital. Keith Prince AM was kind enough to write to Tony Chambers Chief Executive of BHRUT, the Trust which runs King George A&E. Tony wrote the email below in reply.

Dear Mr Prince,

I hope this finds you well.

Many thanks for your email.

Please be assured that our Emergency Department at King George remains, and will continue to remain, a type 1 facility for both adults and children.

In effect, this means we provide a 24/7 consultant led service with resuscitation facilities, so we are well equipped to deal with any paediatric emergencies on the King George site should they arise.  So for example, if a child rapidly deteriorates on arrival, we have the appropriate resources in place to treat them.

It may also be helpful to note that ambulances do not bring paediatric patients to King George and that this practice pre-dates Covid-19.  

Best wishes, 

 

Tony

 

Tony Chambers | Chief Executive

Trust Executive Office

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

This is misleading and I have written to Tony to seek a retraction per the below:

Tony Chambers

Chief Executive 

BHRUT

Dear Tony

I hope you and your family are well. Keith has passed me your email claiming the Children's A&E remains open as a type 1 unit.

This is the definition of a type 1 A&E:

"A Type 1 Emergency Department is defined as ‘a consultant led 24-hour service with full 

resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients’. (my emphasis) 

Your email to Keith omits to point out that by closing Clover Ward, the only in-patient ward for children at King George Hospital, BHRUT no longer provide "designated accommodation" for children at King George and therefore transfers children to Queens in need of a bed.

If  King George did not have any in-patient beds for adults it would no longer be a type 1 A&E and instead downgraded to a type 3 urgent care centre. The same follows now King George no longer has in-patient beds for children, the children's A&E has been downgraded to a type 3 urgent care centre. 

You have clearly misled Keith with your claim that the type 1 Children's A&E remains open. I would be grateful if you could retract your email. Instead, I suggest sending an email clarifying the position along with a statement on your website saying the Chidren's A&E at King George is closed and advising parents to go Queens along the lines that every other hospital in England has done where a children's type 1 A&E has been shut.

For the avoidance of any doubt, my email is mine alone, and no implication should be made that Keith shares my view.

Regards

Andy