Photo shoot for a new wing for King George on Wednesday 29th September outside King George Hospital 6:15pm meet for a 6:30pm photo shoot

 I wrote to Councillors in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge yesterday. I am delighted to report that Cllr Paul McGeary will be attending. 

Dear Councillors

1 - Photo shoot for a new wing for King George on Wednesday 29^th September outside King George Hospital 6:15pm meet for a 6:30pm photo shoot

If you agree there is a compelling case for BHRUT to make a bid for a new wing for King George to cope with current and future demand I would be grateful if you could attend the photo shoot on Wednesday 29^th September outside King George Hospital for 6:15pm meet for a 6:30pm photo shoot. Next day, the 30^th September is the BHRUT virtual AGM which is opportunity to ask questions of the board in support of the campaign for a new wing.

There are similarities between the campaigns for a new wing at King George and the 2018 campaign for more critical care beds at BHRUT.

Campaigners, including elected representatives, noticed there was a shortage of critical care beds at BHRUT when we attended 10 Downing Street in July 2018 calling for more funding for critical care beds for Queens and King George Hospitals. I quote from the Recorder article:

“The group submitted a letter on July 12 asking the government to increase the funding of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital Trust (BHRUT) who manage Queen’s Hospital and the King George Hospital.

The letter reads: “We note with concern that both [critical care] units were frequently full last winter...King George was full 12 times this February and Queens was full five times in February.”

This campaign for critical care beds has had some success recently with BHRUT securing funding of £11.5M for more critical care beds at both Queens and King George Hospitals per their press release of 6^th September 2021.

However, back in 2018, BHRUT managers denied there was a need for more critical care beds. Similarly today, BHRUT managers deny there is the need for a new wing at King George

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not speak for any of the elected representatives who attended 10 Downing Street.

Recently, some elected representatives have been campaigning for a new wing at King George. At the BHRUT board meeting yesterday NHS managers disputed the recent claim in the Health Service Journal that BHRUT has the worst performing A&E departments in the country. Whether the BHRUT is the worst or not, it is clearly one of the worst and at the board yesterday one of the managers said there was insufficient bed capacity. In November of last year I wrote to you as follows

“Shelagh Smith, the BHRUT Chief Operating Officer, said there was a shortfall of 90 beds, 60 for the elderly and 30 for specialist medicine”

Cllr Zammett is on the record in the press as saying in March this year.

“They are going to need another four wards (to reduce wait times)”

2 - Proposed child mental health unit at King George relates to the campaign for a new wing

The welcome announcement of a proposed child mental health unit at King George appears contributory evidence for why we need a new wing at King George. My twitter account has a video extract from yesterday's BHRUT board meeting showing Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive Kathryn Halford saying BHRUT intend to open a child mental health unit at Dahlia ward, King George Hospital next month. It also shows Peter Hunt, the BHRUT press person saying it is not an in-patient facility and then apparently contradicting himself by saying the children are there awaiting a bed. This raises questions such as:

Will bed capacity be lost at Dahlia ward? If this is the case, will replacement beds be found elsewhere?

Were Councillors and MPs informed of this development? (I can't find any public document to say they were)

3 - Why Secret Business Cases relate to the campaign for a new wing

My expectation is that if we see these secret business cases they will not demonstrate an ability to cope with present and future demand for BHRUT. Freedom of information requests at my “at what do they know show” page shows a request entitled “board papers” dated November 2020. BHRUT are refusing to release key business cases discussed within closed board meetings relating to our emergency departments. These business cases are:

The Emergency Department Queen's Hospital Full Business Case

The Paediatric Assessment Unit Queen's Hospital Full Business Case

Emergency Department King George's Hospital Full Business Case

These three cases involve substantial amounts of public money and it must be right that are published in full. We own the NHS and to make this slogan a reality we must be able to see key plans before they take place. Should you agree perhaps you can write to BHRUT and copy me in.

BHRUT has refused to supply these three cases and I have appealed to the Information Commissioners Office.

1. Why easy to understand Mortality Statistics for King George & Queens Hospitals should be published again to help the campaign for a new wing

Mortality statistics help hold both NHS local managers and central government to account for their clinical and funding decisions. The board papers presented yesterday showed:

“Four hour performance for Type 1 was 41.29% at King George Hospital and 38.32% at Queen’s Hospital in July 2021”

The safety benchmark is 95%, with performance as low as this (amongst the worst in England), it is reasonable to be able to compare BHRUT death statistics with the average. This is because there is lots of academic research linking long waits at A&E to an increase in death rates.

For years I have been seeking updated BHRUT death statistics as outlined in a freedom of information request to me dated 10 January 2017. The statistics provided in 2017 are easy to understand 12 month mortality rates (SHMI) for King George and Queens hospitals on a site by site basis. Back in 2017. They show pneumonia death statistics to be a cause of concern at the time.

These statistics are key benchmarks used by senior NHS management to help avoid a repeat of the Mid Staffs scandal. While the NHS publish SHMI statistics on a regular basis at NHS Digital they are not easy to understand for an ordinary person. The apparent failure of the current reporting system is that is does not appear to flag up if a particular illness such as pneumonia is an outlier at one hospital.

We need to see these death statistics since 2017 so we can see if the additional pressures placed on Queens and King George by growing population has had an adverse impact on the death rates at our hospitals. The NHS digital site on SHMI and my page at “what do they know” entitled “death stats” has more information. If you are sympathetic perhaps you could write to your health scrutiny representatives to ask if they agree this information should be published.

NHS digital has refused to supply the statistics and I have appealed to the Information Commissioners Office.

Regards

Andy Walker