Great News: RoseMary Warrington is to speak at March 2021 meeting for a new wing at KGH

Delighted to report RoseMary Warrington, the Green parliamentary candidate for Ilford South is to speak at the March 2021 meeting for a new wing at King George Hospital. 

More information to follow later.

Great News: Keith Prince comes on board to speak at March 2021 meeting for a new wing for King George

Tremendous news that Keith Prince AM has come on board as the first senior elected representative to agree to speak at the 2021 meeting. Hoping other senior elected representatives will come on board too.

Another positive development is that at Redbridge Health Scrutiny meeting last night there was cross party support for maternity to come back to KGH and for more beds at KGH.

Where else to put these new facilities but in a new wing to cope with the ever expanding East London population?

Cllr Athwal makes welcome statement supporting new wing for King George Campaign

 Last night at a local forum I asked Cllr Jas Athwal to speak at a meeting in the spring of 2021 to campaign for a new wing at King George.

Whilst Jas refused to speak at the proposed meeting it was welcome that he said the following:

"Everybody would like to extend the hospital and so would I"

Jas prefers to work in the "corridors of power" on the campaign for now. I will write to Sam Tarry, Keith Prince, Rosemary Warrington and others to build a cross party platform of speakers.

At a future meeting I will be asking Jas to continue with his "corridors of power" campaign by meeting senior elected representatives and NHS managers to allow him to drive the campaign forward.

The meeting is at my Faceboook page, Jas speaks around 23 minutes on the issue the link is below.

https://www.facebook.com/1466018193/videos/10224245261866987/

Good to get the support of Redbridge Trades Council for a new wing for King George meeting in 2020

 Delighted to report the support of Redbridge Trades Council for a new wing for King George meeting in March 2020.

Hoping other organisations will come on board soon.

Petition for new wing for King George passes first hurdle last night

 

The 1500 plus petition was heard last night at Redbridge Council. The petition is HERE The officer recommendation was to do nothing with it, in effect to bin it.

I made the speech below seeking Cllrs overturn the officer recommendation. I am delighted to say Cllrs listened and agreed to pass the petition forward to health scrutiny on a cross party basis. The next step is to persuade the Council to set up a working party and produce a detailed report into the matter. Speech is below:

Firstly, I want to put my thanks on record to the late Cllr Stuart Bellwood for his help in campaigning on King George over the years. I recently tweeted a photo of Stuart, Jas and others campaigning for maternity to come back to King George.

I am puzzled that no public questions are allowed tonight, my petition is being heard about King George now, but not my question on King George which was tabled earlier this year for the same meeting as this petition.

So if the Mayor allows the Leader to respond by suspending standing orders. I ask this question of the Leader.

Why isn't this Labour Council supporting the campaign for a new wing at King George Hospital comprising maternity and more in-patient acute beds by referring this petition to the Health Scrutiny Committee?

(assuming no reply)

I raise this because an earlier petition of mine was referred to HSC and a working paper prepared a detailed report into King George & Queens chaired by Wes Streeting which was a vital part of the campaign to keep open King George A&E.

The campaign for a new wing at King George will not really take off until this Council refers this issue to HSC, prepares a detailed report and gets the support of all Redbridge parties before moving on to lobby other boroughs

However, while we should campaign for a new wing for King George, we must not be complacent about the threat to King George A&E as a type 1 unit. Children's A&E at King George was closed earlier this year as a type 1 unit when Clover Ward, the only children in-patient ward was closed. BHRUT claim the Children's A&E remains open as a type 1 facility, this is a nonsense. By this reasoning BHRUT could claim King George A&E could stay open as a type 1 facility if there was not a single in patient bed!

It must also be of concern that the 111 service has not been informed of the closure of Clover ward.

I am baffled that a chunk of my petition has been cut out as follows:

“Cllr Neil Zammett, Chair of Redbridge Health Scrutiny reported on 3rd October 2019 that following an investigation of BHRUT reporting of A&E four hour waits that there had probably been an “understatement” of figures reported since August 2018 “

Why Redbridge officers are not presenting the full text of a petition is beyond me, it begs questions as to whether other documents are being edited without Cllr's knowledge.

Four hour A&E statistics are a vital benchmark of a hospital's performance, that Cllr Zammett had concerns about BHRUT reporting is not something that should be covered up.

My concern is that BHRUT still plan to close King George A&E as a type 1 facility, substantial steps to closing the unit have not been reversed such as the decline in King George admissions shown at page 24 of the Wes Streeting report I mentioned earlier.

For around a year I have been in a freedom of information dispute with BHRUT seeking they publish death rates on a monthly basis at King George and Queens with a view to discovering if there is a link between worse death rates at Queens due to it being more over crowded than King George. The issue is still outstanding, This information is important because research suggests Queens may have a worse death rate than King George and if this can be established then it will powerful evidence for extending King George Hospital.

How do we pay for a new wing needs to be discuused. To research this issue I have written to the Treasury seeking detailed financial information about taxes raised for the last six year in the BHRUT area. My expectation is the tax take will have risen over the last six years, but spending on our local NHS will not have risen proportionably so perhaps producing powerful evidence for extending King George.

The report before you states

.”BHRUT also recognises that a number of people currently access care in a hospital setting when there is no clinical need to do”

Well of course that is the case, when someone has a stroke or some other disabling illness it takes a while to adapt their home so they can leave hospital.

I request a Cllr propose this petition is sent to HSC rather than it be binned as the officer report advises..

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

Letter to Ilford Recorder on Closure of Type 1 King George Children's A&E

Dear Sir or Madam

The claim by Tony Chambers, the Chief Executive of BHRUT,  that children's A&E at King George Hospital has not been closed does not stand scrutiny.

By closing Clover Ward, Mr Chambers closed all in-patient beds for children at King George Hospital, and reduced the service from a full type 1 A&E to a more restricted type 3 urgent care A&E.

Other hospitals that have closed their type 1 Children's A&E and have been up front about the closure and advised parents not to send their children to the closed A&E. 

This is because transferring children from King George to other hospitals puts children at a slight but nonetheless real risk of worse care.

Hospitals are sources of coronavirus infection so parents and children who are transferred are also at risk of additional and unnecessary coronavirus infection.

Mr Chambers statement is at 

savekinggeorgehospital.blogspot.com

Bob Archer & Andy Walker

END of letter statement below

• Dear 

  
  

  Many thanks for taking the time to seek clarification on this point.

  
  

  As I am sure you accept, patient safety is our utmost priority and I would like to reassure you that the A&E at King George has never been closed to children which has been clearly stated on our website  – copied for ease of reference below:

  
  

  Paediatric Emergency Services

  Our Emergency Departments (A&E) at both King George and Queen’s hospitals remain open, however we have made some changes to the way we currently care for our children and young people.

  Children and young people arriving at Queen’s will be assessed and any necessary treatment will take place there.

  Children and young people who arrive at our Emergency Department at King George Hospital will be assessed when they arrive.

  If they need further care and are well enough to be transported by their family members/carers, they will be asked to make their way to Queen’s Hospital; patient transport will be arranged where required.

  Our more unwell patients will be seen by a team at King George initially and, if needing admission to hospital, be taken by ambulance to Queen’s Hospital.

  
  

  I hope you and your family stay safe and well.

  
  

  Kind regards,

  
  

  Tony

  
  

  Tony Chambers

  Interim Chief Executive