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IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS ON
THE HOSPITAL FRONT?
The PCT are now going to consult over the MIU.
There are still
three big outstanding issues about our new hospital. Where will it be?
Who will own the buildings and run it? Will there be a Minor Injuries
Unit? (A long campaign during the summer secured a promise on the number
of beds and an x-ray unit.) The PCT keep telling us that they can just
make these decisions but they are whistling to keep their courage up.
After last summer's botched consultation and the growing prospect of a
referral of this issue to the minister or even a judicial review, the
PCT badly need an agreement on all of this.
There are now a
number of groups who are conducting a direct dialogue with the PCT on a
way forward. There is our MP together with Barry Norton of the WODC who
have made proposals to the PCT and met them a number of times. They are
stressing to the PCT that they need to get agreement from the community
on their proposals and this won't be forthcoming if there is perceived
to be any cut in service levels. David Cameron keeps urging the PCT to
make one last push for agreement.
There is the
Hospital Users Group which is a local group convened by the Town Council
to represent all opinions in the district.
It is
chaired by the Rev Steve Weston,
other members on the group are:
Reg Hurly of the Patient and Public Involvement in Health Forum
Clive Hill of the Hospital Action Group Dr Bruce Parker, retired local
GP Eve Coles, District Councillor Graham
Thornton, Chadlington resident Jo Graves,
Chipping Norton Town Council and Rob Evans,
local County Councillor.
There are a couple
of Patient Forums but they don't seem to have any teeth. The body who
potentially can secure a result is the County Health Overview and
Scrutiny Committee which is made up of County and District councillors.
This committee has a statutory right to be consulted about substantial
changes to Health provision in its area. They are the only democratic
representatives of Joe Public in all of this and were supposed to take
over a watchdog role from the Community Health Councils which were
closed down by the government eighteen months ago. They have the right
to ask for a decision to be referred to the Secretary of State if they
are eventually not s atisfied
with a proposal from a local PCT or Hospital Trust. The trouble is that
this committee is new and still finding its feet and it has an
impossible agenda...so many things are happening on the health front in
Oxfordshire at the moment. We have to thank Councillor Hilary Biles -
the West Oxfordshire representative on this committee - for having
kept Chippy Hospital so high on the agenda during the last year. She has
fought tenaciously and asked the tough questions. She was once told by
the Chairman to remember that this committee was for the whole county -
not just for Chipping Norton. She has resisted the idea that the
committee can endorse the PCT's plans without having the figures and
seeing the business case. After the PCT failed last week to produce - as
it had promised - the financial details of its proposals - a
sub-committee was appointed to follow this up. Hilary is on it.
She has also been asked to monitor the discussions going on between the
Chippy GPs and the PC about the provision of Minor Injuries cover,
She is now officially Inquisitioner in Chief.
SO against that
background...four bits of news.
The PCT announced last week that one of the town surgeries had expressed
a wish to re-locate to the new hospital site.
The Hospital User Group in a Press Release
stated this week......It
has been established that a facility for coping with emergency treatment
and minor injuries will be included in the new build.
Rob Evans reported on Thursday that the Hospital Users Group were
pressing the OCC to undertake a public consultation on which location
should be selected for a new build. Rob indicated that the
County were responding positively to this suggestion
PCT to
consult on any Minor Injuries Unit changes
Last week the PCT announced at a meeting
of the Oxfordshire County Health Overview and
Scrutiny
Committee that they will
close the Chippy MIU (Minor Injuries Unit) in April. District
Councillor Hilary Biles who is on the committee reported back to the
WODC. The WODC (we guess it was Barry Norton) immediately wrote
to the PTC and objected - pointing out that the PTC was required to
consult before taking such action. Also pointing out that when another
PCT had tried to do the same thing in Witney last year the WODC had
taken them to the High Court and won. The WODC issued a Press Release
(see below). The PCT were furious and demanded the withdrawal of the
Press Release. The WODC have stood their ground and refused. The PCT
have now said they will consult. Well done and thanks from all of us.
For the last year Barry Norton and Hilary Biles with the backing of
David Cameron have put up a storming performance on behalf of Chippy
and District over the Hospital.
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The sooner all this is sorted the better for everyone.
Monday morning in
Oxford.......Conservative District Councillors Barry Norton and Hilary
Biles and David Cameron MP met the PCT (Anita Hyam and Mike Williams)
to press for a resolution of the outstanding MIU issues. Its really
good to know that some people are fighting for Chippy and our medical
services - not just talking about it. The group were arguing strongly
that any solution should be hospital-based and were suggesting that an
ambulance and paramedic stationed at the hospital overnight would be
the best basis for an out of hours service. The PCT - who are clearly
having problems keeping the local Chippy GPs in line - promised to
give careful consideration to the idea. The PCT also took the
opportunity to completely deny the story (see below) about x-ray being
sited at the White House Surgery. Things are getting out of hand. The
surgeries are now briefing against each other to protect their own
interests. The sooner all this is all sorted the better for everyone.
HOSPITAL ROW IS ALL SET
TO FLARE UP AGAIN!!
We
hear on very good authority that the PCT are seriously considering
locating a new x-ray facility at the White House Surgery - not at the
hospital!
The Hospital row
has all been about whether the healthcare facility which the PCT wants
to build together with the Oxfordshire Social Services (who are having
to replace Castleview) really adds up to a hospital at all. Some
people described the original plan as a Care Home with a few
intermediate care beds attached. 10,000 people signed a petition
demanding that a modern x-ray unit and the minor injuries unit should
be retained as part of the hospital. The PCT quickly conceded the
x-ray facility, but has continued to drag its feet over a minor
injuries unit. No proposals have been forthcoming. Submissions from
the Hospital Action Group and the MP have so far failed to elicit any
new proposals. The PCT seem to be hanging on to their idea of getting
minor injuries handled by GPs. Meanwhile we keep being told that
everything is becoming incredibly urgent because OCC have to decide
about Castleview and its new location very very shortly now. Its
beginning to look as if the town will be asked to endorse a new build
care home on a new site - before the details of a new hospital are
finalised.
THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE FORTHCOMING. THE HOSPITAL ACTION GROUP HAS
MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY NEW PLAN UNTIL THE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MIU ARE SETTLED.
Since the
beginning of the consultation the town have been extremely suspicious
of the PCT and the approach they have adopted. Nobody has been
convinced of their good faith. Now comes word of what looks as
if it could be the biggest deception of all. Remember that a
concession by the PCT that the new facility would include an
x-ray unit did more than anything else to persuade the Action Group
and the town that we might get a "real" hospital after all. Now we
hear on very good authority that the PCT are seriously considering
locating the new x-ray facility at the White House Surgery - not on
the hospital site at all. No x-ray. No MIU! at the hospital. The
PCT may say that it is still only looking at options but where did
this option come from? And how is it compatible with any of the
undertakings made so far. The news beggars belief. We are being given
the run around again and it will soon not be possible to believe
a word that the PCT says.
JUST OVER TWO YEARS AGO! May 2002
The two ladies in
black are Anita Higham and Hazell Knott of the PCT
Having taken the town's money - within two
years the PCT say the MIU is unsafe, they can't get the staff. they close
it at night (without any consultation) and eventually say they want to
close it altogether. What can we believe? And can we have our money back??
HOSPITAL
USERS GROUP BEING CONVENED
 The
PCT are working on their revised plans for a Minor Injuries Service and
the OCC are carrying out an Options Review on the three different site
possibilities for a new Castleview and Hospital (Present site, Cromwell
Park and the Parker Knoll site. Penhurst is now out of the frame). Come
January they will be desperate to find some user group representing the
whole Chippy and District catchment area to discuss their plans with. The
problem is that no such group exists yet. The Chippy Town Council
represents only a small part of the area. At the Town Council meeting on
Monday it transpired that the PCT had written to the Chippy Town Council
asking them to organise something. Meanwhile the Hospital Action Group and
the Castleview Stakeholders Group had come up with a joint suggestion
which was to ask Steven Weston (left) to chair a HOSPITAL USERS GROUP
In the short term Steven and the Mayor would convene a meeting of the
Chairmen of all the Parish Councils involved, all the district and County
Councillors, some members of the Town Council, the Chairman of the
Castleview Stakeholders Group and members of the Action Group. This
gathering would decide on the membership of a much smaller group (Ideally
no more than six people) who would then serve as a consultation group who
would speak for all of us and help take forward the plans for the new care
home and hospital. This
group should be politically balanced and geographically representative.
Quite a challenging brief.
FIGHT CONTINUES FOR
MINOR INJURIES UNIT
 At
the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee in Oxford
yesterday, Clive Hill of the Hospital Action Group addressed the
committee and emphsised the need for progress on an MIU solution. In
the committee discussion West Oxfordshire District
Council’s representative, Cllr Hilary Hibbert- Biles, fought strongly
in favour of retaining a Minor Injuries Unit at the proposed new
Chipping Norton Hospital and to remove the strings attached to the
extra two beds offered by Cherwell Vale PCT. Cllr Biles said, “Minor
Injuries units were originally set up to provide rural areas with an
emergency department. Chipping Norton has had an MIU for years and
the public want it to continue. With the current out of hours service,
the fact there are no doctors available after 6.30pm unless you go to
Banbury and scant ambulance coverage, a Minor Injuries Unit is
essential. “
Clive Hill
reports that Jonathan Coombes
said that operating the MIU under present
arrangements is clinically unsafe, that only 3 people in a year
attended out of hours and that half those going to MIU should
have gone to a GP He said
the PCT were
talking to Doctors about MIU including a hospital based service but
only between 8.00 and 6.30. Talking to Ambulance service about out of
hours cover by paramedics but did not want people sitting around doing
nothing. Out of hours is the big issue. Costs for a GP available out
of hours were talked about as being £150 to £200 per hour however one
member said ‘more like £300 per hour‘
The Primary Care
Trust was asked to reconsider
its view by 15th
December and to present a full business case to the next meeting of
the committee.
Clive Hill and Hilary Biles are pictured together at the Council
meeting of the WODC in August,
STATEMENT
On behalf of 10,000 people
The CN Hospital Action Group welcomes the further
concessions which the PCT has now made. Since the NO CUTS
campaign began in August the PCT's original proposal has been
modified by
1. an agreement to keep a modernised x-ray facility
2. an agreement to retain the current number of 14 hospital beds
3. a firmer reassurance about the future of maternity services
4. a commitment to re-invest the proceeds from any property sale
in a new publicly-owned town hospital facility. (This
undertaking has not yet been given in writing anywhere as far as
we know)
However there has been no progress on a proposal for the
Minor Injuries Service. The PCT are still only proposing a
daytime service up to 6.30pm - run from the GP's surgeries.
Until recently Chippy enjoyed a 24 hour service run by the
Hospital. This was then cut back - without any kind of
consultation - to a 8am - 9pm service
because of a claimed difficulty in recruiting staff. After over
50 years of such a service being available the PCT now claim it
is unsafe - because hospital nurses are diverted from their care
of in-patients. No accurate statistics seem to exist about the
usage levels or costs of this service - particularly overnight.
What is certain is that people who have used the service value
it extremely highly and are deeply appreciative of the attention
they received.
Chipping Norton is a remote place and is often cut off in
winter. Our Ambulance Station was recently closed. In this
situation, elderly residents and young mothers with children can
feel vulnerable and isolated when an accident occurs -
particularly in the evening and at night. Travelling to Banbury
or Oxford is not straightforward for many people and in any case
A&E departments are reported to be severely stretched. Over
10,000 local residents recently signed a Petition saying they
wanted NO CUTS in the Minor Injuries Service.
The CN Hospital Action Group feel it is essential to
retain a hospital-based 24-hr Minor Injuries Unit in the town. A
detailed proposal for this is needed before the Public will be
able to support the PCT's overall plan for Healthcare in
Chipping Norton. The Action Group will continue to fight to
ensure that the best possible way forward on Minor Injuries is
found.
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DAVID GOING IN TO BAT
FOR US AGAIN ON THE HOSPITAL
 An
important meeting in the Town Hall today when our MP David Cameron came
with Barry Norton (Leader of the WODC) to hear what members of the
Hospital Action Group had to report from their discussions with local
residents - following the "decisions" of the PTC last week. David has
been a terrific supporter of the NO CUTS Campaign since the very
beginning. Barry marshalled the District Council's strong support of the
call for NO CUTS back in September. Both have been influential in
lobbying the PCT and pushing the town's case. Barry had a last-minute
meeting with the PCT just before decision day. They have been really
important and powerful friends to Chippy during the campaign period and
we are grateful. The Action Group told them that the mood in the town
was that we must continue the fight to maintain a Minor Injuries Unit.
Given agreement on that it was possible that peace could break out and
allow all the details of location and "ownership" to be worked through
in a co-operative fashion. David told us we must hold absolutely firm on
the MIU issue. He would now write to the PCT urging them to come up fast
with some concrete proposals on Minor Injuries - pointing out how close
they were now to finding an overall agreement. We formulated a number of
suggestions together during the meeting - particularly ways of trying to
overcome nurse recruitment problems (where the District may be able to
help on housing issues), of possible job-sharing schemes with the JR,
and creative ways of involving paramedics from the Ambulance service.
David would now ask for a meeting with the PCT. He is by far the best
intermediary in sight. Lets hope the PCT will listen and that he can
broker a deal. Wish him luck. Everyone keep their fingers crossed. If he
can't then its back to the barricades.
CAMPAIGN ACHIEVES MOST
DEMANDS BUT
MINOR INJURIES IS STILL A PROBLEM!
About forty people made it from Chippy to
Banbury on Thursday morning to hear the PCT make their decision. The
PCT decided to go ahead with a partnership deal with the County and a
private company - the Oxford Care Partnership - to build a spanking
new state of the art hospital complex alongside a rebuilt
Castleview. The old buildings are doomed. The new site is not yet
settled. But the decision has been taken in principle. The PCT has
committed to buy beds in the new care home/hospital so the
County is happy and can move ahead with its own planning. The PCT had
been proposing to commit to 12 beds. Now they have agreed to maintain
the number of beds at the present level of 14 - at least for the time
being. The PCT had already agreed to retain an x-ray facility. They
have obtained a really strong undertaking from the John Radcliffe that
Maternity services will be retained in Chippy. They promised that
money raised from any asset sale (expected to be around £3m) would be
kept in Chippy. These "concessions and clarifications" all seem to be
the result of pressure which the high profile New Cuts campaign
has brought to bear. The support from the town has been fantastic.
Something positive has been achieved. So the fight has been worth it.
But not according to Heather Barnett of the PCT who was talking with
Action Group Chairman Chunky Townley at one of today's many media
interviews. "All your group succeeded in doing was turning the
consultation into a battleground" she said. "These concessions would
all have been made anyway as part of the normal process". If you
believe that you will believe anything. Its exactly the sort of
comment which we have come to expect from this PCT who will never be
trusted again in Chippy. They launched a confusing set of options
and hoped that the public wouldn't notice. They were astounded by the
vociferous response and have been clawing their way back since. But
its not all over yet. The main outstanding issue now is what
form a Minor Injuries Unit will take. The PCT have undertaken to
undertake an URGENT review. Where will it be based. What hours? Who
will staff it? The Action Group intend to keep fighting to try and
ensure we get a serious solution. But why on earth hasn't all this
been worked out by now? There's been plenty of time. Have the GPs been
co-operating fully in finding the best way through? The veteran and
much-respected local GP Bruce Parker has even offered to run an
overnight Minor Injuries Service himself to show how it can be done.
As for location, a full appraisal is already underway by the County to
look at sites for the new complex. There are four candidates. 1. The
present site. 2. Parker Knoll. 3. The OCC land on London Road opposite
Parker Knoll (Rock Hill Farm) and 4. (big surprise) Penhurst School.
The County have promised they will seek the views of the town about
this - but a formal consultation is unlikely. The Action Group will
stay in touch with this and try and keep everyone informed.
 Health
and social care in Chipping Norton is secure for the long term future,
according to NHS managers who have decided to move services from the old
hospital to a new building in the town. But campaigners are still
concerned about the move, because minor injury care in the town has been
left unresolved. Cherwell Vale Primary Care Trust voted on October 7 to
move its NHS facilities out of the community hospital into a shared
development with Oxfordshire County Council, which will include nursing
home beds. The proposals had caused controversy
in the town, and residents were angry the move would reduce beds
from 18 to 12, and cut the hospital-run minor injures unit. At the PCT
meeting, managers agreed to increase bed provision in the new building to
14 beds, until a new home-based rehabilitation service was in place. A
state-of-the-art X-ray unit will also be installed, and maternity will
continue, as well as falls specialist support and visiting gerontology
advice. But they warned that changes would still have to be made to the
MIU, because it was unsafe for patients and staff. A feasibility study
will look at three sites in the town -- Rock Hill Farm and the Parker
Knoll factory, both off London Road, and the old Castle View site in
Spring Street. But members of Chipping Norton Hospital Action Group were
unhappy with the final decision. Chairman Robert Townley said: "I don't
think we've achieved much. "We predicted they
would give a concession of 14 beds just to make people feel a bit happier,
but they haven't addressed the MIU at all. "It's a very big issue, because
if you live in a rural area and you can't access an MIU between 6pm and
9am that's a problem."
Those of us present at
the PCT meeting don't understand where THREE sites have suddenly come
from since we all heard the four detailed quite clearly. Is there some
back pedalling going on??
Town gets new community hospital
For the past six
months health bosses had been discussing various options for future
health care in Chipping Norton. On Thursday
they decided to develop a new hospital on another, as yet undecided
location in the town, to replace the existing hospital.
It follows months of campaigning by local
people who were concerned over the future of the maternity, X-ray and
minor injury services in the area. Cherwell
Vale Primary Care Trust had to decide whether to go for a brand new
hospital with private finance, or re-develop the existing site.
For the past six months they have held a
series of public meetings and consultations. The
new hospital will have 14 beds rather than the 12 originally proposed,
and many services are to stay. Jonathan
Coombes, from Cherwell Vale PCT said: "There always will be very
strong feeling for what is a very good service. "What we are trying to
do here is to create modern, fit for purpose buildings that will last
into the future, that actually protect the services at Chipping Norton
more than leaving them as they are." Staff at the hospital have
welcomed the decision, while the Hospital Action Group is treating the
news more cautiously. The HAG said it is still waiting to hear what is
going to happen to the minor injuries unit, which it says is
desperately needed in the town.
Rob Evans -the local County Councillor -
issued a Press Release on 12th October which included the
following....."The PCT have now signed up to a new day hospital
with space for specialist clinics, brand new X Ray unit, continuation
of the maternity unit with commitments from the JR Hospitals Trust, 14
intermediate care beds rather than 12 and an earlier introduction of
extended intermediate care arrangements in people’s homes. But this
will still be a reduced service without a viable minor injuries unit
and the Stakeholder group will continue to urge the PCT to sort out a
scheme with the two local GP surgeries that will come close to
satisfying the town".
What nobody can quite understand is how a
Stakeholder Group which was appointed to look at Castleview ends up
lobbying for a Minor Injuries Unit at the new hospital. There needs to
be some clarification about all of this.....starting perhaps with the
election of a Hospital Stakeholder Group which is a bit more
democratic, open and representative than the Castleview one was.
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THE GREAT HOSPITAL DEBATE
ANOTHER FULL HOUSE TO DISCUSS THE HOSPITAL
Well over 100 people turned up at the Town Hall on Monday evening to
hear the Action Group give a Progress Report on the Campaign - prior
to the PCT's decision meeting this Thursday. Chunky Townley - the
Chairman - reviewed the various lobbying and media efforts which had
gone on so far. Gerry Alcock and John Grantham outlined the PCT's
report on the consultation (see below) and underlined the fact that
with such a tiny response it was difficult to see that the PCT had a
mandate for any course of action. Steve Akers reported on the Action
Group's visit to the PCT AGM the previous week and his view that we
had made some friends and won some support. Finally Clive Hill
outlined the options which exist for future action....including
appeals to the Secretary of State, working with the Oxfordshire
Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny
Committee,
liaising with the local Patients Forum and the idea which perhaps
created most interest in the hall of following Watlington's example
and buying the hospital and running it ourselves. There was a lively
discussion and the general mood was overwhelmingly to encourage the
Action Committee to keep pressing for a hospital-based MIU and to
retain bed numbers. A statement was endorsed which will be relayed to
the PCT Board on Thursday. Highlights from the debate were a strong
rallying cry from Liberal Democrat Liz Leffmann that we should carry
on demanding the facilities we need, a promise from Councillor
Hilary Biles who is a member of the Oxfordshire
Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny
Committee that she and her colleagues would
try to ensure that Chippy Hospital got a fair hearing.
A visitor from New
South Wales with family in Chippy exhorted us to fight and told us
about similar experiences back home.
County Councillor Rob Evans made a long speech which few could
follow but which seemed to be a variant on the theme we are hearing
all the time from the County Council these days - that unless the PCT
quickly decide on an Option 1 solution (ie working with the OCC and
buying at least 12 of their beds) then its probably goodbye to a
Chippy Residential Care Home. With all this crude bullying going on
between public bodies its no wonder that the PCT try bullying us in
their turn!! Hilary Biles said she couldn't understand what Rob was
talking about and it was time to call the OCC's bluff. Clive Hill
rightly suggested that it was the County Council who had got us into
this mess in the first place by using the Castleview situation to
precipitate a crisis about the hospital. Clive made a plea for more
information - tell us how things are working. The Ambulance Service,
the out of hours service, the Intermediate Care service. The PCT
keep telling us that everything's rosy. Is this true? So now the
spotlight turns to the Board Meeting in Banbury on Thursday. Its a
meeting in Public. It should be worth listening to and we would like a
few Chippy people there. 9.15am at the Post Graduate Lecture Theatre
in the Horton. Drive into Banbury and turn right at the lights up the
hill to the Horton. First entrance after the traffic lights on the
left is where the venue is. You will have to park in the Horton Car
Park (Pay and Display) or smarter to use Sainsbury's car park a bit
further on.
_____________________________________
In the whole
consultation exercise, only 37 people voted for the PCT's preferred option
- even that was with
provisos.
 The PCT take their decision about our hospital next Thursday at a
Board meeting. The executives responsible have only now produced a
report on the outcome of the consultation process and this is supposed
to be a basis for the Board to decide which option to back. But my
word - do they have a problem!! And its absolutely nothing to do with
the Action Group or the Petition or the Public Meetings. Its entirely
of their own making. Their problem is simply that with all the
brouhaha, all the publicity, the huge meetings and the media exposure
they only received 21 completed consultation forms, 59 letters and 21
e-mails - a grand total of 106 responses. (compare that with the
League of Friends questionnaire returned by 2,000 people) From a "catchment"
population of 25,000. 106 responses!! It just defies belief. Without
the Petition of 10,000 signatures the PCT might have argued that there
was a complete public apathy. But that is patently not the case. As my
old Mum used to say - a blind man on a galloping horse can see what's
going on here. The public did not like any of the options as presented
so they boycotted the whole consultation fiasco. Which leaves the poor
old PCT to make whatever it can out of those 106 responses. But so few responses mean very little.
The powerful Oxfordshire Joint Health
Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OJHOSC) has
concluded that under the present circumstances they could not support
the PCT proposals. The members of that
committee wished to be assured that there was public support for the
preferred option. So where is there any evidence of
that support?
Looking at the way the 106 respondents voted for the three options.
Over half - 56 people didn't express a preference or found none
acceptable.
4 voted for Option 3
(Minimal changes to services in the
existing buildings).
9 voted for Option 2 (improve
services in the existing buildings).
37 people voted for Option 1 (improved
services in a new building)
BUT where a preference for option 1 was given there were,
almost without exception, a number of caveats and comments given in
relation to this preference. The main areas for which comments were
received are as follows :
A strong desire to see X-ray services continued
in the future (39)
A requirement for the Minor
Injuries Unit to continue (37)
Strong concerns over any future
site and links to the town (28)
Concerns over reduced bed
numbers (18)
Requests that all money released
be kept in Chipping Norton (17)
So
the main conclusions of the report are:
It is clear that there is
support for the development of a newly built health care facility in
Chipping Norton
It is evident that the majority of people would like all current
services to be re-provided in any newly
built facility
There is a great deal of mistrust over the
reasoning used by the PCT in identifying its proposed range of
services
There is clearly a widespread misunderstanding in terms of how home
based intermediate care services could support a reduction in bed
numbers in the future considering demographic trends and current use
of such services
The writers of the report seem to accept that an option involving a
new build will only be acceptable with some changes. They seem to be
recommending changes but don't quite go so far as to make that
clear. They say in pure Sir Humphrey language......
For the PCT preferred option
(Option 1) to be more fully supported by the public a number of
elements may need to be included or addressed more fully. In order to
achieve this a number of matters could be considered.
1
The provision of
X-ray services has already been reviewed by the PCT and it is now
planned to continue this service in Chipping Norton
2
It would be possible to allay fears around the proposed number of beds
and the effectiveness of intermediate care services by initially
commissioning more beds in a new facility than the proposed 12 for a
limited time whilst re-locating home based intermediate care services
to Chipping Norton from Banbury. This would allow intermediate care
services time to grow and prove their success without being perceived
as jeopardising access to bed based facilities immediately
3
The desire for a Minor injuries Unit to
be located on the site of a new build but manned via GP contract could
be considered.
4 Detailed discussions
between all concerned parties around the site
(location) are yet to be held. It would be necessary following
any decision made by the PCT Board to move ahead with Option 1 to
consult further with members of the public on options for the site of
any proposed new development.
So
will the Board accept these matters? If they do we may have a way
forward! If they don't the PCT have no basis for proceeding with
Option 1. So things would presumably stay as they are on the
hospital front...which would be a huge opportunity wasted. Lets hope
the Board do the sensible thing next Thursday.
READ THE
FULL REPORT
So what happens now? The PCT has conceded an x-ray facility but is
still being tough about the number of beds and an MIU facility.
Keith Ruddle has tabled a brilliant possible way through (READ
ABOUT IT) which was discussed at a big Stakeholder Meeting
in the Town Hall on 17th September. (READ
REPORT) The Action Group travelled to Banbury to meet
the PCT on the 20th and they held out - as
they clearly must - for the demands made in the Petition. A major Public Meeting is planned in the town for
October 4th. The PCT still says it will decide everything
on October 7th. The PCT can't say it doesn't know everybody's
views. The MP, the Town Council, the District Council and 10,000
petitioners have all voted for NO CUTS. 850 people in the
Church made their feelings quite clear. The County Overview and
Scrutiny Committee have asked them to hold fire. The County is
breathing down their necks saying they want a decision fast
because of the Castleview situation. Meanwhile the PCT itself is
in the middle of a consultation with its own staff about merging
itself with another PCT, appointing new directors and
acquiring a new Chief Executive (see below) What a mess...The Cherwell
Vale PCT must surely want the Chippy situation sorted out
before they fold up. A solution is to hand. For goodness sake lets
go for it.
_____________________________
A
government minister
has admitted that Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital has been
under-funded by £28m over four years. Stephen Ladyman MP, the
under secretary of state at the Department of Health, made the
admission in a letter to north Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry. Mr
Baldry condemned the under-funding saying it had also affected
services at Banbury's Horton Hospital. Mr Baldry criticised Mr
Ladyman for refusing to set up an independent review of the John
Radcliffe's finances after a recent parliamentary debate revealed
the extent of the debts at Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust -
the body that controls the JR, the Horton, the Churchill and the
Radcliffe Infirmary. Mr Baldry said: "It is quite clear that the
ORH Trust's finances, especially at the John Radcliffe, are in
chaos and getting worse. For the last four years, finances at the
John Radcliffe have been seriously deteriorating. "Staggeringly,
ministers now admit that the trust has been under-funded for its
research effort over this time by about £7m a year. Mr Ladyman
admits this amounts to a considerable cumulative financial
pressure. That is an understatement. It is an almighty cock-up."
Mr Baldry said: "Financial difficulties at the ORH Trust mean the
impact is felt by hospitals such as the Horton."
_____________________________
Meanwhile the Cherwell Vale PCT
is planning to disappear!
At its last meeting, the Board
of Cherwell Vale PCT approved proposals for new
overall joint management arrangements between
this PCT and North East Oxfordshire PCT, and in
particular for the appointment of a joint Chief Executive and of
further joint Directors.
Since the Board’s last meeting the
following appointments have been made to the
three new joint director posts: Director
of Clinical Services – Hazel Knott
Director of Commissioning and Modernisation – Emma Tidy
Director of Planning and Primary Care – Ginny Hope
Because of the need to consult fully
with staff on the structure below Director
level, the three new Directors will not formally take up their new
duties until the beginning of November.
Human Resources services continue to be
provided to both PCTs via our shared Director of
Human Resources, Graham Warby.
The other two Directors are already in place
and operating across both PCTs: Director of
Public Health (Dr Ljuba Stirzaker) and Director of Finance
and Performance (Dr Margaret Norgett).
The
post of Joint Chief Executive
has now been advertised nationally and a selection process is
scheduled to take place over 11th
and 12th August.
The current two Chief Executives of the PCTs, together with
existing and designated joint Directors, are
leading the process to prepare proposals for the
rest of the management structure. These proposals will be the subject of
formal consultation with the joint Staff Side representing staff in
both PCTs. The Joint Staff Side has agreed that
the consultation will run from mid-August to the
end of October.
_____________________________
Petition total
is
10,526 a truly fantastic effort .
Thanks to everyone who helped !
The
Chair of the Castleview Stakeholders Group Keith Ruddle has written an
important letter to the PCT following the September 1st meeting -
proposing a way ahead. Not everyone will agree with it but this is a
must-read contribution to the Debate about the future of Chipping Norton &
District Hospital. He reveals that back in March he warned the PCT that
their proposals would get a very negative response - unless they were
seriously modified and expanded. They weren't seriously modified and we
all know what the response has been. Keith is trying again! Full marks for
persistence. Lets hope the PCT are listening more carefully this time.
READ THE LETTER
_____________________________
PCT SEEM TO SLAM THE DOOR SHUT AGAIN!
 The
door to a happy outcome
was opened at an important
meeting of the Stakeholders Group which took place in Chippy Town
Hall on Friday 17th September.
Read an account Most people present thought it was a very
encouraging meeting. There was some real progress in a discussion of
the two difficult issues - the number of beds in a new hospital and
the form a Minor Injuries Unit should take. Some of us were
beginning to think that with agreement on these big points of
difference we could start thinking in terms of a Public Meeting
where the Action Committee helped the PCT present the advantages of
a new build hospital offering the same range and level of services
as at present. But by Monday
when the Action Group Committee
travelled to Banbury things had changed . The PCT as Mr Tough Guy
was back with a vengeance. The door was slammed in our faces. The
timing had been fixed to suit Chair Anita Higham and Director
Hazel Knott - but they didn't bother to turn up. The Chief Executive
was back on his mantra about "we have consulted and now we will
decide on October 7th". "There's no point in sending a big
delegation because we are having the meeting in our usual Board Room
and you won't get in". The most anyone was offering was that in
their report to the Board - due to be published on September 30th -
some options would be included which would allow the Board to
consider the possibility of maintaining 18 beds and of offering a
hospital-based Minor Injuries Service. The PCT having insisted
that a cut in bed numbers would be compensated for by an increase in
Domiciliary Care, we asked a simple question. Would the total
expenditure (beds plus domiciliary care) therefore be the same in
the two scenarios.
But they insisted that this was
not about money-saving. It was about delivering appropriate service
and so there were no detailed financial costings of this kind. At
this point the Action Committee (all with business backgrounds) ran
out of any understanding of just how the PCT Board will take their
decision. Going all over the same old ground again we kept getting
into silly circular arguments. A couple of examples. The
problem in supplying a Minor Injuries service is the low level of
demand. A "safe" minor injury service requires a high level of skill
which you don't want to leave unused most of the time.....but nurses
being called away from wards in the Hospital to attend to a Minor
Injury represents an unacceptable risk to the safety of in-patients.
So the PCT now propose that Minor Injuries should be handled in the
Town surgeries - but only up to 6pm.
This surely cuts the demand in
half in each surgery compared with a single location, making it even
more difficult to integrate with other work (and therefore even less
economic). We were told that in the last year there were only three
cases of a Minor Injury presenting at night. The PCT response
to this is to cut the service altogether at night. For the life of
us we can't follow that. A hospital-based service with this low
level of use would hardly constitute lack of safety for anybody. The
Action Committee argued strongly for a hospital-based minor injuries
service, manned 24 hours by nurses from the 50-bed
hospital/care home complex - and supported by on-call GPs and
(ambulance service) paramedics. The Action Committee thought it
would probably cost less than buying in a daytime service from GPs.
There was a half-hearted undertaking to look at this but we didn't
really believe they were serious. By now it was clear that the PCT
were not in the game of making any more concessions ahead of the
Board meeting. So we must now wait until September 30th and see just
what the recommendation to the PCT Board is. A big opportunity has
been missed. We will arrange a Public Meeting in the Town Hall after
the 30th Sept and before October 7th to give everyone a chance to
say what they think. But it looks as if we will need to get the
banners out after all on the evening of the 7th for a march to the
PCT offices in Banbury. NO CUTS IN OUR HOSPITAL SERVICES!
THE HOSPITAL "NO
CUTS" CAMPAIGN PAGE IS HERE
SPANNER IN THE PCT's WORKS?
The OXFORDSHIRE JOINT HEALTH OVERVIEW &
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE is a powerful committee consisting of councillors from
the County, the Districts and Oxford City. They are a kind of watchdog for
us all. They have a statutory right to be consulted about any changes in
NHS service in the County. What gives them real teeth is that if they
really don’t like something they can ask for it to be referred to the
Secretary of State. This is quite a sanction.
The committee met in Oxford
on Sept 2nd to consider their response to the Consultation
options on Chipping Norton Hospital. Chunky Townley and Clive Hill of the
Hospital Action Group made a terrific presentation to the committee and
District Councillor Hilary Biles was in great form - batting for Chipping
Norton. So much so that the Chairman eventually "warned" her that on this
committee she was supposed to be talking for Oxfordshire – not just her
own patch. Eventually the committee felt it simply didn’t have enough
financial information to make any judgement. And it was angry that the PCT
had reported following the first consultation meeting that the town
supported OPTION 1. They wanted the PCT to explain on what information
that view had been based. They also thought that it was vital for a
Community Hospital Strategy to be worked out for the whole County.
Approaching these things piecemeal - town by town - doesn’t make sense.
The committee resolved to write to the Cherwell
Vale PCT asking them to delay making any decision about Chipping Norton
Hospital until the Joint Committee has been furnished with more
information. The meeting in Chippy the previous evening
had closed with the Chairman saying that the PCT Board - having heard
everyone's views - would now go away and make its decision on October 7th.
This Joint Committee decision will throw
a spanner in their timetable. Could be a
blessing in disguise and allow for more discussion all round.
UPDATE
The O & S
Committee have now asked for a summit
meeting of all chief execs of trusts to discuss
the whole situation across the county and, before Oct
7th. In the meantime nothing can go forward.
____________________________
750 inside 100
locked out!
  
What a
truly amazing turnout. The general consensus was that around 850 people
made it to the Church last night. Not everybody got in! The PCT had boiled
down peoples worries to a short list which seemed about right compared
with all the comments which petitioners have been hearing in the last few
weeks. The worries were : X-ray. MIU, number of beds, maternity and where
will the proceeds of selling the hospital go? The PCT told us that since
the last meeting they have become a two-star authority and can now keep
more of any money from asset sales. Last time they said they could keep
one million. Now the figure was three million!! What a difference a star
makes. Since the site value is much greater than the "NHS book value" of
£800,000 quoted last time, we could now have an x-ray unit after all.
They said they had got that
wrong before. We could
also have a separate wing or building with the name "Chipping Norton War
Memorial Hospital" on it - owned by the NHS. (They had some other
wheeze involving using the money in a more tax-efficient way to pre-pay
for bought in services...but that will never fly. The emotional need among
towns people for a tangible
physical
legacy is
overwhelming).
A lady from
the Oxford Radcliffe Trust did provide enormous reassurance over the
continuation of maternity services. No guarantees but as good as.
And that was the
end of the good news. It became totally clear that if there was no
property sale there would be no money for improvements. Another version of
the Option 1 blackmail. Choose Option 1 or else. And it left the two key
questions - the number of beds and the withdrawal of the MIU. They were
two of the Petition demands and the PCT has decided to tough it out. Indeed, on
several occasions the Chair who is clearly an ex-headmistress -
sharply admonished the gathering. "We may decide in the light of the
public response (ie you people being difficult) that the best way forward
is for us to do nothing".
They justify a reduction from 18 to 12
beds by saying there is no demand for more, but in any case they have the
flexibility to purchase more if they need them from the Order of St John
in the new care home/hospital complex. But most importantly. these days
people want to be looked after in their own homes so the reduction in beds
will be compensated for with an increase in domiciliary care. All these
arguments came under remorseless attack from the audience. The area was
growing. The Radcliffe kept saying there was a need for more beds in the
area - not fewer. The big hospitals didn’t know these beds were available.
That’s why they were underused. There were several stories of people who
had wanted to go into Chippy Hospital for intermediate care but had not
been able to. Hilary Biles said she had heard this "flexibility" of beds
argument from the other side. Care Homes said they could purchase more if
they needed them. It didn’t add up. And as for domiciliary care, the local
GPs were telling us that the system simply doesn’t work. These points were
simply not answered .The PCT persisted in their view that this was not a
CUT…it was a proposal for delivering service in a new different way.
Which left the Minor Injuries Unit. A service would now be provided
by GPs but only during the day. At night there would be no cover in the
town. (Surely this was a CUT?) Chippy wasn’t big enough to justify a minor
injuries set up. It wasn’t viable. But as somebody commented from the
floor – when you need the service you need it. Statistics are irrelevant.
The town’s remoteness – particularly in winter – came up. The absence of
any credible ambulance service and the non-availability
of paramedics or first responders were raised. But all the PCT promised to
do was think about it. No concessions. Its patently clear that some
creative, joined-up thinking is needed fast in this area involving the
PCT. the GPs and the Ambulance Service. Just ask Dr Parker. He’s already
got it worked out for you. This whole process is
like getting blood out of a stone. Hundreds of people have spent their
August collecting signatures and making a fuss. That has got us an x-ray
unit. The next phase which will have to involve some more imaginative
protest and publicity – and a lot of time and energy may get us more beds
saved. Hopefully the resourceful Dr Moore and his colleagues will work out
a Minor Injuries solution which everybody can support. The town is in a
mood to keep fighting. We will get there in the end…..But what an absurd
way in the twenty first century to work out a Healthcare Strategy for a
proud and prosperous area. This PCT is doing us no
favours. They keep saying they are listening. But nobody really believes
them.
The biggest
cheer of the evening came for the man from the floor who said..."The
suspicion is that this has all been decided already". As Bill Heine
asked the PCT Chief Executive today on his phone-in programme, "How many
people out of the 850 present supported your proposals?" The answer was
one person. The PCT
have suggested today that
the atmosphere was intimidating. They say there are other views beside
those of the Action Group but people were reluctant to express them..
Genuinely, please tell us what they are. Some of
us have spent the last few weeks calling on hundreds of
houses and meeting people in the Market Square for the petition. We
simply haven’t met anybody speaking up for the PCT proposals.
Not quite true. One lady has sought us out
and accosted us noisily on every single occasion
we have been in the Market Square and told us in no uncertain terms that
we are wrong. We have tried to engage her in a dialogue but she has simply
told us that we are wrong and the PCT is right. She
eventually became part of life's rich pattern among the petitioners. That was the same
lady who spoke up for the PCT last night. When somebody in the audience
shouted…"Why are they right". She answered......."That’s
a long story" and left. As Ken Norman who is a
local communications and training specialist said today..."I
think that it’s telling that a battalion of PCT representatives armed with
PowerPoint slides over 2 public meetings and
countless words in several documents have actually managed to convince 1
person out of a community of 6,000. They should reflect on their
communication skills and strategy".
_____________________________
Any
enquiries (including media questions) please ring
Clive Hill on 01608 683252 John Grantham on 01608
64363
or Gerry Alcock
07860 210 191
_____________________________
REACTIONS HAVE STARTED
 Liz
Leffman, Liberal Democrat activist
and local Parliamentary candidate,
says:
The massive turnout at the meeting on Wednesday evening says it all -
people all over the area are determined to keep their local hospital
services. Having played a part in collecting signatures over the past few
weeks, I am committed to making sure that our hospital services are not
just maintained but improved to meet the needs of the growing local
population.
There are two fundamental flaws in the process that we are in the midst
of. First of all, it seems that plans for the hospital are being driven
not by the health needs of the town and the surrounding area, but by the
needs of the PCT and the County Council. If the question of what to do
about Castle View had not come up, would we be talking today about changes
in our hospital services? We DO need better NHS services for the town,
but is the building of those facilities by the Order of St John, who have
never built a hospital before, the right solution? Secondly, what about
the proceeds from the sale of the current site? Government policy means
that this money will not be used to fund our hospital, but will in part be
clawed back into central NHS budgets. Is this right or fair?
I
applaud the PCT for having recognised the importance of retaining X ray
services. This decision was taken after listening to what we had to say.
Now I urge them to listen again and not to take any hasty decisions.We,
the people of Chipping Norton and the local area, will continue to press
for the services we need and deserve. I say 'no' to cuts in our hospital
services.
lizleffman@clothesource.net
The future of Chipping Norton's hospital
looks no clearer after a heated public meeting attended by more than 700
people. More than 700 people filled the largest venue in the town to
discuss the community hospital with Cherwell Vale Primary Care Trust,
and about 60 were left waiting outside St Mary's Church, unable to get
in. At the start of the meeting nine-year-old Jake Mattock, whose mother
credits the hospital with saving his life, presented a petition of more
than 10,000 signatures calling for no cuts to services.
The PCT has been consulting the town
over the hospital's future, and has so far favoured a plan to move some
of its beds to a new privately-run nursing home. Under this scheme, the
hospital would lose its X-ray department and minor injuries unit. Hazel
Knott, from the PCT, began by saying that following demand from the
town, the X-ray service would be kept if its preferred plan goes ahead.
She said the minor injuries unit would still be closed, and that local
GPs and the out-of-hours GP service could treat the small numbers using
the service.
The action group which collected the
petition said it would not accept any cuts. Steve Akers said: "You may
be having this as a consultation, we in Chipping Norton think we're in
negotiation with you over a hospital that was raised by public
subscription. The PCT is just one in a long line of boards we have
entrusted it to."
Following several heated exchanges, an
ex-nurse from the town was booed by the room for backing the PCT's
favoured plan. Local GP Dr Jonathan Moore, who has been talking to the
PCT and the action group, called for a less aggressive debate. He said:
"I think both sides want the very best for Chipping Norton. I don't want
it to get too confrontational, and I think there are large areas where
we can find some middle ground."
Several people accused the PCT of
having already made up its mind, which the PCT denied. It said it stood
by its claim that the town did not need 18 NHS beds, but said if the
proposed 12 proved inadequate it would get more. Trust chief executive
Barry Thomas also said if the hospital building were sold it would raise
about £3m, far more than the figure of £800,000 originally suggested.
Trust chairman Anita Higham finished by
saying that all of the comments made would be included in a report to
the board at the end of the month. "We as a board have the option to do
nothing, and that may well be what we do," she said.
_____________________________
"Local
NHS managers will have to think again"
- says David Cameron MP ahead of Sept
1st meeting
"Why
do our much-loved community hospitals seem to be permanently under
threat of cuts or closure?
Now the focus is on
Chipping Norton hospital. In my view, the preferred option of the NHS
management makes four vital errors.
First, it envisages a cut in beds, even
though bed blocking remains a problem and the John Radcliffe management
think there are too few beds in Oxfordshire.
Second, it looks forward to a reduction in
services, as X ray, for example, will no longer be available. When we
have all paid more taxes to the NHS services should be getting better, not
worse.
Third, people who use Chipping Norton
hospital and value its services (my family included) want assurances that
the NHS will maintain a real presence in the town. If a new hospital is
really a care home with some leased hospital beds, what guarantee do we
have that the NHS - with maternity, minor injuries, and the other services
that we value - really is here to stay?
Fourth, we need to know more about where
any money from selling the existing building will go. What guarantees can
we have about the money being spent locally - and about the NHS having a
freehold over any new hospital building?
These are the questions that I believe the
NHS must address. We all hear and understand their pleas that more money
needs to be spent helping people to live independently at home for
longer. And we all know that the NHS is about services people use, not
bricks and mortar. But we also know the unhappy history of the NHS and
our much loved local hospitals. That's why these questions need to be
answered - and why the local NHS managers will have to think again."
_____________________________
No cuts in our
Hospital Services
says
Tony Gray
Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate.
 At
a time when the Government is investing substantial extra funds in the NHS
(total spent on the NHS in England is set to rise from £56bn in 2002-03 to
over £90bn in 2007-08) - Chippy deserves its slice of the cake. In their
desire to 'Improve the Patient Experience' the Government says that it
wants to: "Strengthen accountability to local communities through improved
engagement with them." It is essential that local NHS managers meet that
demand in keeping a local healthcare centre that over 9,000 residents have
also called for. Having lived for most of my life in the Wychwoods I have deeply valued the
presence of having a local hospital. I have no time for those who argue
that big is always better when it comes to public services - often the
reverse is true. Whilst the John Radcliffe Hospital is fast becoming a
model
twenty-first century Hospital - this must not be at the expense of local
facilities.
There is a desperate need to have a modern community Hospital - but not at
the expense of essential local facilities. Beneath the understandable
anger, local NHS managers must latch onto the enthusiasm of Chipping
Norton residents - who demand a truly local NHS service. It is essential
that we have a brand new elderly home and a new Healthcentre will mean
additional money in future years going into resources rather than
maintenance. I strongly urge PCT to keep minor injuries, Xray and
maternity in Chipping Norton. No cuts in our Hospital Services.
HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD
Rob Evans - our County Councillor is stuck
in the States. He has written today (Aug 31st) to the PCT
READ ROB'S FULL
LETTER HERE
"I support and have signed the petition that has been organized in
the town to preserve the existing level of hospital services. I hope the
PCT is able to bring some firm proposals about the continuation of MIU
and X Ray in particular in conjunction with the Doctors’ surgeries and
League of Friends and also the Maternity Unit in collaboration with the
John Radcliffe. All public authorities must now feel a responsibility to
encourage the continuation and further development of services in market
towns against the economic and environmental costs of transferring most
of them to a limited number of larger conurbations."
_______________________________________
PREPARE TO MEET THY PCT
Graham Thornton of Chadlington joins
the Action Group in the Market Square on Saturday
to alert everybody to the
PCT's second crucial consultation meeting on September
1st in the Church at 7pm.
The PCT have agreed
to receive our petition at the beginning of the meeting and to allow the
Action Group Chairman - Chunky Townley - to make an opening address. We
are expecting the PCT to come up with some amended proposals but nothing
is certain. This is above all an opportunity for everybody to make their
views known and it is essential you attend if you possibly can. The church
holds 600+ and we hope it will be full. Lots of people are still on
holiday - which was all part of the consultation plan. The PCT had hoped
to slip this whole thing through while everybody was on the beach. Lets
make sure that they still know that they have a fight on their hands and
that we are determined to resist cuts in hospital services. Since the
first meeting a number of important things have happened ...Our MP. our
three District Councillors and our County Councillor have all come out in
support of the NO CUTS campaign. Our Town Council have refused to endorse
any of the PCT options. The District Council have done the same. The
League of Friends questionnaire was completed by 2000 respondents and
showed overwhelming support to maintain existing hospital services. The
local media have been incredibly supportive and we are really grateful to
BBC Oxford, Central TV, Banbury Guardian, Oxford Mail, Cotswold Journal,
Witney Gazette and Banbury Cake - who have given terrific coverage
to the NO CUTS Campaign. Above all 8,000 people (and still counting)
have signed a petition resisting cuts. Please be there on Wednesday to
lend your support. You will surely want to be able to tell your
grandchildren..."I was there the night the PCT began to change their
mind!"
_____________________________
 Its
a few years ago now but Claire Jarvis (pictured left with Daniel) still
remembers it all vividly.
Daniel was 11 months old at the time. He
managed to roll across the bathroom floor and
get wedged under the heated towel rail - not hot
enough to burn an adult, but hot enough to give a baby third degree
burns on both legs. My partner was away, so I called a neighbour
who helped give first aid and then took us to
the MIU - the nurse there had already called out
one of the GPs from White House to meet us there. He examined
Daniel, made drawings of the burns, faxed them through to the
plastics unit at the JR in Oxford and then
conferred with the consultant by phone. He then
gave the recommended treatment and we were able to go home straight
away. What was so fantastic was (a) the care and support of the
nurse on duty when both Daniel and I were quite
distressed and (b) not having to travel to
Banbury or Oxford - which would not only have added to the stress
of the event but would also have meant a much longer delay in
treatment. There is no doubt in my mind that
being cared for by a small team in familiar
surroundings helped alleviate my shock and Daniel's pain. Although
he still has a significant scar on one leg, he made a very swift
recovery and, amazingly, didn't need any pain
relief after that first evening.
_____________________________
The quote below is from
an outstanding and really
thoughtful letter which
Dr Jonathan Moore of
the West Street Surgery has written to the PCT about their proposals
for the Hospital.
READ IT IN FULL HERE
I would not underestimate the ability of people in Chipping Norton to raise money and develop services.
Speaking personally when I was involved in the foundation of the Lawrence
Home Nursing Team it was thought completely impossible to raise £40,000 to
start up this service. As you know over the last five years we have
expanded and developed this service beyond our wildest expectations. More
recently with the closure of the Chipping Norton open air swimming pool a
consortium of local people have got together and done an extraordinary job
in raising money and maintaining the services. As one resident recently
said: "if the town can save an open air swimming pool I am sure there will
be a much greater determination to save and preserve at least the current
services that we have at Chipping Norton Hospital".
_____________________________
BEST FOOT FORWARD
Last weekend the irrepressible David Geddes (of Geddes Carpets in West
Street) was doing the cooking at his home in Little Compton. He was
juggling various dishes and went to put one on to the bottom tray of the
oven. He pulled out the oven tray - probably too quickly. Unknown to him
his wife had left a dish of cooking fat there which by now had heated up
to a nice scalding temperature. Splat! All over his foot. Agony wasn't in
it. David went into orbit. He was howling. The family bought him a bucket
of cold water. David got a bit panicky because as a diabetic he knows
these kinds of things can be dangerous when your circulation is not all it
should be. He needed reassurance (and painkillers) fast! His wife wanted
to drive to the Horton but David insisted that Chippy was nearer and
better. He hasn't stopped talking about the fantastic treatment he got in
Chippy Hospital since. Mrs Lord was on duty and needed to finish her drug
round but was then straight on the case. She phoned the GP who prescribed
anti-biotics. She dressed his wound and dispensed lashings of TLC. She
insisted he came back on Sunday when Mandy gave him the same treatment. To
describe David as an enthusiast for the hospital is a fantastic
understatement. "We absolutely must not let them cut back on any services
at the Hospital. It would be criminal"
_____________________________
2000
people respond to
League of Friends questionnaire
about Hospital Services
Would PCT plans
‘improve healthcare provision in Chipping Norton and District’
? 90% reject the PCT proposals
Does Chipping Norton
Hospital need a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) and an X-Ray facility?
99%
say yes.
The PCT proposes a
reduction in bed capacity
to 12 beds. 80% of respondents want
to see the present 18 beds maintained
Should
money realised through any sale of the existing
Hospital site be
reinvested into a new Chipping Norton Hospital.
95% of respondents say yes.
Where should a new
hospital be? 40%
- as close to the existing site as possible.
30% - anywhere in the town or the outskirts of the town
94% want
to see maternity services retained
Read a FULL SUMMARY
of the findings.
_____________________________
?
People
fighting to save their hospital from closure will join campaigners across
Oxfordshire to swap ideas. A group of more than 20 people gathered at the
Bradley Centre, in Bretch Hill, Banbury, to discuss what can be done to
keep all wards of the town's Horton Hospital open.
The Horton campaigning group is protesting against plans
to move Banbury's mental health services to Oxford and is holding a public
meeting in the town hall on September 6. Leading Banbury campaigner George
Parrish said: "In the past there was just us, but now as they are starting
to try and close other community hospitals, we thought it would be a good
idea to talk to other campaign groups and swap ideas. We would like to
talk to the Chipping Norton campaign group, for example, who are trying to
save the hospital there, to try and see what we can do help each other.
Gerry Alcock, a Chipping Norton town councillor and
campaigner, said: "That's a really great idea. "We can learn from each
other about the best ways of representing people's views. We would be very
happy to share our experiences."
_____________________________
Maureen
Shepherd of the Action Committee nabs a more than willing Grahame Garden
to add his signature to the
Petition
_________________________________________
Our
resident town cartoonist Frank Dickens (of Bristow fame) was signing
the Petition in the Square so we asked him to do us a campaign cartoon!!
He did this one for us on the spot. Not quite sure about the message but
then Frank was leaving for holiday in Spain that afternoon!
_________________________________________
CO-INCIDENCE OR CONSPIRACY?
What an incredible co-incidence!! Less than 30 miles away Malmesbury is
up in arms. Their PCT wants to close their old hospital and develop a
new facility
attached
to a residential care home
on greenfield land
using private
finance and pocketing the proceeds of the sale of the old site. They
want to withdraw maternity and can't really say what other facilities
will be included in the new facility. They seem to have recruited a
group of patsies to consult with and are claiming local support. The
League of Friends are supporting plans because they are afraid of
"losing everything". Read more about it......marvel at the similarities
to our situation and ask whether somewhere in the Thames Valley
Strategic Health Authority there isn't a "co-ordination" unit whose job
is to assist PCT's in closing down community hospitals. Lets twin with
Malmesbury and compare notes.
(From
"This is Wiltshire"12 August 2004)
PCT proposals a farce say critics
HEALTH
trust plans to develop new facilities at Malmesbury Hospital have been
slammed as a farce. Residents say the plans are merely a way of helping
Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) get out of debt. The
PCT wants to build a new home for the Gable House Surgery, a 60-bed
private care home, a number of close care homes and a new outpatients
department. But opponents of the scheme say the development which is
earmarked for a green field site outside the town's development boundary
are doubtful if it can deliver the necessary medical facilities. The
scepticism is fuelled by a lack of confirmation from the PCT on what
services it would include. A decision to go ahead with the development
suffered a setback two weeks ago when North Wiltshire District Council
put it back for further talks. The council deferred the planning
application amid concerns over the precise make-up of the proposed new
facilities. Members of the Malmesbury Hospital Board have been heavily
involved with launching the new plans. Board chairman John Bowen whose
members include representatives from the PCT, district and county
councillors and Gable House GPs said Malmesbury people strongly
supported the project. Robin Clark, chairman of the League of
Friends for Malmesbury Hospital and project board member, said the
development was the better of two evils. Mr Clark said: "Obviously we
would prefer to keep the hospital. But we are just trying to make the
best of what there is for Malmesbury. I think this development is more
about the PCT getting themselves out of debt and taking away the
maternity services. I am supporting the planning application to make
sure the PCT gives us something." Resident Dawn Halsey said there is no
rational reason for the development to encroach on the green field site.
Mrs Halsey said: "The vast majority of people in Malmesbury think it is
going to be a hospital but it will be a private care home. The public
are unaware of what exactly the PCT is doing. I feel the aim of the PCT
is to generate funds through privately financing the initiative and get
themselves out of debt. We are not against the building of a new
hospital in Malmesbury. Everybody needs medical facilities but this will
not provide it." Malmesbury Maternity Unit campaigner Sarah Newman,
said: "I cannot see why the new development could not include a
maternity unit".
Malmesbury Maternity Unit is
threatened with closure by Kennet & North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust
(PCT) along with the Devizes Maternity Unit despite big campaigns to
defend these units in each town. A petition of 10000 was presented to
the PCT last year. Campaigners have asked for it back as they now wish
to present it to Parliament, but the PCT
refuses to return it without explanation
(probably because they just binned it -
showing their real concern for local feeling)
_________________________________________
"We
need hospitals based in our community"
The
Banbury Guardian takes up the story of Jake in this week's edition (our
version is below).
Great story. The paper has been incredibly supportive of the Chippy Hospital
Campaign and we thank them for that very much. Hopefully we will all show
our appreciation by buying the paper!
Better even than the story is the Editorial on Page 2. Great fighting stuff from the
Editor!
The
case of nine year old Jake provides the perfect example of why we need
hospitals based in our community. He fell ill after triggering a
previously undiagnosed nut allergy and needed urgent attention. If he
had needed to travel to Banbury his condition could have been fatal -
and because of the time factor, a journey to Oxford was out of the the
question. Often in cases like Jake's the first few minutes are vital and
it is only by having locally-based facilities that we can ensure the
necessary level of care is available to patients in this crucial period.
The government and health authorities can put in place as many new
initiatives as they like - be it the NHS Helpline, reviews of ambulance
coverage or innovative community care. The fact is people expect, and
have a right to expect,
 adequate
care within reasonable proximity to their houses. Modernisation and
streamlining are all very well as long as they are done for the right
reasons and result in comparable, if not improved provision.
_________________________________________
 The
Public Meeting on the 1st September is to be held in the Church. The
vicar reckons it can hold around 600 seated. In a recent new history of
the church Jan Cliffe describes the role of the church in medieval times
as a place to congregate....."The central
Nave and Aisles created a large square space capable of accommodating a
congregation of around 800, but would not have contained any furniture,
possibly just wooden benches around the walls. Most people stood or
knelt on the floor, which would have been paved with large stone slabs
incorporating the gravestones and some brasses of prominent local people".
We'll be keeping the seats on September 1st but there will probably be
some standing in the aisles. The location of the church is not easy -
particularly for older people who won't want to walk and can't park.
Brilliantly John Grantham (the Town Fixer) has arranged for the
recreation ground to be used that evening for car parking - a virtually
unprecedented occurrence! This will make access to the church a doddle.
But he stresses that this can only happen if the ground is firm or we
shall get into a terrible mess. So keep your fingers crossed for a fine
dry evening!
________________________________________
The Witney Gazette of
August 11th quotes Heather Barnett of the PCT ...."We are already
investigating opportunities to improve our proposals in line with the
feedback we have received from the public". What does this mean? Will we
hear on September 1st?
________________________________________
LEAGUE OF FRIENDS HAVE
THEIR SAY
Some
points from their response to the Consultation Document.
READ THE FULL
RESPONSE
The League of Friends have grave concerns about the
proposals.....The League strongly believes that the existing
level of service provision should be maintained, and that enhanced
services would be desirable.....
The League continues to be seriously concerned at the
existing level of MIU (Minor Injuries Unit) service at Chipping Norton. We believe that the
current opening hours should be preserved at the very least, and that
the full service should be reinstated as soon as the staffing/health and
safety issues have been resolved. Chipping
Norton is remote from other towns and transport links are not
sufficient. We understand from local surgeries that the PCT
(Primary Care Trust) has not
entered into detailed discussions regarding the MIU service being
provided by local GPs.
The League believes most strongly that X-Ray
should continue to be provided. The
issue of rurality is key here, with large numbers of patients having to
travel elsewhere to be x-rayed, reliant on poor public transport or the
overstretched ambulance service. There is a
suggestion that the cost estimates for the re-provision of x-ray on the
new site are at best inaccurate.
The
proposed reduction in bed numbers is of great concern, particularly with
little evidence to support this within the consultation document.
We understand that there is a great degree of dissatisfaction
amongst key health professionals regarding the current provision of
domiciliary care. Therefore any increase in this in order to justify a
reduction in beds must be of equal concern. The League would also
question the degree to which further recruitment of domiciliary care
workers is viable given the current state of the job market................
It is vital that the NHS retains ownership as far as
possible so that the identity of a hospital for the local community can
be preserved. The League believes that it will be impossible to fund
raise in the future for what could essentially be viewed as a private
facility and therefore the PCT needs to be clear that the additional
support that has been available through the League might well not be
available in the future.
The League strongly believes that the PCT needs to
make publicly available the information upon which it has based its
valuation of the existing site. The PCT will be aware that there is a
strong sense that the suggestion of £800,000 is grossly inaccurate.
READ THE FULL
RESPONSE
_________________________________________
 MEET
THE CHIPPY
RADIOGRAPHER
Having listened to the "management"
experts arguing figures over the last few weeks about the viability of
an x-ray service in Chippy, it was really helpful to hear the view from
the front line when me and my wheezy chest dragged ourselves into the
Hospital x-ray department last Friday morning. In between the x-ray
shots there was some pretty serious chatting between me and "Ms x-ray"
(we agreed to keep this anonymous) ............The demand is high.
The department is really busy. Its only open three mornings a week and
you generally find that you have to wait three or four days for an
appointment. The department could clearly handle more work with
longer hours but nobody seems to have considered it. More than this
there seems to be lots of potential. There are very few referrals at the
moment from Hooky, Charlbury or the Wychwoods - although the few
patients who do come seem to much prefer the informality and the
friendliness of Chippy Hospital compared with the Horton and the
Radcliffe. So why don't the doctors use Chippy? Well here's the catch.
An x-ray has to go to Banbury and have a report written on it by a
radiologist before it is then sent back to the GP. Sending the film and
stuff through to Banbury takes several days and there is the suspicion
that Chippy reports are not top of the radiologists pile for attention.
Which means that the GP is looking at a much slower service overall from
Chippy than from the Horton - so he tends to choose the Horton even
though the patient may well have preferred to have gone to Chippy. Is
this another case of killing a service by stealth....you make something
unattractive so people don't use it....and then claim its not being used
so it needs to be closed down! But there's an answer to this. Its
obvious that the present equipment needs updating. (What follows
is an unofficial estimate - but its been discussed with suppliers) You
could completely replace the present equipment for just £50k and
with an additional £100k you could get a state of the art full-on digital
capability. Thats a grand total of £150,000 - way short of the
£250,000 quoted at the Public meeting for replacement. And what Digital
does is to transform your working methods and speed. Everything can be
sent down the line....goodbye to hard copies. The villages will be
queuing up to use the Chippy x-ray facility - once this technology
is in place. Chippy would become a viable outpost for specialists at the
Horton. Conference calls could be discussing real-time x-rays. GPs could
get instantaneous input from consultants in Banbury. The 20 mile painful
drive would be avoided as everyone agreed it was only a sprain after
all! There's a highly committed radiographer in Chippy who has got a lot
of this worked out and is really excited about the possibilities. She
sees a much better future as close and attainable. She believes there is
a role for community hospitals and she much prefers working in them!
Isn't it time the NHS bosses spared some time to talk to her and stopped
threatening closure of our x-ray department? (Oh and by the way she
doesn't like her equipment being described as decrepit. It still does
its job. Its under a maintenance contract and there's no point replacing
it unless we get something seriously better!)
______________________________________
EVE
GOES PETITIONING - FINDS 100% SUPPORT
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
JAKE IS LIVING PROOF OF WHY WE MUST
KEEP ALL OUR HOSPITAL SERVICES......
JAKE
who lives up London Road is a pretty cool dude. Ruud van Nistelroy is
his favourite footballer and his best mate is Luke who lives down at
Cross Leys. Jake tells you modestly that he is totally expert at all the
Playstation2 games. Jake is a really super kid. But a
few months ago he went through a major trauma and his Mum attributes his
survival entirely to the fact that Chippy Hospital was close by and the
nurses there handled a crisis with enormous skill and coolness.
Nobody
knew Jake was allergic to Brazil nuts. He had eaten every other kind of
nut and loved them. That evening around 7.30pm he ate a Chocolate Brazil
(and he only did that because it was the only chocolate covered sweet
left in the bag - and Jake really likes chocolate). His Mum Alison
recalls what happened next with real horror....his face puffed up, Jake
complained that his throat had gone completely dry. he was choking, his
face changed colour and Alison says "his lips swelled up. He looked just
like Mick Jagger". (Who's Mick Jagger asks Jake from the other side of a
generation divide). Jake was in deep anaphylactic shock. His mother had
no doubts. She wasn't going to hang around for an ambulance or grapple
with the GP night callout system. There just didn't seem to be that kind
of time. In five minutes Jake was down at the hospital. They had
diagnosed the problem and given him adrenalin which stabilised the
situation until an ambulance took him off to the Horton. Alison has no
doubt that without Chippy Hospital, Jake wouldn't be around today. Its
not surprising that she is such a huge supporter of the NO CUTS
campaign.
_________________________________________
THE DISTRICT JOIN THE
FIGHT!
OUR
DISTRICT COUNCIL IN
CRACKING FORM
BACK THE ACTION GROUP AND TELL THE HEALTH AUTHORITY "THESE OPTIONS
WON'T DO -
GET BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD"
The
Action Group Chairman "Chunky" Townley and Committee Member Clive Hill
had just five minutes to tell the District Council why their backing is
so important to the Chippy "NO CUTS" campaign. Chunky and Clive
were both in great form. Chunky explained why the group has been formed.
To try and get some simplicity into an increasingly complex debate about
options - all of which have so many ifs and buts. It is completely
unacceptable that with all the promises being made about increased
expenditure in Health we should have to contemplate a reduction in
services. Clive hammered on the point that ALL the options involved a
reduction in services. Lets get that sorted first before getting
embroiled in how and where we deliver the services. It wasn't helpful to
be trying to choose the nearest acceptable option. He urged the District
Council to join with the Town Council, the town's three District
Councillors, the County Councillor and the MP in rejecting all the
options.
 Then
the floodgates opened. Every councillor that spoke was strongly in
favour of the Action Group line. Our own town trio batted as a team and
emphasised the role of the hospital as an essential part of the
community .....Councillor Hannis recalled his many years
involvement in fund raising for the Hospital. This proposal was
disgusting. Who are these faceless people who come up with these
ideas?....Councillor Howes said the PCT had produced a committee
document and we all know about those..... and Councillor Coles talked
about the problems of home care and carers. Who would actually do the
caring in the home in future. We needed more hospital beds NOT fewer
.....Councillor Biles (Pictured left in the tea break with Clive and
Chunky) is the health expert on the Council. She emphasised that all
the options contained too many unknowns. So many things had not yet been
decided. Staffing was unclear - who employs who?. The model for Minor
Injuries still had to be worked through. Her committee had been clear
that cuts could not be tolerated. This proposal is very light on the
meat! ..... Councillor Millard wished the Action Group well. He reminded
everybody that Chippy Hospital covered a very wide area. All the
councillors were involved. Is this Consult and listen or Consult
and do what we were going to do anyway. Lets give them a run for their
money..... Councillor Walker who lives just a few miles out of
Chippy said.......The hospital is absolutely invaluable....this plan is
part of a government conspiracy to deny services to rural areas.....the
action group have got it exactly right...The PCT need to be told in no
uncertain terms to get back to the drawing board with NO CUTS as the
starting point.....Councillor Hunt said that the Action Group had hit
the nail on the head. There were far too many conflicting threads. They
had to be split apart...... Councillor Harvey movingly said that one day
everyone of us would need an ambulance and a hospital. The way things
are going you might turn round and there won't be one there. Its
terrifying.....Councillor Handley reminded everyone of the winter
months and the remoteness of Chippy. You need services on the spot. We
simply have to fight this tooth and nail.......Perhaps the strongest
support of the afternoon came from Cabinet Member Louise Chapman. She
was in fierce form. I reckon we should give her the Freedom of Chippy
for her efforts.
A
resolution was proposed by Mary Neale ....
“West Oxfordshire District Council strongly opposes any reduction in
services currently provided at Chipping Norton hospital and calls upon
the Cherwell Vale PCT to work with all
partners to maintain all the existing service provision and furthermore
improve services to meet the needs of Chipping Norton and the locality
in the future, using the most appropriate locations in the town to
safeguard these services”.
It was
approved unanimously. This was an absolutely fantastic result.
This website has had critical things to say about the WODC in the past.
Not today. They pooled their own experiences, went to great efforts to
establish what their constituents felt, came out in support of the
town and are clearly going to help in any way they can. Just what a
District Council should be doing. Well done to our District Councillors.
And to the Chairman Barry Norton who was in masterly form this afternoon
- fair but with his heart showing pretty clearly. Well done Chunky and
Clive. Well done all round. Now the least everyone else can do is to
join the fight by getting out and signing the Petition.
_________________________________________
Our
hands-on and strictly non-political Chairman Chunky Townley fixing a
banner to Stones balcony as a backdrop for an interview he did
(Tuesday) with Central TV at 2pm. Apparently it was a great interview.
Chunky was lined up with John Grantham and Clive Hill below the banner.
The interviewer introduced them as all born in Chippy Hospital, children
born in the Hospital, grandchildren born in the Hospital. Chunky did a
call to arms, It was all spliced together with some nice shots of the
town. Later in the afternoon Chunky settled into his armchair to watch
his TV debut - just as the skies opened and the Over Norton transmitter
went off air. Nobody in Chippy saw the news item..........but word from
Ledwell and Charlbury is that it all looked very good.
_________________________________________
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Eve Coles
District Councillor
(Labour)
It is essential for us all to
send a clear message to the Local Health Authority that none of
their options for the hospital will do. We must resist any cuts in
our hospital services |
Elizabeth Allen
District Council Candidate
(LibDem)
These proposals mean that
for someone in the villages without a car, an x-ray will become a
whole day's expedition |
Mayor
Don
Davidson
We will fight to
maintain current levels of
healthcare provided by the Hospital. We do not like any of the
options proposed. |
Steven Weston
Vicar of
St Mary's
We must mobilise the whole town on the basis of NO
CUTS to hospital
services. |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
John Hannis
District Councillor
(Independent)
I have supported Chippy Hospital all my life and been proud of how
it has served the town. For the first time in my long experience
of it we are talking about services getting worse. This is
ridiculous. We expect things to get better! |
Mike Howes District Councillor
(Conservative)
My family must be typical of most in the town. Over
the 33 years we have lived here, we have used all the marvellous
services that our hospital provides. The town is expanding and it
is essential that we keep ALL the services. I urge the PCT
to reconsider their options. |
David
Cameron
MP
What
matters most is that we have a hospital in Chipping Norton with the full
range of services and a secure future. That is what people want and
that is what the PCT should aim for. More money is going into the NHS -
and no one will understand if they see fewer services coming out of it. |
Rob
Evans
County Councillor
(Labour)
It is time to develop our market towns as
major centres of services rather than outposts of far flung health
empires. The current 'No Cuts' petition in the town has to
succeed and I understand the PCT will return with more positive
proposals to the further public meeting on September 1st.'
|
DAVID KICKS OFF THE
PETITION
All our District Councillors and our MP in
agreement...we must be in with a chance!!
David Cameron signing up (left) with John Hannis, Mike Howes and Eve
Coles
Four members of the Action Group on duty were Terry
Howes, Clive Hill, John Grantham and (behind) Gerry Alcock. Present in
spirit were the other four members - the Vicar, the Chairman Chunky
Townley, Anne Robinson and Maureen Shepherd. (on the right) Terry Howes
helps Bob Cairns of The Leys with the petition. Bob was one of the first
to sign. The heart-rending story he told at the Public Meeting about the
way local health and social services had let him and his family down, is
still vividly fresh in many peoples minds.
John Grantham with his daughter Joanne and grandsons
Luke and Dan - three generations and everyone of them born in Chippy
Hospital. (right) Inspector Nick Deacon is a convert to the cause and
sets off on patrol!
With us through the afternoon was the smashing Katy
Johnstone from Radio Oxford who was being very fair-minded and did some
cracking interviews and was really fun to have around, while
petition-signing got brisker in the sunshine.
|
JULY 22nd HOSPITAL ACTION GROUP LAUNCHED
|
 Action
Group Chairman "Chunky" Townley writes:
It is essential
that the local Health Authority hears the town's opinion about the
proposed hospital
options LOUD AND CLEAR None of their options will do. We
cannot accept cuts in current services. The Town Council have
clarified their position, we hope that all our other
elected representatives will now do the same. The CHIPPY
HOSPITAL ACTION GROUP was launched today. Our battle cry during August
will be:
NO CUTS IN
OUR HOSPITAL SERVICES
 The objectives
of our ACTION GROUP are to attract the maximum publicity we can for the NO
CUTS campaign, to provide more background information about the
PCT's proposals, to organise a petition among residents of
Chipping Norton and all the surrounding villages, to encourage
every single local resident to submit a consultation response form
to the PCT and finally and most importantly to ensure a record
turnout at the Public Meeting on September 1st. The PCT want a consultation. We must
make sure they get one.
The Hospital Action Group
plan to distribute information sheets, posters, and other
publicity material so we need a few quid from some people to get
things moving.
In trying to collect
thousands of signatures for a petition during August
- with so many people on holiday - the Action Group may be
attempting the impossible! Unfortunately the timing is not
our choice and the deadline is the Public Meeting on September
1st. The wording of the Petition is: "The local Health Authority
are threatening to cut the number of hospital beds and withdraw
x-ray facilities and the minor injuries unit from Chipping Norton
in their future plans. We, the undersigned, insist that all
current hospital services in Chipping Norton should be retained".
We are going to need serious help collecting signatures. Would you
be prepared to cover your street? Or spend a couple of hours in
the Market Square? Or organise your village. If you can help at
all within the town please ring John Grantham on 01608 643639 If
you can help in the villages around please ring Clive Hill on
01608 683252 And please make it soon.
But most of all we need your commitment
to the cause. Please contact one of
the Action Group. They are all people you know! From left to
right: Chunky Townley (Chairman) Clive Hill,
Anne Robinson, John Grantham,
Steven Weston, Maureen Shepherd, Terry Howes, Gerry Alcock.
Need more information? Ask us.
 
  
|
Please take a look at the
special collection of old photographs which the Museum have put together
in their display window opposite the Town Hall steps. Terrific timing
and very inspirational. The poster announcing the fundraising Public
Meeting in 1919 is a classic. Perhaps we should get hundreds of these
printed off and posted around the town!
After the 400+ attendance
at the July 5th Public Meeting the problem now is where can the
follow-up meeting on September 1st be held. There will certainly be many
more than 400 wanting to get into that. Among the suggestions so far are - in the
square (and to hell with the weather), in the Church (but would the vicar
agree?) in a marquee on the Rec.
Suggestions in the
FORUM
please.
NEWSFLASH! Problem solved! The church is booked. The vicar says it holds
around 600 sitting. Standing in the aisles will increase that. But the
PCT will still probably need an overflow meeting somewhere.
READ THE HISTORY OF THE HOSPITAL -
REMIND YOURSELF HOW IT ALL STARTED
READ THE PCT CONSULTATION DOCUMENT
READ ABOUT THE
FIRST PUBLIC CONSULTATION MEETING
READ ABOUT THE CASTLEVIEW CONSULTATION
|
JULY
21st |
A Great letter from Graham Thornton
of Chadlington which ends........My conclusion after the
consultation meetings is that Chipping Norton and District will
end up with a 50-bed glorified care home with far fewer facilities
than at present. This must not be allowed to happen. People know
that the hospital and Castle View sites, as well as the sites of
the Ambulance station and the now-closed Chestnuts nurses home are
worth millions to a developer. One of the excuses, if the existing
Castle View was brought up to standard is that residents would
have to be moved out while the work was done, but the same thing
will happen at Spencer Court Woodstock, because it is said that no
new site can be found. The next Public consultation is on
September 1st. As a previous correspondent told your
readers...lets rise in revolt....Let us show that this town and
district originally provided this brilliant hospital and are not
prepared to see it vanish into the mismanaged finances of the
Oxfordshire County Council and the National Health Service. |
 |
|
AGEING
POPULATION NEEDS THE
HOSPITAL
I’m fully behind the
Chipping Norton
campaign to save the community
hospital,
which is a vital local service. It seems the powers that be are
determined to suck services to the centre of the universe, e.g.
Oxford, to the detriment of
Chipping Norton
and Banbury.West Oxfordshire has an ageing population and older
generations will increasingly need the minor injuries unit and x-ray.It
is not fair to make patients travel 20 miles to Oxford when they
are in distress when they could have treatment virtually on their
doorstep. Indeed, without these elements it is not a
hospital
at all in my opinion and should not be labelled as such. The plan
also includes the loss of six beds, which begs the question what
happens when the remaining beds are full? It means even more
patients will be transported to another
hospital
or left in an aisle waiting for treatment. It seems rural
communities are being stripped of services left, right and centre
for example of hospitals, transport, shops. All these
services are disintegrating in the face of market forces and the
people are being forgotten. I am sure Banbury and
North Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire are growing at a faster
rate than Oxford and perhaps the services should reflect that.
Les Robinson, Chipping Norton |
Some comments from local GPs
|
|
The Hospital was
endowed by its community and has had substantial investment from
the town over the years. All proceeds from the sale of the current
building should therefore be retained in the town and guarantees
be given that assets cannot be stripped - either now or in the
future. Any third party involved in admininistering a new hospital
(eg St John) should also be bound by covenant to observe the same
principles. |
|
|
One of our major
concerns is the central place taken by the Intermediate Care
Services. You mention that a 12% increase in this service would be
taken to improve provision. Unfortunately our experience with
these services is that they are often not available in Chipping
Norton probably because we are too far out for carers to get to
Chippy and back again, perhaps three times a day for one patient.
My own personal experience has been that I have never managed to
access these services for a patient - despite many phone calls. |
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We are extremely
disappointed to see that you propose closing the x-ray facilities.
As you know Chippy has a large elderly population and many people
do not have ready access to transport to Banbury or Oxford. If we
feel a patient has pneumonia or a broken hip we are able to x-ray
them in Chippy without having to transfer them by expensive
ambulance transport to Casualty in Banbury where they have to join
the queue of other patients who need to be seen.
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Points from this website Forum
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I cant see how any mother or mother
to be in chipping norton can possibly want to change or move our
cottage hospital. when i was pregnant with my first child the
midwives antenatal care and support was spectacular and invaluable
to me and my husband. I could get all soppy about how personal it
is unlike the big hospitals or clinics but i dont want to sound
like a sap!. My nan who is 92 became very ill last year , we
thought we were going to loose her, basicaly because she was
giving up. But the nurses at c/n hospital got her back to her old
self in no time.
I dont think it could be any where near the same if it is moved
and integrated with other facilities. It would change everyting
for the people of chipping norton and the surrounding villages.
I dont realy get all this politics stuff,
What can we do???? |
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Graham Pike:
I am a nurse at the JR in Oxford, but I live in Chippy.
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the meeting on Monday, but I
have registered my concerns at the PCT's proposal on their
website. Put simply, fewer beds at Chipping Norton means longer
waits at the JR and Horton. If we can't move patients to community
hospitals when they no longer need acute care (and this is in the
patient's interest, since community hospitals are better set up
for rehabilitation whereas the acute hospitals are set up for
treating very sick people), then they will wait longer in acute
medical and surgical beds. This is clearly non-ideal, both for
that patient (who loses out on the specialist therapy available in
community hospitals) and for the patients who as a consequence
face longer waits in the Emergency Department because there are no
beds available on the wards. The PCT
hopes to solve this problem by providing extra home care. Given
the shortage of people who provide such care (due largely, I'm
sure, to the low pay for such jobs), I fail to see how they will
achieve this. |
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District
Councillor Hilary Biles :Had the PCT confirmed that
Xray, MIU, maternity, and out- patient services were to be in
option 1, then perhaps (the
WODC Economic & Social Overview & Scrutiny Committee)
would have voted for that. However,
they were not. It appeared only the beds are a certainty and the
falls clinic. This naturally is very worrying.
The Councillors were
also concerned at the prospect of the building not belonging to
the NHS at the end of the contract. We had to focus on the
consultation document, not the maybes. |
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Deputy Mayor
Gina Burrows: Rubbishing everyone who belongs to or
works for an official body will inevitably be counter-productive.
Do people think that all those who have
worked through long hours (both officers, elected members and
interested residents) have done so for their own glorification or
profit? They've worked hard to try and achieve a workable solution
to a difficult set of problems. |
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Anita Higham (PCT
Chairman) said at the public meeting: "The x-ray department is
currently open three mornings a week and is very underused. If it
was open more often and looked after more patients then perhaps we
would think differently"
But a nurse in the x-ray department said she often sees up to 14
patients during a four hour session and the facilities were far
from decrepit. I work three mornings a week and most of the time I
work at least an hour overtime because I have such a full load of
patients. If the x-ray department closes the orthopaedic clinic
will have to be discontinued as well" |
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Nobody ever said that living in
Chippy was easy. We are on the edge of everyone's area, bottom of
everyone's list of priorities and everybody's favourite cost saving! The
last year has seen us fighting to save our Pool, our ambulance station,
our biggest employer, our old folks home and now the big one - our
much-loved Community Hospital. Time to mount the barricades!
The local PCT (Cherwell Vale) have
decided that the 90-year old Chippy hospital is simply getting too long in
the tooth as a viable base for providing community healthcare. At present
the hospital has 18 intermediate care beds, x-ray facilities. a minor
injuries unit, maternity beds, a falls unit and facilities for consultants
to see patients. The PCT is under terrific financial pressure generally
and is desperately short of funds. Part of its problem is that the John
Radcliffe has been running a big deficit for years - for reasons which are
being argued fiercely about (financial mismanagement says the government-underfunding
says the opposition). The PCTs are being required this year to bail out
the JR by finding cost savings (READ MORE ABOUT THIS BELOW). So money is
tight!!
The whole thing has been brought to a
head by the fact that the next-door Castleview Residential Care Home
(owned by Oxfordshire County Council) has to be rebuilt over the next
couple of years because it simply doesn't meet standards any more.....so
the County and the NHS have come up with a scheme which rebuilds the
hospital and the care home together on a new site.
Its an incredibly ingenious scheme -
no doubt about that. The development and
management of Care Homes in Oxfordshire has been contracted out to the
Oxford Care Partnership - which is a private joint venture company between
Pilgrim Housing Trust and the Order of St John. (Pilgrim do the building,
St John do the caring). This company can raise private finance using
its long-term supply contracts with the county and the NHS as security.
So the new building gets built with no capital cost to the County or the
NHS on land already owned by the county. Just what the doctor ordered for
the two cash-strapped organisations. But the good news doesn't end
there....straight into the bank go the proceeds from the sale of the two
town centre sites. (Conservatively estimated by local experts at around
£2m for each site). And here you must remember that the Hospital was set
up with private subscriptions as a War Memorial Hospital after the First
World War - and its been lovingly maintained and supported by the town
ever since.
The problem is that to
make all the sums work (we are asked to believe because we are not allowed
to see any figures) there have to be service cuts. No X-ray, No minor
injuries, only 12 beds, no guarantees about Maternity.
It is these cuts which
have become the sticking point.
There doesn't seem too much point arguing about where this "Shadow" of the
former hospital is to be sited or the complexities of its financing. All
that's secondary. The key point is that there must be NO CUTS TO
SERVICES.
People in this town
know what the real estate is worth and simply don't believe that its not
perfectly possible to maintain current levels of healthcare service in a
new building using all the proceeds from selling the hospital site
The huge Public Meeting on July 5th really got the Hospital debate going.
(READ ABOUT THE MEETING) It was clear to everyone that
the town was simply not going to roll over and go along with the OCC/PCT
Joint proposal. The main talking points revolve around
questions like...How can you sell a War Memorial? and How can less beds
and fewer services possibly be described as Improved Healthcare?
On
1st July the important
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL OVERVIEW &
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE of West
Oxfordshire District Council met to consider the Proposals for Chippy
Hospital.
Committee Members felt strongly that the existing Chipping Norton Hospital provided a very good service
and that Option 2 of the proposals, to work to
improve services in the existing buildings, was the only option the
Committee felt able to recommend. Option 1 did not
offer sufficient guarantees.
On the 19th
July our own Town Council discussed the consultation document. They did not
feel able to support any of the options. They thought that Option 1A
came closest to anything they could think of accepting but this was
still unsatisfactory because of the cuts proposed and the lack of
guarantees. The Town Council said..."We will fight to maintain current
levels of healthcare provided by the Hospital. We do not like any of
the options proposed. We simply cannot
accept any reduction in healthcare provision".
David Cameron weighs into the debate.
There was a special debate on July 13th in Parliament about the NHS
in the Thames Valley.
David
Cameron, Conservative MP for Witney, set out the problems at
the heart of the NHS in Oxfordshire:
- low per capita funding compared to the
rest of the country;
- continuing financial difficulties at the
John Radcliffe Hospital, with a deficit approaching £45 million this
year; and
- high costs of living in Oxfordshire,
which makes it more difficult to recruit and retain staff.
New official figures from the
Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority show that the NHS in
Oxfordshire must find £54.1 million of savings to break even by
March 2005, as required by Government rules. £35
to come from the Oxford Radcliffe and £2m from our local provider Cherwell Vale PCT
David explained that while the Government talked about spending more
money, many of his constituents were experiencing reductions in service.
These have included:
- plans to reduce the number of beds in
community hospitals;
- attempts to close the Witney Hospital Minor
Injuries Unit; in the evening;
- shortage of
NHS dentists;
- changes to
the out of hours service; and
- plans for the
future of the Chipping Norton hospital with fewer beds, no x-ray or minor
injuries unit.
"It is a mystery to my
constituents how so much money has been spent on the NHS and yet the
results are not there. With community hospitals under pressure, NHS
dentists in short supply and job cuts in store at the John Radcliffe
Hospital people are seeing some services getting worse, not better. Of course, some things are getting better and the work that
doctors, nurses and other NHS workers do is magnificent. But the system
seems to be letting them down. I hope that the
Minister will understand the particular needs of rural areas. Our
community hospitals are a vital service, not an add-on. When you live in
the country, how far you are from services is vitally important. Distance
can mean death."
On the very interesting front page of David Cameron's latest Westminster Report David states ' The
future of Chipping Norton Hospital is now being debated. The prospects
look good and I will be pressing for the full range of services to be
maintained'.
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PLEASE JOIN IN THE
CONSULTATION
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT
Step one: read the PCT
consultation document
The PCT
consultation document explains the options for change and how the
consultation works. It is available electronically or hard copies can be
requested by telephoning Juliet Long, Patient Advice and Liaison Service
Officer, on 0800 783 6210.
Read the full consultation document
(pdf file; size 202.6 KB).
Step two: tell the PCT what
you think
There are a number of ways in which you can make
your views known:
Fill in an
online
form
Email to
chippingnortonconsultation@cherwellvale-pct.nhs.uk
Write to FREEPOST Chipping Norton Consultation, Cherwell Vale PCT,
Oxford Road, Banbury, OX16 9GE.
The PCT
have planned two public meetings where the PCT
present and explain the proposals - an
opportunity for questions and discussions. The first
has already happened on 5th July. The
second is scheduled for
1st September 7pm at Chipping Norton Town Hall
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