Although not strictly to do with Holyport - those Holyport Residents who use or may need to use Heatherwood Hospital may wish to be aware of this and act as they think best.

The following is the text of a leaflet promoted by    -   Save Heatherwood Hospital campaign:    www.saveheatherwoodhospital.org.uk/

-    12 Llanvair Drive, Ascot, SL5 9HT.  E Mail: spike.humphrey@lineone.net

 The original leaflet can be seen by clicking the button below; 

SAVE HEATHERWOOD HOSPITAL

May 4th - Please join us on a march and cavalcade

Over 25,000 people say Heatherwood should stay - with all its services

On March 26th 2013, the PCT Board “rubber stamped” the decision to remove 3 key services from Heatherwood: the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU); the Rehabilitation Ward; and the Ascot Birth Centre.  We, the Save Heatherwood Hospital campaign, do not accept this decision, and we intend to do all we can to get it reversed.

1.      We do not consider the decision to be legitimate.  The ‘business case’ presented to the PCT Board reveals the combined changes will actually INCREASE costs, rather than save money.  This is even after making some unproven assumptions, such as:

a.      8,997 people per year will not go to A&E at Wexham, Frimley or Royal Berks, because the Urgent Care Centre in Brants Bridge replaces the MIU at H’wood

b.      The site and overhead costs for the Urgent Care Centre in Brants Bridge will be no more than on the current Heatherwood site

2.      We believe the consultation was a sham.  The PCT spent over £780,000 on the consultation, which received many well-reasoned objections, and yet they decided to ignore them all!  The evidence they considered post the consultation was completely one-sided.  In short, we are convinced they had made up their minds to close these 3 services before even starting, and then simply ‘went through the motions’ of consulting.

3.      The Brants Bridge site has financial problems and an uncertain future.  If Brants Bridge has to close and the Heatherwood MIU has been lost, the people of Bracknell and Ascot will have no local facility to deal with minor injuries, and will have to go to A&E at Wexham, Frimley or Royal Berks – which are all further away.

4.      In-patient Rehabilitation is a must for some patients.  “Care in the community” is not an adequate substitute – and the assumptions made by the PCT on costs and speed of recovery simply do not stack up.

5.      Permanently closing the Ascot Birth Centre reduces patient choice and patient access.  This was admitted by the PCT, but they dismissed it as “relatively minor”.  Many more women could choose Heatherwood to give birth if it were supported by the local NHS.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE NEXT STAGE OF THE CAMPAIGN

Access and transport links to all the local hospitals are a major concern, which will not be helped by these changes.

We want to draw attention to this important issue by holding a march to Heatherwood, followed by a ‘cavalcade’ from there to Brants Bridge.  Please come along on May 4th.  March starts at Car Park 6 (by Jaguar garage) 11.30am, cavalcade from Heatherwood, 12.30.

Latest from RBWM as of 14th May 2013

At the special Council meeting held on Thursday 9 May 2013 at 7.30pm in the Pavilion, Ascot Racecourse, High Street, Ascot, the Members of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead UNANIMOUSLY agreed the following:-

- the Council will do everything in its power to fight the NHS plans to cut services at Heatherwood Hospital and fight for local health facilities to be maintained and enhanced across the Borough.

- the Council reinforces its commitment to "Fight for local health facilities to be maintained and enhanced across the borough, not cut, removed or centralised to other places."

- the Council will arrange to meet with the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, alongside the MP for Windsor, Adam Afriyie.

- the Council will arrange to meet with the Frimley Park Foundation Trust to discuss the future options for Heatherwood.

- the Council works with other stakeholders to consider the viability of a social enterprise providing intermediate or other care facilities at Heatherwood

Petition information - http://petitions.rbwm.gov.uk/SaveHeatherwood/