Southport CARES for children
On Friday 1st
September 2006 CARES met with Jonathan Parry,
NHS chief executive regarding concerns in the local
community of wards closing, the most recent being the Cardiac Ward. Why was it
closed and what implications will it have on an aging population?
Present:
Jonathan Parry and Sheila Finnegan for the NHS
Cath Regan, Margaret Brown and Mark Bigley for CARES
The following items were also discussed with Mr Parry.
• A 23 month old child’s parents recently went to 4 different ports of call
for emergency help whereby no help was given until the next day-this is totally
unacceptable and should never have been allowed to happen.
• A CARES – proposed ‘Register’ to be put into place for residents and visitors
to the town with addresses and phone numbers for all emergency help/agencies to
ensure this never happens again. This would need to be regularly updated.
• Dentistry and the current situation.
• Midwife led unit situation.
Jonathan Parry of the NHS
Mr Parry assured CARES that the patient’s quality of service would not diminish
subsequent to any ward closures. He stated that the 11A is currently a general
medicine ward and that 11B will be the prime heart centre for heart patients.
There would still be 6 telemetry beds (beds in which a patient could be
monitored) divided between the two wards. The closed ward would be available at
peak times if money could be found from the PCT.
The questions brought up regarding the plight of the 23 month old child and her
parents who could find no emergency help when this child’s three front teeth
were knocked into the back of her mouth following an accident were responded to
as follows by Mr Parry.
He states that there is incredibly no Emergency Paediatric Dentist currently
available in Southport and that he could not understand why exactly the parents
in question could not access assistance on that occasion.
Mr Parry suggested that CARES should contact the PCT about this incident and
other matters concerning the NHS dental treatment available in the area. He also
stated that he would support CARES regarding our proposed register being put
into place. Our next step is to contact the PCT.
Mr Parry’s thoughts on the Midwife led unit (MLU) were that due to current
changes in PCT management the actual final decision on this facility has been
shelved for the time being. After discussion with Mr Parry, CARES have decided
to contact the new chairman of the PCT to once again put forward the matter of
the resident’s need for a maternity facility in our town across and ask the
chairman if the PCT would consider commissioning an MLU.
The McKinsey document was also discussed as CARES were very concerned at certain
items in it whereby suggestions were made that Southport ‘s Town Lane hospital
could be scaled down to a walk-in centre/emergency care centre. Mr Parry said he
did not agree to that either and a Department of Health Turnaround Team are in
the process of putting a report together on the outcomes of this subject
instead. This is due out hopefully the end of September/beginning of October.
CARES ask that people
support us in this fight to keep our maternity services and the proposed
register. We need these vital services and we cannot keep putting up with them
being eroded.
Addendum:
CARES requested for Mr Parry to comment on
this press release; the following additions were sent by him to us:
Telemetry Beds – There are currently 3 telemetry beds on 11a and 3 on 11b. The
telemetry beds on 11a will transfer to 11b, which will have 6 in total, thus
retaining the current level of heart care telemetry.
Emergency Dentistry – The hospital has never run an emergency dental service,
which has previously been available, for those not registered with an NHS
Dentist via the out of hours service, run by the PCT. I am not aware whether or
not there is an emergency paediatric dentist available through the out of hours
service. My understanding is that Alder Hey either did not have access to such a
dentist at the time the child attended, or assessed the child as not needing
immediate treatment.
Turnaround Report – The SHA commissioned and paid for a report by Ernst and
Young, which analysed whether our financial forecasting was correct (it was) and
whether there were further cost cutting schemes we could employ. All of their
recommendations have been incorporated into the Trust’s recovery plan, which we
will publish once it is signed off by the SHA later this month so that the
public can be assured that the cost reduction will not adversely affect the high
standard of treatment and care here.
ENDS.