Hospital closures: Public meeting called

Hammersmith Hospital in Shepherd's Bush

Rivercourt Methodist Church on King Street (next to the Town Hall) is the venue for a public meeting this Thursday, between 1800-1930, on the hospital closures announced for our borough. The plans will see the downgrading both of Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham and Hammersmith Hospital in Shepherd's Bush, with each losing their A&E units.

The meeting has been called by Andy Slaughter MP who seems to be leading the campaign against their closures. 

Our council, to their credit, seems to have responded to this article pointing out that they were only campaigning against the closure of the Fulham hospital, revealing Fulham bias once again. There was only one petition, concerned only with one hospital - no mention was made of our hospital in Shepherd's Bush. The same could be said of the Fulham Chronicle's coverage thus far. 

Thankfully the council have now responded and set up a petition concerned with the Hammersmith Hospital on Du Cane Road as well, although I have been told by a Conservative Councillor - not speaking on behalf of the authority as a whole - that in his view the case for saving our hospital was "less clear cut". So no prizes for guessing where their energies are going be concentrated, and where they are not. 

So it's to Andy Slaughter we now turn for a genuinely vigorous campaign to save both hospitals, it seems.


Thursday UPDATE - If you needed any more convincing that our council are only really bothered about the Fulham hospital Charing Cross have a look at this video of stilted, slightly awkward councillors, mostly members of the cabinet, trying to chant "save charing cross" with passion but with facial expressions revealing their inner desires to be somewhere else, fast. Dear oh dear.