MPs row over hospital closures

Greg Hands has been accused of "hollow" support for the campaign to halt the closure of Charing Cross hospital by our own MP Andy Slaughter this afternoon. Responding to the revelations that Chelsea & Westminster hospital has been actively campaigning for the closure of both hospitals in Hammersmith & Fulham in order to save their own skins, Mr Slaughter has been vocal in his condemnation of what he called "divisive and cynical" tactics.

Today he went a step further and had this to say in a broadside against neighbouring MP Greg Hands, whose constituents use both Chelsea & Westminster as well as Hammersmith hospitals:

“The campaign on the Friends of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital which still lists Mr Hands as a vice-president is disgraceful – it is actively encouraging patients to vote for an option that closes a “rival” hospital. 

His position (and Malcom Rifkind’s) as a vice-president of the Friends - which is still advertised on their website - lends MPs’ support to this campaign, and wittingly or not, appears to endorse it. 

The really wicked thing about this is that the Trust is deceiving people into voting for the closure of Charing Cross by dressing it up as a vote merely to keep Chelsea and Westminster open. People will be angry when they realise the trust is trying to dupe them like this – and an MP should not be anywhere near such a dishonest campaign – except to condemn it loudly. 

Constituents in all three affected areas who have heard his half-hearted support for the apparently doomed Charing Cross hospital, will be shocked to learn that he is not explicit in his condemnation of this campaign to close Charing Cross.

He should immediately and publicly dissociate himself from this cynical attempt at divide and rule. Without this, protestations of support for Charing Cross Hospital have a very hollow ring.”

But Mr Hands is having none of it. He told me today that:

“Keeping the A&E at Chelsea & Westminster is vital. The hospital has every right to argue its case, but I would have preferred them to have joined me in arguing against the whole consultation. 

“As I reported in my email bulletin last week, I met the senior management of the hospital and told them this plainly. I believe Chelsea & Westminster will be badly affected if Charing Cross Hospital is downgraded. It will have to deal with a big influx of patients from Fulham and beyond. 

“My constituents need and use both A&Es. That’s why I have also been a Friend of Charing Cross Hospital for the last 14 years, repeatedly defending it against attacks of this kind. 

“All parties locally have joined me in fighting to keep A&E services at both hospitals. This is a battle we need to win.”

Meanwhile the march to save our hospitals in H&F will be taking place on 6th October, and the organisers have had to make a couple of changes to the route and timings, so here they are again:

The march will start from Shepherds Bush Green, assembling in Rockley Rd and will proceed to Lille Road Rec for the final rally.

Assemble from 11am; Leave Rockley Rd 12noon, arrive Lillee Road about 1pm. All details, including a map, are here

Wormholt Park - the first hundred years by Peter Trott

Local resident, Peter Trott, has written a book about the forgotten history of Wormholt Park in Shepherd’s Bush. The book has been published by local residents group, Friends of Wormholt Park.

When it opened in 1911, Wormholt Park was at the heart of community life. Old photographs reveal the story of festivals, galas, sports and the role the park played in the war effort during World War II.

The book explains the meaning of the name Wormholt, the combination of the old English Worme or Wyrm and Holt indicates it was once a snake infested wood. The park opened on 27th June 1911 and an open air lido was opened alongside the park in 1923. A bandstand was built in the park in 1931 and a bowling green was opened in 1936.

The Second World War saw the park dug up and turned into allotments and shelter trenches. The post war years saw the rebirth of the park when it became the centre of the community with school sports days, grand Bank Holiday galas and even a giant tented theatre.

By the early 1980s the park was in decline and the swimming pool and the bowling green had closed. When the new century began the park looked sad and neglected. In 2009 a small group of friends got together to campaign for better maintenance and facilities and to encourage greater use of the park by local residents. Word of their work spread and the Friends of Wormholt Park were formed in 2011.

The author, Peter Trott, has lived in Shepherds Bush all his life and is fascinated by local history. Peter has spent many hours in the archives unearthing old photographs and put on displays for local street parties to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Royal Wedding in 2011 and the Diamond Jubilee this year. Peter was asked to help with the park’s centenary celebrations in September 2011. Peter’s history timeline and photographic display proved so popular that the Friends of Wormholt Park asked him to write a book about the park. A year later the book has been published.

The Friends are a voluntary group and Peter gave his own time researching and writing the book. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Friends group. Books are available from local outlets in Shepherds Bush displaying posters.

The launch party for the book was held on Thursday 20th September 2012 at the Hummingbird Café. The Friends group would like to thank local estate agent Winkworth for sponsoring the launch.

More "supersewer" scare tactics from H&F

Oh dear, here we go again. Last night's Evening Standard, while reporting the great news that a lost Busher has been found wandering in the Alps somewhere, also carried dire warnings that the proposed Thames Tideway Tunnel, or "supersewer" as it's known to its critics, is likely to shut the Hammersmith Bridge and cause travel chaos for millions.

Remind you of anything? Perhaps the equally dire warnings that Furnival Gardens, a beautiful stretch of green next to the Thames, was about to be ripped up by evil Thames Water. Or maybe the one about a "stink hole" being installed in Ravenscourt Park. Or how about the dark prophesies of homelessness stalking the good people of Hammersmith who, we were warned, faced losing their homes to this rapacious utility company.

The thread that linked all of those doom laden scenarios was that they were bullshit. Worse still, the Council knew them to be so but still decided to come out with them as they spent large sums of public money on all manner of PR activity to lambast the idea of the tunnel, and 'stand up for local people'. You'd never have guessed there were local elections on at the time.

Now we hear that, on the basis of a quick look at Thames Water's plans, there *might* be an issue with the bridge and that *maybe* it might have to close. Given the track record of this council on this issue you may wish to postpone your panic just yet.

Meanwhile, the completely inadequate sewers we have at the moment under our feet continue to belch out record levels of raw sewage into the river. They do so every time there is heavy rain. And we haven't had much of that this year, have we? Here's someone who spends most of his life dealing with the consequences of that:

Saturday fun day at Wormholt Park

This Saturday afternoon Wormholt Park will be having a fun day with a serious purpose. The park, which is being steered back to some of its original glory by the Friends of Wormholt Park community group, will be hosting face painting, food stalls and a range of local stalls like they did at the start of the local community market there earlier in June this year.

But it will also be a chance for you to have a look and give your views on the proposed changes to the park that the group have been working on with the Council - there are a range of options to think about. Here's the Chair of the group in an open letter to residents: 

Dear Friends 

We’ve reached the next exciting stage of developing the new design of Wormholt Park and as Chair of the Friends of Wormholt Park I’d like to encourage you all to let us and Hammersmith and Fulham know what you think. 

This Saturday 22nd September from 2-5pm there will be a Fun Day event in the park where there will be music, stalls of delicious refreshments, a range of inflatable games including the bungee run, an assault course and football shoot out, plus a soft play area for toddlers and a face painter.

The Friends committee and our red gazebo will be there and most importantly there will be a marquee where you can view the proposed designs for the park, which were created by the Council-appointed landscape architects based on all the consultation feedback they’ve received from us, local residents and community groups. 

You’ll have an opportunity to talk through and discuss the designs with Hammersmith and Fulham and the architects’ staff and say what your preferences are and why. You’ll have a few different 2D models on show with different layouts, along with some representations and choices on the design detail associated with the various activities that may take in the park. 

We’ll be posting the consultation boards and feedback forms on the Friends website too, so if you don’t get a chance to pop in on Saturday, you’ll still be able to view and comment on them. 

See you in the park this Saturday – weather forecast is for sunshine! 

Vanessa
Chair – Friends of Wormholt Park

Fun day starts at 2pm on Saturday - and yes, the weather is set to be sunny!

Assault at Walkabout

On September 16th some of you may have seen that the Walkabout, which has had its problems with drunken violence on more than one occasion, was taped off by the police. I've now had the lowdown of what took place and it is thus, according to a police spokesperson:

"..an incident which happened around 2130 on the 16th September. Police were called to a male outside the Walkabout, who was staggering around with a bloody face and police found a pool of blood on the floor. 

The man was being treated by an off duty Doctor after a Security Guard found the male on the floor. 

The victim had a cut to his eyebrow, swollen nose and blood over his hands. The Ambulance Service attended and the male appeared to lose consciousness. He was placed on a spinal board and relayed to Hospital where he was found to have a broken nose, possible fracture to his thumb and cuts. 

The male was also believed to have consumed an amount of alcohol. If anyone has any information they can contact A/DS Kent in the CID at Hammersmith Police Station on 0208-246-2446".

Stabbing on Askew Road

A man was stabbed in the chest during what police believe to have been a domestic incident last night. He was resuciated at the scene by paramedics and is now in hospital in a critical condition.

I will have more details on this in due course. I was alerted to it by the police this morning but was holding back until I had fuller details. Sadly I see the local press have started breathlessly tweeting about it already so in the interests of reducing the chances of more sensationalism I'm putting out what I know now.

There has been one arrest, and I understand the police are not looking for anyone else at this stage.

Clearly coming after the murder of Piotr Mikiewicz this is the last thing the area needs. But given that it appears to be the result of a domestic incident it is going to be important to bear in mind this is not the sign of an area on the down, it sounds very much like the nasty end to a very isolated incident. 

0920 UPDATE - The full Police statement on this incident is as follows:

Officers were called to a flat in a semi-detached house in Askew Road, Hammersmith at 0115 by the London Ambulance Service with reports of a male having been seriously assaulted. On arrival they found a 59 year old male who showed them into a flat where the male victim was found with a single stab wound to his chest. 

A 59 year old male has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. There is no link between this incident and any others and there is no danger to members of the local community. The male remains in intensive care in hospital. 

Hammersmith and Fulham Police are conducting additional patrols in the area to reassure the community that this happened within the confines of a home and not on the streets of the Borough.

March in the Bush against health cuts

People will be marching in the streets against the prospect of local hospitals being shorn of their A&E departments and other services drastically cut on October 6th. The marchers will be leaving at 1200 from Sulgrave Road just south of the Goldhawk Road and proceed, through Hammersmith, to Distillery Road in Fulham where they'll gather at Frank Banfield Park from around 1400 for speeches. You can find a map with the whole details on the campaign's website here.

The march comes as a report commissioned by our Council, who themselves are hosting a public meeting this evening where NHS bosses will have to explain why they have adopted a way of consulting people that has been described as "fatally flawed" by a former health chief. 

Summing up the local campaign's opposition to the loss of casualty services in our borough Mark Honigsbaum, a spokesperson for the Save our Hospitals campaign said this in a letter in today's Guardian:

"At a time of growing demand on A&E services in London we believe that that is a false economy – one that will result in longer waiting times and worse outcomes for thousands of vulnerable Londoners". 

So - a march through the Bush. I have no idea when the last one was, if indeed there ever has been one, but it's a good sign that people in this area are not about to lie down and let a bunch of beaurocrats put their lives at risk. And it stands in stark contrast to the cynical approach adopted by Chelsea & Westminster hospital in the south and West Middlesex to our North who have both been urging people to vote for the closure of our services in order to save their own. 

In H&F, by contrast, we have political leaders from all parties standing together with both local hospitals and inviting others from across the borders of our borough to join us. It's really quite inspiring!

Wormwood Scrubs Park Run

c/o Park Run Flickr photo pool

Every Saturday morning a group of locals start to gather on Wormwood Scrubs, just at the back of the hospital car park. They’re getting ready for the weekly 5 K “park run” which was launched with the support of the Council back in May last year.

I run on the Scrubs regularly anyway but shamefully only got round to attending my first Park Run in May this year, which I enjoyed tremendously. Back then there were about 20 odd people, from a range of backgrounds and who included everyone from almost professional level running through to people who were only really starting out on a fitness regime.

Last Saturday, having gone a bit easier on the Friday night post-work drinks, I went along to my second run. It was as well organised as the first, entirely by volunteers, but the real difference was the numbers. I would say there were at least 60 people who'd turned out and apparently there had been over 70 the week before. No doubt the Olympics have played their part in inspiring people, which is no bad thing.

So the point of the article is to encourage more of you to take part – you really won't regret it and 5K is a distance that most people can manage even if they don’t run regularly. For a free event it’s spectacularly good and you even get a time by signing up to the ParkRun website beforehand and bringing along a printed barcode they’ll email you. That way you can track your progress and measure your improvement. Or, if you’re like me coming off the back of months of not running at all, marvel at how much fitness you have to recapture!

Give it a go – the run starts at 0900 every Saturday and it’s well worth making the effort for. After each run there is a tea/coffee thing at the Thames Harriers club house inside Linford Christie Stadium.

See you there!

West Middlesex joins Chelsea & Westminster to campaign for H&F hospital closures

The farcical "consultation" being run by NHS North West London is now revealed to be one in which two hospitals are conniving with each other to save their own skins at the expense of both hospitals serving Hammersmith & Fulham. Just over the borough boundaries at either end of our borough we now have evidence that both West Middlesex and Chelsea & Westminster are running tax payer funded publicity campaigns urging people to vote for that option.

A fellow campaigner from the Save our Hospitals campaign which, along with our Council, is spearheading the local campaign to save Charing Cross & Hammersmith Hospitals needed to visit West Middlesex for an outpatient appointment recently. Here's his account:

"I attended a podiatry outpatient department at West Middlesex Hospital today only to be assaulted at the entrance by posters and flyers urging me to ‘Act Now’ to save the hospital’s A&E, children’s and maternity services.

Like Chelsea & Westminster, the West Middlesex has launched a prominent and highly misleading advertising campaign aimed at frightening patients into thinking there is a real risk of the closure and urging people to ‘strongly support’ Option A.

As I left the hospital I had a very interesting chat with a volunteer from ‘Upbeat’, the West Middx heart prevention and patient support group who mans an information stall by the entrance. He explained how, like other heart patients who live near the hospital, he was worried about the possibility that West Middx might lose its stroke unit and had been persuaded by the hospital’s management to vote for Option A. He said he had now advised his group’s 1,600-strong membership to follow suit! 

On the tables there was also a laminated letter from Dr Tim Peters, the chair of the hospital’s medical committee, that had been published in the 31 August edition of the Housnlow, Heston & Whitton Chronicle. Headlined ‘Help us save your hospital services’ it reads: 

“Option A offers the greatest benefits with the fewest negative effects on patients. It uses West Middlesex and Chelsea & Westminster’s modern, well-situated hospitals… 

“Option C doesn’t make good use of the excellent facilities and services already available at West Middlesex. It would mean West Middlesex would lose it’s A&E, maternity, stroke and children’s services. It would threaten the hospital’s financial future and its ability to provide local services. It also provides poor value for money for the NHS as a whole. 

“If you agree that Option A will be best for you and your family’s needs, then please support us to fill in a consultation form. Please encourage your friend’s and family to do the same.”

He goes on to reflect on what all of this means, and asks:

"Why aren’t the managements of Ealing, Hammersmith and Charing Cross conducting similarly high profile patient information campaigns? Is it because that, unlike C&W and the West Middx, they have scruples about biasing patients and wish to ensure the consultation process is fair? Or is it because they weren’t given a heads up about the closure plans and therefore had no time to prepare a publicity campaign? There is a third possibility, of course, and that is that they did know about the plans but were advised not to waste money chasing a lost cause. Either way, it stinks".

Hard to disagree. And no wonder the BBC among others are starting to report on the flaws in this so-called "consultation".