Potters Bar Hospital - One third of beds to close |
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The local Health Trust has decided to close one of the wards at Potters Bar Community Hospital to save money.
It means 15 of the 45 beds will go, leaving only 30 beds: many local people feel the hospital will not then be
viable so this decision could prepare the way for complete closure. All our local General Practitioners (GPs)
are opposed to the closure, with our MP. At 3 public meetings local people were strongly opposed and many
letters have been sent to the Trust. Department of Health policy is to ‘create an NHS that always puts patients first’, and ‘a patient led NHS’. - indeed the government has just allocated funds to build facilities such as Potters Bar Hospital across the country. Yet our Health Trust is closing its facilities down against the wishes of local people. The hospital provides local services as well as beds used by the GPs for minor ops, assessment, rehabilitation and terminal care saving the beds at acute hospitals. Moorfields Eye Hospital has just paid for a new theatre here. But when MP James Clappison raised the issue in Parliament in July he was told by Secretary of State, Patricia Hewitt, it is a ‘local issue’. If there is sufficient local feeling made known we CAN get this decision reversed, and also raised again at ministerial level. Please write to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State, (79 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NS), send a copy to James Clappison MP asking him to raise the issue again (House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1), copy to the Trust (c/o Potters Bar Hospital, Barnet Road, EN6 2RY) and please send copies to Potters Bar Society c/o Arnold Davey, Chair of Town Group, 86 The Walk, EN6 1QF, 01707 654179. 21/8/06 |