How would you vote for the future of our hospitals? (From Sutton Guardian)

As Croydon A&E has just announced a £15m upgrade, there are only four options that can now be possible – C3a, C4a, C3b and C4b.

All of these options leave St Helier and Epsom without A&E or maternity.

The only options that leave St Helier or Epsom with A&E would see Croydon reduced to a ‘local hospital’ – that is just never going to happen.

Wake up and smell the coffee – the beancounters will win. It’s a stitch-up. Always has been.

Sophia, can you tell us who was on the ‘expert panel’?

Also note that the ‘expert panel’ will NOT be publishing the results of its scoring. How’s that for transparency.

When they last did a scoring exercise for St Helier, Kingston and Croydon, the results were published, but some options were discounted because they wouldn’t save enough money – so the nonsense that it’s not about the money is a fallacy.

It's silly to play one hospital off against another. We need all our local services. No NHS services should closed.

Come to the Save Our Hospitals demonstration on Saturday 16th February, and send a message to BSBV.

Assemble at Norbiton station, 12pm. March to the Guildhall.

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Built in 1936, St. Helier Hospital served a community of only a fraction of the size of the population it is now responsible for, as during this period to date Cheam Hospital, Queen Mary's Hospital, Mitcham, Wandle Valley, and many other local hospitals have closed, which served their local communities with a quick response service.
Today, we have a government who values TIME AND MOTION STUDIES, as well as quick profits from private Enterprise shareholders, as against SERVICE FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
The cutbacks on nursing care in the community as well as hospital staff, has been detrimental to the health and safety of patients, as well as the failures that have come to light with the European Economic Communities right to work and travel anywhere in any country of this community of Europe, where false documentation of qualifications are not checked out until failures in medical practises occur.
Since the modernisation of St. Helier Hospital back in 1975 on its foundations, along with the upgrade of modern furniture and carpets, etc; the public money spent especially for the medical staff, the specialised equipment to treat the ever increasing local community, as well as the vast costs of catering for everlasting larger area due to the above hospital closures, of which government departments have gained great profits from the sale of the land and buildings.
Hospitals are becoming much fewer and further apart, and accident and emergency departments are catering for greater numbers of patients, with much fewer staff and facilities.
Communities must start to realise what is going on in government, your elected representatives are looking for profit as against providing medical attention. Lives are being lost because of greed from profits.
Communities will soon have to ask where their family members are going to finish up in an emergency, as we have heard MP's state that they are looking at obtaining medical care and attention from overseas.
It is time to ask all elected officials where they stand with national and local proposals what they are doing to prevent closures, and provide their communities with local medical emergency provisions, as well as safe medical provision within easy reach of their homes.
Remember 1772/3 petrol rationing emergency powers, where if this had happened, then hospital emergency treatment locally could be NON-EXISTENT, and have to rely on those on the scene to act and assist.
How many will die if the present policies of this government and local administrations get their way, of removing local hospital departments, and medical treatment centres.
Remember also that hospitals may only be ten miles or less apart, but, roads and highways are over crowded, and with many roadworks occurring without warning, patients are going to die.

Excellent, Lincolns Liberty. Also if ambulances have to take patients further, how many more ambulances and staff for them will be needed? Will they be provided? Or will the time for ambulances to attend just be extended?

And how much money is wasted on these reviews? I remember one a few years back suggesting that Sutton Hospital became the centre for local hospital care - all totally wasted, as it was completely scrapped; and was a daft idea in the first place anyway as all local residents told those suggesting it at the various meetings held. Some of the millions poured into these consultations would be better spent on the hospitals themselves