Closure, down-grading A & E Departments in North London including Central Middlesex and Hammersmith was deeply flowed decision, financially motivated in spite of the propaganda that it is for patients’ benefit.
For vast area of Brent and Harrow, Northwick Park’s (NWP) A & E is the only one within easy reach. No wonder waiting time has rocketed sky-high. Many affluent and OAPs are going private to Clementine Churchill and other private hospitals in the area rather than suffer in silence.
My congratulations to Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas for taking initiative, supported by ten other MPs to pressurise NHS to investigate these closure, unearth real reasons, whether political, financial, lack of logistics or sheer incompetence.
Successive governments reorganize NHS, making it lean, slim and efficient, forgetting that NHS is not factory churning out consumer goods. Some 4000 lives are lost every year due to negligence, carelessness and over-worked nurses and doctors making mistakes or trying to cut corners to meet unrealistic targets.
Worse aspect is that £235 million was spent unnecessarily on management consultants and further one billion will be needed to carry out these changes without much benefit to patients, not publishing business plans for public scrutiny envisage gigantic mismanagement. Perhaps these alleged savings may be used to open A & E Departments in Africa and Asia. Three cheers for politicians’ fiduciary generosity overseas, misery at home. After all we elect politicians we deserve.
Kumudini Valambia
By email
