"No decision made" on Whittington A&E

By LiseS

Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 12:29

Rachel Tyndall, Chief Executive of NHS Islington, addressed a packed public meeting held at Archway Methodist Church last night saying, "No decision has been made about the A&E department at Whittington." She added, "We are looking at future configurations and future arrangements of health services across the whole of north-central London."

Health services under review include both community healthcare and health services provided by local hospitals including the Whittington as well as specialist hospitals. Residents have recently been concerned about the future of the A&E department at the hospital on Magdala Avenue, which treats over 80,000 patients per year.

Over 300 local people attended last night's meeting to raise questions about the future of the department and the necessity of widespread and representative community consultation. Residents also questioned the idea that closing the department would represent "value for money", and raised concerns about the impact on survival rates should A&E services be moved to other hospitals.

Representatives of the NHS repeated that there are no firm plans for the future of the hospital, but would not guarantee the hospital will retain all of its services.

Islington Labour Party confirmed its fight to save the department is far from over, and has called a mass demonstration for Saturday 27th February at 12 noon, to be held at Highbury Fields near Highbury and Islington tube.

There are now almost 2,000 signatures on the Save the Whittington online petition and the campaign aims to have over 2,000 by the end of this week. If you haven't done so already and wish to show your support, sign the petition here: www.savethewhittington.org.uk/petition

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