Lynne Featherstone

In order to help aspiring young journalists from a local school do a special piece on youth issues in Haringey for the BBC, Lynne Featherstone MP was interviewed by students at Hornsey School for Girls.

The Crouch End school is participating in the BBC school report for the third year running. The project allows students, with the help of mentors from the national broadcaster, to learn about making TV and to develop journalistic skills.

The Liberal Democrat MP was quizzed on issues such as unfair school funding and youth crime in the student-led piece, which will be shown on the BBC website, and hopefully on TV and radio, on the 11th March.

Lynne Featherstone MP, comments:

“I was really impressed by how expertly the interview was carried out, how well researched the questions were, and how much the students had learnt about technical stuff like filming and sound.

“This is a great way to teach the girls about making TV and to help them develop an interest in current affairs.

“And who knows, they may even end up working for the BBC one day! Hopefully their report will go all the way to the top - I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for it on the 11th March.”

Here's my latest column for the Muswell Hill Flyer and the Highgate Handbook:

I sent out an email to my special email list to ask for people's personal stories of when the Whittington Accident & Emergency had been important in their lives – and got a phenomenal response. (If you want to be on this list just email lynne and say so).

I will be presenting these to all the members of all the boards of all the layers of NHS decision makers who are working out our future health services (and there are many of them) and to the government in due course – to try and remind them that this about people's lives – and that we are not just pawns on some management chessboard.

The clue is in the title of the service - ‘emergency’ – and some of the stories tell how the ambulance man or woman has said we must go to the nearest hospital because x won’t make it if we don’t – every second counts.

Now every resident of Muswell Hill and Highgate who has contacted me about this is quite clear about the importance of having a full 24/7 A&E locally. Distance matters both for saving lives but also for ease of access. And quite frankly the Whittington is far better placed for public transport than the Royal Free for us.

The decision makers are arguing that distance isn’t always important and that extra GP hours, NHS Direct and pharmacies can be a viable alternative. But no amount of extra GP hours or even an urgent care centre (which is one of their alternative suggestions) can replace a full A&E service. This is insanity being wrapped up and sold to us under the guise of ‘better clinical outcomes’. Yes – there are people who use A&E who don’t need to – but taking away A&E isn’t the answer – adding a GP walk-in where those people could be diverted to - could be.

If our A&E goes – as sure as night follows day – we will also lose obstetrics and the Intensive Care Unit. There will be no emergency take from GPs and it will compromise the teaching of medical students at the Whittington.

As for the funding, I put it directly to the Minister, Mike O’Brien, in an Adjournment Debate on the Whittington, that there is a fear that this is about cuts and budgets. The Minister assured me, on the record, that there would be no ‘slash and burn’ solutions and that all of this was about better clinical outcomes.

Well – for all those stories where people would have died if there had not been an A&E at the Whittington – seems to me being alive is a pretty good clinical outcome.

Full credit to Rachel Tyndall (Chair of the North London Central Review Panel) for sending me the NCL Strategy Plan for our local health services. I had heard that these had been submitted to NHS London and asked for a copy - and it was given to me virtually immediately. I have circulated the document for information.

The content is of concern. First let me say - this is a long, technical document - in which the arguments are laid out for the configuration of health services across five boroughs and between five hospitals: Barnet, Royal Free, North Mids, UCLH and the Whittington. Ms Tyndall has said that a more accessible version for public consumption will be provided in due course.

In the appendix, are laid out, seven 'scenarios'. This is where the fight to Save the Whittington A&E will come - if these are the 'options' that come for public consultation next autumn.

The seven 'scenarios'  demonstrate different configurations between the five hospitals as to what services will be provided from each hospital. It is about a total provision - obviously - not just A&E. Suffice to say that four out of the seven 'scenarios' show an end to 24/7 A&E at the Whittington. Three show retention of 24/7 A&E.

Interestingly two of the 'scenarios' show a reduction to 16 hours A&E - however - from the minutes of the Board Meeting of the Council of Governors of the Whittington it is quite clear that the the 16 hour A&E is not a real option. The actual wording from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Governors of the Whittington reads (and I quote directly):

Very importantly NCL and the Whittington have ruled out an option where the Whittington has an A&E with reduced opening time eg 16hours per day. This leaves options where either the full 24 hour A&E is retained or there is no A&E at all. The Whittington might then have an urgent care centre.

So - I don't know why NCL have included two options showing a 16 hour A&E as clearly that has already been ruled out. This makes me wonder if options have been put in that are not really and truly under consideration but are there to make two of the options look better than they are - as they seem to offer some A&E rather than none. I will seek clarification on this seemingly conflicting evidence.

The greater problem for all of us fighting to save the Whittington A&E - is that as long as there are any 'scenarios' that don't retain 24 hour A&E - we are in jeopardy. So - we need the public consultation next autumn to simply ask those who use the Whittington whether we want to retain the 24 A&E service or whether we would prefer the alternative range of provision at the polyclinic, GP extra hours, urgent care centre etc favoured by NCL and the Trusts.

Anything else opens the way to closure of A&E at the Whittington.

At this point - it is a battle to make sure whatever options finally come forward for consultation- that if local people want to retain a 24 hour A&E at the Whittington - it is retained!

No - this isn't about the A&E - I wish they said yes to that too. No - this is my visit to the Whittington with members of the Haringey Phoenix Group who work with blind and visually impaired people in Haringey.

Have you ever thought about this - you get the results to your tests for cancer - and because it is in print - you can't read it and have to ask a neighbour to help. Can you imagine how dreadful it must be to have to bring someone else into what is a private matter. Of course - you may be lucky and have a partner or friend who you are happy to see your most intimate correspondence - but there are times when this just isn't appropriate. Or the letter might be about an appointment - and you don't get to see it or know about it until too late. And quite frankly - it should be a basic right in a civilised society to receive medical information in a form that is accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired.

Well - actually it is a right - in legislation! The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Equality Duty of 2006 say this should be the case - but the actuality just isn't happening. Partly this is because patients don't ask - and partly because hospitals and GPs don't offer or aren't set up to deliver.

Hence my visit with the wonderful Haringey Phoenix Group. We met with Kate Slemeck and two other Whittington officials to discuss how we could arrive at a situation where asking wasn't necessary because the IT system flagged up both that the patient was visually impaired but also what type of communication results, appointments - any communication - should be in. This could be anything from braille, to large print format (different point sizes for different degrees of impairment), audio tapes, etc.  Then automatically - all communication would be in that format. This is part of a campaign by the RNIB to convert the right in law - to the reality on the ground.

Three cheers for the Whittington - who embraced this and said they could see no reason why not - and were prepared to run a pilot. This would be a real breakthrough and the Whittington would be the first hospital to trial and hopefully become a beacon for provision of communication in appropriate format.

Of course - there's a bit of a way to go - but they were welcoming, said that their IT system could flag this information up as we suggested. The next stage is to get GPs to ensure that this information - that the patient is visually impaired and identify the format required - so that it can be put onto the hospital system. And of course - it needs to be on the GP system - and all blind and visually impaired people need to make sure that the GP does this and so on.

So next step is to get Haringey PCT to write to all the GPs locally asking them to make sure that both on their own system and when they refere patients to the Whittington - it is made clear that this information has to be entered for flagging and so on.

I am assuming that the PCT will be delighted and willing to do so. I cannot imagine any reason why not - and this is the sort of small change that will make a huge difference.

Three cheers for the Whittington!

Jeremy Corbyn - MP for Islington North - managed to get an adjournment debate last night on the future of the Whittington - and he very kindly let me speak. For him and I, the most affected constituencies, we are joining forces to ensure that NHS health bosses get the message loud and clear BEFORE decisions are made - that local people are madder than hell at even the suggestion of closure or reduction.

Interestingly, and I will look at Hansard later today, the Minister seemed pretty ticked off with the North London sector and the PCTs and the way they have gone about this. So - hopefully - between an ear-wigging from the minister and the wrath of the local people and MPs we will frighten them off.

They now speak in whispers about how nothing is decided and they are just looking at options. Don't be fooled - it is quite clear to me that was an option they were considering and without a public rumpus - they would have continued sweetly on that path!

Rumours are emerging that the planned merger of the Whittington and Royal Free Hospitals will not be enough to satisfy NHS bosses and that there may instead be a forced marriage between the Whittington, Royal Free and UCLH Hospitals.

This raises interesting questions, because UCLH is a Foundation Trust. I believe this may mean that the proposed 'merger' will be nothing of the sort, but will instead be a take-over by UCLH of the other two hospitals - a wonderful Xmas present for UCLH, which has been dreaming of this for years.... This disaster just goes on and on...."

Meanwhile, lots of denials by NHS bosses about intentions to close or reduce A&E departments at the Whittington and North Mid.

Having now been in elected politics for over ten years - one thing I am sure of - when there are budget cuts demanded and letters showing closure sent out and then denied - is that the sooner and the louder that local people let their views be known the better!

Otherwise - heaven forfend - we could find that none of the options that come to public consultation next September contain anything that bears any relationship to what local people actually want!

I sent out an email to my email list to inform local people (hard copy will follow more widely) of the threat to close or reduce services at the Whittington A & E and about the threat to the North Middlesex A & E too. Both contain petitions for people to sign up to: The Whittington petition is here and the North Mid petition is at http://bit.ly/northmid.

The responses are pouring in. In the first 24 hours, since yesterday afternoon, 745 people have already signed the Whittington petition and 89 the North Mid.

It is already quite clear that local people don't want to lose their local A & E nor see it reduced. That is why it is so important that local peoples' views are heard loud and clear NOW. Otherwise when the Health Authority 'options' finally come to public consultation - we may find that there are no options that keep the Whittington A & E open and that in reality the decisions have actually been made. That goes for the North Mid too.

I support improved clinical outcomes, obviously, and there are lots of health services that may be better provided by one or other hospital. But A & E is one of the services that needs to be local and 24 hours - that's the point.

As one constituent wrote to me who works at one of the hospitals (not the Whittington) 'there is no more logic to an   A & E unit at University College Hospital than the others.  Medical staff will adapt to what is decided.  UCH and RFH could easily become even more specialist than they already are and would flourish without an A & E.  The Whittington on the contrary exists to provide a local and emergency service and is at risk of having its lifeblood sucked away'.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Here's my latest column for the Muswell Hill Flyer and Highgate Handbook:

Finally I managed to get Transport for London (TfL), Haringey Primary Care Trust (part of the NHS) and me together in the same place to bang heads together about the need for better bus links to the new Community Health Centre on the old Hornsey Central Hospital site.

We have this wonderful new facility but, despite the transport issues being raised as a key issue at every public and private meeting (literally for years) by many people, nothing has been properly planned, delivered - or even promised for the future.

And of course now the new Health Centre is here - and operational - but not a new bus in sight. Loads of people joined in my campaign for a new bus to enable them to access the new centre when referred there from wherever they live in Highgate, Crouch End, Muswell Hill, Fortis Green or Alexandra wards by their own GP.

Imagine my shock when TfL said they had no idea that there were services were already being provided (with lots more to come) which would bring people from all over the west of Hornsey & Wood Green to the new facility. TfL seemed to be under the illusion that the only thing happening was that two GP practices had moved in and only they would need transport.

To be honest - I couldn't believe it!

Given the promises on transport, the supposed discussions on transport - to be sitting there listening to the two key agencies basically saying that there was such a gap in communication that TfL didn't know that there was an ongoing and expanding need for access to the site from provision of new services on the site was truly shocking.

From this 'discovery' TfL have now agreed to take away the issue and look at it properly. At least they now both seem to understand there is a problem with providing a major new health facility with no extra transport provision.

I have been contacted by many local people on the back of our campaign giving examples of problems they have encountered. One example is a team who have already moved into the new facility and whose clients will commonly have reduced mobility - albeit still very capable of getting on a bus if it can deliver them near to the health centre - are concerned about how their patients will get to them.

Another example is that of one local health worker who has contact with people with very differing needs in the borough who wrote to me to say that a number of people she is in contact with through her work have mentioned their concerns about the lack of usable transport links to the new site.

I don't know what on earth has been going on - but you can bet my language to both the Chair of Haringey PCT and Peter Hendy (Commissioner of Transport in London) will be pretty strong as I bring this smartly to their attention.

Clearly this is a mess - and I just hope that both Haringey PCT and TfL sort it out now they have acknowledged that they haven't even been looking at the right problem.

Following a meeting with Transport for London (TfL) and the local health service to discuss better transport to the new Hornsey health centre, Lynne Featherstone MP has written to all involved parties, demanding they stop passing the buck and look seriously at how to improve transport to the Park Road site.

The intervention came following a recent meeting, where issues of poor communication and lack of responsibility from both TfL and the health service became evident. Despite a Liberal Democrat petition, a health service transport survey and the issue being raised in both public and private meetings, TfL appeared unaware of the new health centre’s planned range of services and wide catchments area.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP has now written to TfL and the local health service, demanding they all take responsibility and ensure better communication so that the issue of improved transport to the site can finally be discussed in earnest.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“I am astonished and frankly very angry that despite raising the issue of poor transport to the health centre on many occasions, the health trust hasn’t even bothered to make sure that TfL has all the facts and understands just how many people will be using this centre. That, if anything, is essential information when assessing the need for more buses!

“It’s so frustrating that no-one wants to accept responsibility- but the buck stops here. I’ve written to all responsible parties, and will be chasing them to make sure we get some real movement- because sadly for now the Hornsey hospital bus doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.”

It was a good experiment - holding an advice surgery in Budgens in Crouch End - to see if putting myself where people are enabled those who normally might not get round to making an actual appointment to see me as their MP - bring their worries to my attention.

First thanks to Budgens - who placed me in the vegetable and fruit department (warm thank goodness - unlike the cold cabinets) - right by the entrance so highly visible. Excellent position.  We had chosen Budgens because Andrew Thornton and the staff are so involved in the community that we thought they might agree - which they did. We chose Crouch End so that the vast majority of shoppers would be local.  There was one woman who came to chat who I couldn't help because she lived in Islington - so referred her to her own MP. We want to do this in other areas too - but it gets trickier the nearer to the constituency boundary you go - as inevitably a higher and higher proportion of people will not be from the constituency.

Anyway -  in the two hours about 13 or 14 people came to sit and bring one thing or another to my attention. It was interesting to see how people made that decision to voice something that had been on their mind. Mostly - they came in, noticed the table, fact sheets on recycling and how to burglar-proof your house, walked on to do their shopping but came back when they remembered something they had always meant to raise with me.

Most of the issues, as expected, were not as heavy duty as those that are brought each week to my advice surgery where it is by appointment, as lengthy as is needed generally (although 15 minutes is the allotted time) and are generally about the most serious of cases - along with lobbying and local more general issues.

For a couple of people who came to talk - we agreed to make a surgery appointment where we could have proper and more private time - so that will happen. But for the rest - it was a good place to hear peoples' concerns on a variety of issues which I will take forward as normal casework.

And it was also jolly nice just to say hello to people who seemed very pleased to see me sitting there - in the middle of the store - accessible.