Lynne Featherstone

The Government has announced changes to its Health Bill to address concerns raised by the public, medical professionals and the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrats led the calls for changes after raising serious concerns at the party’s Spring Conference in March. Nick Clegg and others have worked hard in Government to make sure the concerns have been addressed.

In particular, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have ensured:

• There will be no special favours for the private sector. There will be a level playing field, not a race to the bottom
• The pace of change is slowed down to ensure changes are not rushed into and those taking on new responsibilities do so when they are ready.
• The changes will be evolution, not revolution
• The NHS is properly accountable, both nationally and locally

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green said:

“I am proud of the way Liberal Democrats have listened and acted to address concerns about changes to the NHS.

“The Bill is now a whole lot better and will make sure decisions are taken in the best interests of patients.

“Liberal Democrats believe the NHS must always be universal, based on need and free at the point of use.

“We have ensured there will be no special favours for the private sector, proper accountability and that the changes are not rushed into before people are ready to take on new responsibilities.

“But this is no time for resting on our laurels. The NHS still faces huge challenges, with an ageing population and the rising costs of new drugs and technologies. I am confident the NHS is now in better shape to meet those challenges.”

From this week the NHS in Haringey will enjoy an extra £12 million, to support key Government priorities such as support for carers’ breaks, the Cancer Drugs Fund, investment in talking therapies for those with mental health conditions, and 4,200 extra health visitors.
 
Spending on healthcare in our local area this year will total £475 million overall.
 
The increase follows the decision by the Coalition Government to protect NHS investment over the next four years – investment vigorously opposed by Labour.
 
Across England as a whole, over £89 billion will now be spent on doctors, nurses and frontline services in the NHS – an increase of more than £2.6 billion over the year before.
 
Welcoming the increases in NHS funding, Lynne Featherstone MP said:
 
“We recognise just how important the NHS is to this country – and to patients here in Hornsey and Wood Green. That’s why the Coalition Government is protecting the NHS not just today, but for future generations.
 
“This year alone, Haringey will benefit from an extra £12 million of investment going straight to doctors, nurses and other frontline services.
 
“Under Labour, billions of extra spending was swallowed up as the number of managers increased at five times the rate the number of nurses. Their plans would have meant cutting the NHS, denying patients the improved services we are putting in place.
 
“Their approach – to spend less – would leave the NHS in crisis.”

Stepping up her fight to improve access for blind and partially sighted people to information from local health services, Lynne Featherstone MP has this week written to all local GPs urging them to provide details of their services in Braille and audio formats.

This latest initiative follows a successful drive in February by the Hornsey and Wood Green MP to get the local Whittington Hospital to agree to produce information about their services in formats accessible to blind and partially sighted people. But to ensure the whole local healthcare system offers accessible formats, as required under law, and for the information to be included in referrals to the hospital, GPs need to follow suit too.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s great that the Whittington is continuing to extend the service of providing health information in accessible formats, but for the local health system to be fully accessible, GPs need to do the same.

“That’s why I am calling on them to act now to provide details of their services in Braille and audio formats. We all have the right to keep health information private, and I will continue fighting to make sure that is the reality for blind and partially sighted people locally too.”

In response to the announcement by the government that the Whittington Accident and Emergency department will not face closure, Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green comments:

“This is fantastic news, and such a brilliant testament to the fact that the power of local people and our campaign has worked!

“This is the right decision for local residents. I have been fighting tooth and nail together with my Liberal Democrat colleagues and local residents to keep our vital health services open since the disastrous plans were leaked to me last October.

“I am ecstatic that we have been successful in forcing faceless health bureaucrats to back down.

“Nick Clegg has given cast iron guarantees that he will not close the Whittington, and I will certainly be holding Labour to their last minute promise – and make sure this is not just a hollow election pledge.

“Thanks so much to all local residents, campaigners and activists who have given so much to help save the Whittington.”

Robert Gorrie, Leader of Haringey Liberal Democrats adds:

“Local residents have forced the Labour Government to listen to them, but let’s not forget that it was a Labour government that let the faceless bureaucrats put these plans on the table in the first place.

“The plans to change health services in north London are still ongoing – NHS London need to come clean on what the remaining plans will mean for people in Haringey.”

Labour’s campaign to save the Whittington accident and emergency was left in tatters it emerged that a top Labour politician said that closing local A&E and maternity departments was “the right thing to do.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Lynne Featherstone has condemned the reported remarks by Labour Health Secretary Andy Burnham, and has said the revelation unmasks local Labour claims that they back the campaign to save the Whittington A&E.

In reality, Mr Burnham’s remarks show that it is Labour that is threatening these vital services.

Lynne Featherstone, who has campaigned tirelessly against the closure for the past six months, comments:

“These comments from the Labour minister in charge of our Health Service unmask the grim reality of Labour’s policies. This is what is threatening our local A&E at the Whittington.

“Local Labour politicians can hide behind a local campaign, just as they did with the closure of our Post Offices. The truth is that Labour cannot be relied on to fight for these vital local services.”

To continue the battle for better treatment of blind and partially sighted residents attending hospitals and doctors surgeries locally, Lynne Featherstone MP has visited a special blind awareness class at the Winkfield Centre in Wood Green.

The class was teaching 4th year medical students from UCL about the special challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people, and follows a visit a few months ago, when the Liberal Democrat MP and members of the Haringey Phoenix Group met with the Whittington Hospital. That visit formed part of a campaign by the RNIB to get hospitals to make its patient information available in accessible formats such as audio, Braille and large print.

To help increase awareness, the Hornsey and Wood Green MP and the medical students got to wear special sight impairing glasses whilst walking around in the centre’s garden.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“This is such a brilliant way to catch the doctors at an early stage and ensure they have special awareness of the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people.

“Using the glasses was a great way of giving the young doctors an idea of what having impaired vision is like, and is a small step to help make life easier for blind and partially sighted people here in Hornsey and Wood Green.”

Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, has backed the campaign to stop closure of the Whittington A&E. The pledge of support comes in the same week as Lynne Featherstone presents local peoples’ personal stories to the Health Minister about their experiences of the Whittington A&E to demonstrate just why local residents need the Whittington A&E to stay open, and to demand that the Government halts the threat.

The Liberal Democrat MP presented Mike O’Brien, Minster for Health, with a collection of over 200 personal stories, written by local residents, who are horrified by the threat to the Archway hospital.

The Liberal Democrats are committed to stopping this process dead in its tracks. They will replace health quangos with directly elected health boards, accountable to local residents for the decisions they make.

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat Leader, says:

“I support the campaign to save Whittington A&E. Decisions about local services should be taken by locally accountable bodies. I would not let North London Central NHS close this A&E. I oppose all proposals made by unaccountable bureaucrats which threaten local services.”

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“I welcome Nick’s unequivocal support of this campaign. But thanks also to the many personal and moving stories sent to me by local
residents, I feel we’ve made a powerful case for why the Whittington needs to stay open.

“This is about real people’s lives not paper solutions.

“The many intimate and touching stories really help show why having a hospital close-by is so vital. Many residents praise the hard working staff at the Whittington, who have helped them deal with really difficult and life-altering situations.

“I hope this will help tip the balance, and send a strong message to the Government from the people of Hornsey and Wood Green – hands off our A&E!”

In a debate in Parliament on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone got agreement from the Health Minister that there is no clinical case for closing the Whittington A&E.

After putting a very strong case for why the Whittington A&E must stay open in the debate in Westminster Hall, the Hornsey and Wood Green MP got Health Minister Mike O’Brien to confirm that the £30million invested in the Whittington would be wasted and that a clinical case for closing it had not been made.

To read the full debate see here or to view it see here.

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green comments:

“The Health Minister confirms what we have said all along – there is no case for closing the Whittington A&E and doing so would be sheer and utter madness.

“But I’m worried that these may be just warming words. We cannot and must not relax until we’ve seen the back of these proposals – hands off our A&E.”

It really was a packed hall – and very hot! Nearly 400 people came to question Rachel Tyndall (Chair of the Review panel putting forward the proposals on A&E, maternity and all) and Richard Sumray (Chair of Haringey PCT). Robert Gorrie facilitated the meeting (LibDemCouncil leader). Having told the hall he was LibDem Leader – that was the extent of party politics – there were none on the night – this was a meeting for real people to question the health bosses.

There was never going to be enough time for all the questions and comment and the answers that were given, on the whole, weren’t as tight or definitive as all of us would want. An example would be – if everyone rejects the proposal in the coming consultation – will you keep the A&E open?’ Needless to say the answer was alog the ‘we can’t say what will be in the consultation at this point’.

However, Rachel Tyndall was pretty upfront about one of the models for the future closing A&E which would see it replaced by an urgent care centre. She also talked quite a lot about money and the fact it was going to flatline now in this economy whilst the demand grows – thus leaving a massive budgetary hole down the line.

Here are some of the questions and answers – but there were many so this is a summation – but many missing am sure.

Those who came were magnificent – and asked many of the questions that needed to be asked. Is this privatisation? Ms Tyndall: if the private sector offers something better – that is what people want. Have you done any of the social science research – ie finding out from people about their usage? Sumray: yes we have and we have consulted with people. (Author’s note – the consultation with ‘people’ was eighty people. Across five boroughs that is not exactly a good sample). Accessibility of the site and travel and transport: Sumray – we will do a transport report. One of the audience kindly pointed out (accurately) that Hornsey Hospital has been built and still only has the same one bus it had before the new facility was there. How can the Royal Free take 80,000 from the Whittington on top of the 90,000 already going there? It won’t be 80,000 as so many can be treated in other ways. Follow on questions: so if 30,000 people are going to go to an out of hours GP instead of A&E – where are those doctors coming from? Not answered. What about people dying from extra journey times? Ah- but they will get better care when they get there. What are the criteria for consultation? There aren’t any yet. Where will the decision be made? It will be made by the joint committee of the five local PCTs. What about the high infant mortality rate? If A&E go – that will get worse. It isn’t the birth bit that is the problem – most deaths happen in the first year after birth. Have you got the figures for what it costs to run the Whittington as I asked last time at the last meeting? No I still don’t have them but if you give me your name and address I will make sure you get them.

There are many issues to cover – but one outstanding case was made re the numbers and type of need of the users of A&E. A couple of days before the meeting – we were notified that Rachel Tyndall was bringing a clinician to answer any medical/clinical questions. So I decided I needed to meet fire with fire – and found Ben Timmis, a Consultant at the Whittington, who is Chair of the Whittington Hospital Support Committee, which is a newly formed sub-committee of the main hospital Medical Committee – the medical advisory structure of the hospital.

One of the audience asked a question to the clinician, Philippa Curran, speaking for the Review Panel (as Ms Tyndall had kept banging home the point that this whole thing was clinically led) as to whether she really believed this would deliver better health care. I think Ms Curran was very nervous – and made a complete hash of the answer – inferring that people feeling unwell needed to consider whether it was serious and then make a decision as to which hospital to go to. The audience just laughed and she lost all credibility. It was pretty harsh for her – but it absolutely proved the case that when the Trust and Review panel claim this is clinician led – it is pretty dubious as to what that actually means.

Then Ben Timmis was called and this is a real super-point that takes away from the health bosses claim that out of the 80,000 visits to the Whittington A&E half could be seen elsewhere.

I can’t remember the exact figures (and won’t have my notes until tomorrow) but out of that 80,000, something like 15,000 are admitted, a further 30,000 are treated and then go home – but this is the one I hadn’t even thought of – another 30,000 need the sort of investigative tests, examination and so on to make sure it isn’t something more serious and then can be sent home if in the clear. And Mr Timmis made it crystal clear that these examinations to eliminate a serious illness etc can ONLY be done in a proper A&E department. Game, set and match I thought!

I wish we could have had another couple of hours – as there were so many people who wanted to speak but who didn’t get called. However, Rachel and Richard have agreed to come back again – and I have no doubt that both of them are under no illusions about how local people feel about our A&E!

To get the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the Whittington A&E being closed down, local Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone MP and Councillor Robert Gorrie presented the Whittington Petition to Downing Street.

The petition has been supported by over 2,200 local residents, with over 1000 people signing it in the first 48 hours alone.

Lynne Featherstone will also continue the fight against the threat of closure, by hosting a public meeting on Thursday the 4th March, at Greig City Academy in Hornsey, where local residents will get a chance to ask health care bosses directly about the threat to their A&E.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“I want the Prime Minister to sit up and take notice – it’s this Labour government that has landed us here in the first place. With such evident strong support and local outrage at the risk of closure, I hope he will see no option but to stop this threat once and for all.

“Thank you everyone who signed the petition – please continue to support the campaign by coming along to my meeting next Thursday. Together, united, we can show them what madness closure would be.”

Councillor Robert Gorrie, leader of Haringey Liberal Democrats, adds:

“The enormous groundswell of support against A&E closures will mean that soon the government and the NHS will no longer be able to ignore local residents. We will continue to fight and I hope local campaigners will too.”