We need everyone to put pen to paper and write to the three addresses below stating your reasons / experiences / arguments to keep the hospital open.
Addresses for info
Karen Bradley MP,
House of Commons,
London.
SW1A 0AA
Marcus Warnes
Accountability officer,
North Staffordshire Clinical Commisioning Group,
Smithfield 1
Hanley,
Stoke-on-Trent.
ST1 4FA
Miss Sybil Ralphs
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Moorlands House,
Stockwell Street,
Leek
Staffs
Please find below my letter to be posted to Karen, Marcus and Sybil.
Karen Bradley MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear Karen
I am writing this letter to highlight my concerns regarding the future of Leek hospital.
This hospital is a vital part of the local community and a safety net for care locally.
I feel that any decision to close Leek hospital will not be based on any reason other than lack of funding.
As Leek hospital offers respite care the closure would seem to indicate that the government is reluctant to provide high quality care for the elderly and local patients who can recuperate locally allowing family and friends to visit them easily.
I would ask you to consider the following reasons for not reducing/closing any of the facilities provided by Leek hospital.
Treatment of Staff
The hospital is local and its closure means breaking up that team of wonderful people. Like all other local hospitals, the staff will be redeployed and forced to travel further afield and incur additional time and money on travel to a new place of work where they may not be happy. Contented hospital staff also provide support for relatives by their dedication to patient care and cheery manner.
Treatment of Patients
Patients will no doubt receive fewer visits from friends and family owing to greater travelling distance and the limitations of travel by public transport in rural areas. If this hospital closes people in outlying areas would have to undertake a 50 mile round trip to visit their nearest hospital. To travel further to visit a loved one would mean using extra fuel and may be not possible after the end of the working day for some relatives. The evidence is very clear that if you want to save lives you need to have hospitals near to patients. Death rates rise 20% for every seven miles a patient travels.
Environmental Factors
The closure of Leek hospital and other local hospitals places a greater burden on the environment as well as people (staff, patients and family/friends) due to:
1. Wasting precious fuel: travel to work, to use essential services (healthcare, education & food shopping) and recreational amenities should be minimised to conserve fuel (that will without doubt become increasingly expensive and possibly rationed in the near future)
2. The hospital is functional as a local resource and is located in an accessible part of Leek.
3. Closure of Leek and other local hospitals forces more traffic onto the road system thus increasing pollution and stress on drivers and their passengers
4. Local hospitals can provide emergency relief when there is unexpected demand on general hospitals e.g. The University of North Midlands. Local hospitals are an important part of the defence of our country in exceptional circumstances: major flu outbreak, natural disaster and terrorist attack.
Ethical Factors
For the reasons given above I don’t believe that the closure of Leek hospital is an ethical proposal. Please ask yourself the following questions:
1. Will patients be better off?
2. Will nursing and support staff be better off?
3. Will the relatives and friends of the patient be better off?
4. Is this proposal just a way of saving money for the health trust?
5. Does this proposal respect the wishes of local people?
If item 4. above is a prime factor, then it is about time that the trust and others made their grievances known to the government. I personally would prefer to pay more for a decent health service than pay for its failure. The better our health service, the healthier we should be and consequently the cost of keeping us healthy should be less in future.
Is this desire to limit funding to a lower than required level based on the belief that the people of this wonderful nation of ours are unwilling to spend more money on the National Health Service.
No government, that I can remember, has ever asked me whether I am willing to spend more on National Insurance and Health. Well I am!
As a local constituent, I request that you oppose the closure or downgrading of Leek Hospital.
I look forward to your response and thank you in advance for your support in this important matter.
Glenn Marriott
41Hillswood Avenue
Leek
Staffordshire
ST13 8EQ
Brilliant Glen