Martin puts case for Battledown ward today (Cheltenham Liberal Democrats)

Cheltenham Liberal Democrats <info@cheltlibdems.org.uk>

Martin puts case for Battledown ward today

March 9, 2009 9:38 AM

CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood is this morning meeting with Dr Philip Milner, the independent reviewer of children's inpatient services. Martin first signed the petition against the loss of inpatient services at Battledown ward before he was even a parliamentary candidate and he took up the issue on the first day after his election in May 2005. After an 'options appraisal' in May 2005 it seemed as though the battle had been won when the local NHS responded to a huge local campaign by agreeing to pilot a nurse-led ward that would have kept overnight inpatient beds in Cheltenham. But in March 2006 drastic cuts were announced in the NHS in Gloucestershire to help neighbouring Primary Care Trusts clear multi-million deficits. Battledown ward's promised nurse-led unit was axed weeks before it was due to start and the ward closed to overnight inpatient admissions in May 2006.

In September last year, Martin asked to meet NHS Gloucestershire chief executive Jan Stubbings to discuss their new situation of financial surplus and the re-examination of the case for overnight children's beds in Cheltenham.

'Given that the only reason the plan was scrapped in 2006 was financial, it's right that we should re-open the case now that the NHS is in surplus. Given the economic situation, this could be our only chance' said Martin

'Many of the people who weren't here in 2005 - including Dr Milner I would guess - may not realise just how comprehensively we won the argument back then' he said. 'The options appraisal accepted the huge opposition to the loss of inpatient services amongst stakeholders and recommended a rescue package in the form of a nurse-led unit. Crucially, it identified a clinical need, saying that a nurse-led ward could have helped hundreds of sick children every year to stay closer to their families. These would have included minor respiratory cases, minor orthopaedic emergency cases such as fractures needing traction and minor surgery cases needing overnight observation. That's just as true today. All the local NHS trusts had signed up to the idea. The plans were in place and ready to go. It was only the government's financial mismanagement that scuppered the plan at the very last minute. I think Dr Milner needs to understand the strength of opposition there was to the original plan and the bitter sense of betrayal we all felt when the rescue plan for a nurse-led ward was so abruptly dropped without consultation. We argued, we marched and we signed petitions in our tens of thousands but the NHS and the government let us down. But I have never given up. This is a real opportunity for the local NHS at least to rebuild some of that trust with local people. '