War of Words Breaks Out over Future of Charing Cross Hospital
H&F council leader clashes with health chiefs over 'misleading' closure claims
A war of words has broken out between H&F Council Leader Cllr Stephen Cowan and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust over the future of Charing Cross Hospital.
Trust chief executive Dr Tracey Batten and North West London collaboration of clinical commissioning groups chief officer Clare Parker say they are raising a formal complaint over Cllr Cowan's "inaccurate and misleading" claims about Charing Cross Hospital.
He has hit back, accusing them of "hiding the truth" about plans to close the hospital in Fulham Palace Road.
The row began when Cllr Cowan sent a letter to the borough's residents claiming 'NHS bosses have re-launched plans to close Charing Cross' as part of the North West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP).
Dr Batten and Ms Parker responded with a letter confirming their commitment to the hospital and saying that there have never been any plans to close Charing Cross Hospital and that the STP actually makes a clear commitment that there will be no reduction in Charing Cross's A&E department or wider services within the lifetime of the plan - that runs until April 2021.
They also highlight the recent £2.5 million investment in urgent and emergency care services and theatres at Charing Cross.
Their letter to Cllr Cowan warns that they are raising a formal complaint regarding his letter and its content which they believe has clearly breached the Code of
Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, specifically around objectivity and
even-handedness and request that he stop any further promotion of this leaflet and
publicly retract your misleading claims.
The letter says: "It’s more important than ever that the NHS and local authorities work closely together to develop better and more integrated ways to help local people stay as healthy as possible and to get fast access to the right care when and where they need it.
"As such, we do believe health and care services need to continue to change along the lines set out in the service strategy for NW London, agreed in 2013 following a full public
consultation.
"We made further commitments through the STP that we will work jointly with communities and councils to design new models of care as set out in the strategy and that
we will first progress and test new out-of-hospital models before looking to reduce acute hospital capacity."
You can read the letter in full on the Trust's website.
Cllr Cowan however has refused to back down, accusing the Trust's bosses of trying to hide the truth about plans for the hospital.
He says: " This complaint from local health bosses is the latest in a long line of attempts to hide the truth about their closure plans – and frighten those people who oppose them.
"It follows their appointment of costly spin-doctors M&C Saatchi, their failure to publish a business case for Charing Cross, their deeply flawed public consultation and their repeated failure to answer questions on the long term future of Charing Cross Hospital.
"The facts are perfectly clear to us – North West London NHS published plans in 2013 to axe services at Charing Cross. Their letter of complaint reiterates that it’s still their intention to implement these plans. H&F Council has opposed these plans, and is proud to work with dedicated local residents to fight them.
"Recently published figures show growing waiting times and a spike in admissions at Charing Cross. Instead of trying to shut down debate, local health bosses should be focusing on helping their hard-pressed staff deal with these huge challenges."
April 6, 2017
