St Ann's Hospital: Will Ed Miliband step in to shore his promise to protect the NHS ?

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Permalink Reply by maggie on October 3, 2014 at 13:39

?

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Permalink Reply by matthew cuthbert on October 7, 2014 at 14:38

Thanks LJ for bringing the report to my attention, and I welcome any other docs you can identify to highlight the current state of play.

Would you discount that there will be no need for our area of 24,000 people, plus potential for another 10,000 in the Warehouse district, (once developers become interested,) to secure NHS land now, to provide a resource for our health needs, (for decades to come?) That would be some report!

However Flyovers were thought to be the answer for modernising Birmingham city centre, they were raised to the ground in the 90's, schools of thought change. As I'm sure you are already aware there is huge disparity in health care, it seems right to consider other models, and not stand rigidly by a report,
but to be dynamic in seeking solutions to Haringey's health needs, I wonder what Max Lock, Labour's Master planner from the post war era would say now, maybe we'll get a Shopping City solution. The Ladder was considered to be cleared like Kings Rd, Queens Rd N16, now Kings Crescent, Clissold Park. History has taught us to question such wisdom , one report is not the basis for only one master plan.

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Permalink Reply by matthew cuthbert on October 9, 2014 at 17:12

A little Yoda voice says,Institutionalised are we?

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Permalink Reply by Robin Dennis on October 3, 2014 at 0:23

It was an eye injury -- not requiring an ambulance, but requiring medical care within a couple hours if not sooner, as advised to me when I called NHS Choices. When I specifically asked for a walk-in centre during that call, NHS Choices sent me to North Middlesex A&E; it was the closest place I could go to receive care.

Of course, the provision of health care should be managed not in specific cases, but in meeting wider community needs. There should, however, be a place for urgent care closer than North Middlesex for injuries of this sort. There shouldn't be a three-hour wait to get my blood drawn at Laurels (my other option: North Middlesex) as part of the NHS' routine health-check programme. The primary care, walk-in centre, and urgent care facilities in this area are oversubscribed, based on my own experience and reports from other residents. Has that been assessed? Has the increased demand that will come with additional housing builds been assessed? Could existing physical plant be upgraded and used to meet these needs? Etc.

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Permalink Reply by Robin Dennis on October 3, 2014 at 11:42

It's more complicated than that, as I noted below. It's basically just shy of an hour, whether by train or using 2 buses (which requires less walking).

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Permalink Reply by Abi on October 3, 2014 at 12:10

Yes, I can attest that the journey to North Mids is an absolute pain, and takes around an hour. I used to do it for my regular blood tests because I was so determined not to set foot in the Laurels, having read their online reviews.

I have to say the Laurels has actually improved a great deal in the past year - perhaps I was phenomenally lucky, but last time I had a blood test there I waited 5 minutes and the staff were polite and lovely. Far from my experience prior to this. Anyone else noticed an improvement? 

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Permalink Reply by Robin Dennis on October 3, 2014 at 12:22

Well, my excrutiatingly long wait for a blood test was at the end of August this year. During my hours, I witnessed some pretty rude treatment of several patients at reception, none of whom appeared to have done anything to merit the treatment. So it must come and go. (And I realize that on busy days, the people working at reception are more likely to have a short fuse.)

Permalink Reply by SarahC on October 3, 2014 at 12:39

I was actually pleasantly surprised by how short the journey was – about 15-20 minutes by bus from Turnpike Lane/Westbury Ave – as it sounds like a million miles away on paper. Though I appreciate that's no use if you're coming from the other end of the Ladder.

Permalink Reply by Robin Dennis on October 3, 2014 at 11:39

I'm not fighting this because I don't like change -- I have only been an NHS patient for about five years. I am concerned about what is happening to the NHS, and about the provision of healthcare in the area. I'm glad that you have flexibility to go to the Laurels whenever they advise is the best time to go; not everyone does, depending on their work. And as I said, NHS Choices sent me to North Middlesex; calling for an ambulance would have been indefensible, as a drain on vital resources and taxpayer money, but not everyone can afford to use a car service or owns a car, and it takes quite a while to get there by affordable public transport. The population that most needs provision of public healthcare is exactly the population that needs an urgent care centre and more GPs locally. But as far as I know, this has not been considered as part of the St. Ann's plans. If it has, none of the involved authorities have shared it publicly, as far as I'm aware, having gone through the planning documentation.

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on October 3, 2014 at 14:37

Good point Will! The trouble is that developers are incentivised by how the london development plan calculates maximum densities to site residences near transport hubs, not things like hospitals...

Permalink Reply by tigha on October 3, 2014 at 20:10

I am a long term nurse working in gp surgeries as well as being a long term patient at st anne,s, particularly their specialist services which are some of the best in uk#

My thoughts are that as so many services have closed at St Annes,instead patients have been sent to chase farm which was already overstretched, and not having given any extra bed/ resource provision to them, just made more of a nightmare

The stress of going an extra hour for a blood test is irrelevant in the bigger scale of the problem

So if so many health services have been shut at st annes, then its totally obvious they need to replace them, with medical provision, particularly with our expanding and ageing population

im not sure an A&E service is the answer unless for mental health problem( the one at st ann,s closed a few years ago)- already our A&E departments are abused by many, who attend when actually they should see a GP with the shortage of GPs, so not sure A&E is the answer or even a convalescence place= that sounds like a lovely idea but not a necessity

I would have thought at least a walk in centre, which has huge benefits for so many, and have been cut back

Also if they make the place residential, then it is more likely they put pressure on the few remaining services, (although excellent services) that remain, to be closed- or as they say to be relocated to another site(chase farm)but with no extra resourses to take up the extra

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Permalink Reply by matthew cuthbert on October 10, 2014 at 12:21

Thanks for your response, the more professional response the better to get a picture of the current situation.

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