12 HOUR VIGIL on 20th September 2008. Over 400 signatures collected.

12 HOUR VIGIL on 20th September 2008. Over 400 signatures collected.
photo copyright News Shopper.

Thursday 16 August 2007

The Scandal of the Payment Processing Fee

We've all heard about the horrors of being charged by the banks to take out OUR money, now read about the horrors of BT taking more of OUR money when we try to pay our 'phone bills! BACS (the automated bank clearing people) call it a discrete charge - I call it DAYLIGHT ROBBERY. From May 2007 you will be charged £4.50 per quarter simply to pay your bill by cheque! As a self-employed person, when someone pays me, whether by cheque, credit / debit card, cash, whatever, I say meekly, "thank you". BT on the other hand say, "not enough". Of course, if you don't pay, you will be disconnected. If you pay late you will also be charged a late payment fee. So much for privatisation opening up the competition.

Saturday 4 August 2007

Queen Mary's Hospital

I was surprised to see Bromley Times having this week to print a correction to a report concerning Ms Kate Grimes, Chief Executive of Queen Mary's Hospital, in which she does not accept that there are any proposals to change the range or calibre of A & E services at Queen Mary's and thus no endangering to life.

Is this the same Ms Kate Grimes who has just told staff that up to 400 jobs are to go across the four S.E. London hospitals? We know where most of them are going to be going from. They won't be executives and managers, they will be specialists, doctors and nurses.

Last month I wrote to Ms Grimes in which I referred to a press release from Queen Mary's which included the following:

"Following discussions between the Chief Executives and Medical Directors of all the four NHS Trusts in outer SE London, it was agreed that the work around the future shape of acute hospital services should progress on a partnership basis."

I asked two questions:

1. Am I right in thinking that, from the above, if a pregnant woman was to report to Queen Mary's for childbirth and, during the delivery, was to have complications that would require "acute hospital services", for example an emergency Caesarian, then this would not be possible at Queen Mary's?

2. Is the special care baby unit at Queen Mary's going to close?

The response I received was:

"I have to tell you that the simple answer to them both is 'no'." One wonders what the complicated answer is!

Queen Mary's own publicity states that 60% of Bexley's residents rely on Queen Mary's Hospital for acute medical services. Its natural catchment population is 300,000, extending to the boroughs of Greenwich, Bromley (especially Chislehurst) and Dartford, although it serves a far wider population. It also states that it is an integral part of Bexley and it aims to be a patient focused hospital for local people with a 24 hour A&E service where you can be treated for major illnesses, have planned surgery, maternity care and paediatric services.

There is only one way to stop any diminution of services at Queen Mary's and that is to protest. Local residents have complained that no one is doing anything...until now. It is difficult to protest until any formal announcement is made, but if and when the announcement to close or scale down services is made then I shall be happy to co-ordinate the largest protest against the loss of a hospital that this country has ever seen. But I need your support. Will you give it?

If elected I would fight to ensure that all Bromley and Chislehurst residents had access to a local hospital offering a full range of services