50 signatures reached
To: Jeremy Hunt
Halt the closure/downgrading of Trafford General A&E.
Dear Jeremy Hunt,
There are 34 A&Es around the country currently threatened with closure or downgrading. As shown in Newark, this will put people’s lives at risk.
We are calling on you to order a moratorium on 34 pending A&E closures and downgrades until a nationwide study has been completed.
Why is this important?
A&Es all over the country are under threat - from Hartlepool in the North to Margate in the South.
But the full extent of the impact of closing A&E departments is still unknown. Evidence from Newark showed that when their A&E closed, death rates jumped by more than a third. *
When NHS chiefs decided to close Newark A&E they promised that more lives would be saved. However, the opposite to this has happened - more lives have been put at risk and death rates have increased.
We can’t let these closures happen across the country. We need a proper investigation into the impact of A&E closures before any more are closed or downgraded.
Dr Clare Gerada, Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners agrees.
‘The Newark data revealed by The Mail on Sunday points to a close association between A&E closures and mortality. It is clear the provision of emergency care is in crisis across the whole of the NHS. Before any further closures are contemplated, there must be a full, independent assessment of their impact on patients and on the system as a whole.’ *
If the recent ‘backdoor’ privatisation of the NHS wasn’t enough, the unjustified closure of our A&E departments is a step too far.
* Shocking proof A&E closures cost lives, Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2323141/Shocking-proof-Accident-Emergency-closures-cost-lives-Death-rate-jumps-THIRD-department-closes.html
