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To: HEART OF ENGLAND NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Save Good Hope Hospital

Update 12/02/2016: We Won!

The controversial plans to change surgery provision at Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital have been scrapped!

Read more: http://www.suttoncoldfieldobserver.co.uk/Controversial-proposals-change-Good-Hope-Hospital/story-28718081-detail/story.html

Please do not close or transfer key departments and services at our local hospital, Good Hope, in Sutton Coldfield. We believe the changes proposed by the Heart of England Trust would be detrimental to the welfare and safety of patients in the area.

Why is this important?

Many patients are very anxious about the future of their local hospital, particularly after various media disclosures, including the announcement that 1,000 beds in hospitals across the city (of Birmingham) are due to be axed!

Our campaign group, Save Good Hope’s Local Services, brings together local people who use and care very much about our local hospital, Good Hope, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

We are independent of any political party and are campaigning to stop the closure of key departments at our hospital. Closures of key departments at Good Hope Hospital could be the start of a slippery slope: in many areas of England, hospitals have already either been downgraded or even closed.

One of our main aims, as stated in an earlier petition, has recently been successfully achieved. A public meeting to discuss the Trust’s proposals finally having being held in October, after much campaigning!

And now we are calling for people across Birmingham to say NO to the closure of key departments at the hospital. These were revealed in the Trust's document (before the consultations had even finished!) as the following:

1. The transfer of Trauma FROM Good Hope to Heartlands Hospital;
2. The transfer of Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology and Colorectal Surgery FROM Good Hope to Heartlands and Solihull, both great distances to travel for many people and particularly difficult for carers and those they care for, the elderly, very young and disabled.

In response to concern already expressed by many people at the ongoing consultations regarding transport, the Trust have suggested the equivalent of `taxi’ ambulances so to speak. But who would pay for this?

Even if it was to be the Trust, how long would they actually pay before saying they had run out of funds? Would patients then be expected to pay, including those from other areas even further out, such as Tamworth & Lichfield?

The Heart Of England Trust has been reported in the media as being the highest earning Trust IN THE COUNTRY from car parking charges, netting an annual profit of nearly £4million!

At the public meeting, one of our campaigners asked the Trust why and if that money could be used to help keep our hospital services local?

At present, it is obvious that this Trust STILL lacks openness, transparency and empathy with patients. They need to really start to `think like a patient’, because at the moment, they don’t.
Rectory Rd, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B75 7RR

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Updates

2016-03-23 14:06:02 +0000

Petition is successful with 2,314 signatures

2016-02-23 11:29:15 +0000

Petition is successful with 2,313 signatures

2016-02-19 12:11:26 +0000

Petition is successful with 2,312 signatures

2016-01-10 18:32:00 +0000

SUNDAY, 10TH JANUARY, 2016
Happy New Year! Our Campaign to save key local Hospital services continues into its THIRD YEAR!

2015-10-23 16:19:22 +0100

FRIDAY, 23RD OCTOBER, 2015
Today, Dame Julie Moore, Chief Executive of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham & Jacqui Smith are to take over the running of the Heart Of England Trust, which was being investigated by the health watchdog Monitor. The Trust has a deficit of nearly £30 million!
We have called for an open and transparent Public Meeting to be held asap by the new leader (s) and Monitor, so that they can explain to all patients exactly what caused the appalling deficit, state what their future plans for Good Hope are and allow very worried patients to voice their concerns. We think patients have a right and need to know what is now being planned for our local Hospital and to be actually listened to this time.
This morning, our Campaign Co ordinator was interviewed live on Radio WM (Adrian Goldberg Breakfast Show) and can be found online; BBC i Player.
Please also check out SCL (Sutton Coldfield Local ) online for this week's reports.

2015-07-21 14:19:34 +0100

TUESDAY, 21ST JULY, 2015
VERY IMPORTANT HEALTH SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MEETING at Birmingham Council House TODAY: start 5:30pm
about the recent (01.06.15) CQC Report re the Heart Of England Trust and all 3 Hospitals under it; also re the ongoing CCG Non Emergency Patient Transport Consultations. Members of the public are allowed to attend, or to view the proceedings `live' via webstream online. We urge everyone to participate, one way or the other.
Apparently members of the public are not allowed to speak at this meeting, thus if there are any problems/ concerns / queries with what is said by Trust/ CCG Reps, those will have to be addressed later via letter/ e mail/ phone calls to Councillors on the committee.
We now have over 2000 petition signatures; BRILLIANT, THANK YOU! Please keep encouraging others to sign also.

2015-05-13 23:31:04 +0100

WEDNESDAY, 13TH MAY 2015

OUR CAMPAIGN CONTINUES!

2015-02-27 21:56:26 +0000

FRIDAY, 27TH FEB 2015
IN THE INTERESTS OF TRANSPARENCY: One of our Campaign Team will now be standing as a candidate for the NHA (National Health Action Party) in the forthcoming local May elections; ie as a Councillor candidate.
THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE TO THE AIMS OF OUR CAMPAIGN OR OUR PETITION, WHICH STAY EXACTLY THE SAME.
. Indeed, our campaigner is very pleased to be standing as a candidate for a Party run mainly by health professionals who really care about the NHS. We feel this will benefit our Campaign.

2015-02-19 13:52:13 +0000

THURSDAY, 19TH FEB 2015
`Birmingham Mail' report (yesterday, 18th Feb) `Hospital Trust rakes in £4m from parking charges in one year' (referring of course to the Heart of England NHS Trust).
Our Campaign Team revealed and challenged the Trust about that last year on two public occasions after we were first alerted to it by a report in a national newspaper and it is also stated in our petition info above!
The newspaper report follows Channel 4's `Dispatches' programme earlier this week, including info about car parking `shenanigans' practised by many NHS Trusts.

2015-02-08 17:59:42 +0000

SUNDAY, 8TH FEB 2015
Our Campaign Team initiated a Cross Party Debate last week, inviting Parliamentary Candidates (for Sutton Coldfield - we were advised against asking candidates from other constituencies for sound reasons- though perhaps they could be lobbied also to hold such a Debate by their constituents?) to organise and participate in such an event before the General Election.
We have asked that the candidates discuss the crucial issue of the future of Good Hope Hospital and other very important local concerns.
They have all agreed to organise and take part in the Debate, which is wonderful!
We are waiting for details about the event and for the Press Release regarding that to be published in the media.
Meanwhile, please keep asking everyone you know to sign our petition. Thank you.

2015-01-04 19:13:55 +0000

SUNDAY, 4TH JANUARY, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The fight to save Good Hope's key local services continues.
Please ask everyone you can think of to sign our petition. Thank you.

2014-12-17 21:02:58 +0000

WEDNESDAY, 17TH. DECEMBER, 2014 The following link will enable viewing of a (webcast) recording of last week's very important Health Scrutiny Committee Meeting at Birmingham Council House:
http://bit.ly/1AjWEYW
It provides crucial information regarding the Trust situation and our Campaign.

2014-11-28 15:45:52 +0000

FRIDAY, 28TH.NOV. After the Chair of the Heart Of England Trust's ludicrous and misleading letter in the Sutton Observer last week (21.11.14),we sent a letter in reply, refuting several points that had been made by the Chair and giving our own other very important ones.
As it was considered vital to respond to the Chair's letter asap in the public interest, we requested for it to please be published in this week's edition.
Sadly, it wasn't.

2014-11-12 16:35:50 +0000

WEDNESDAY, 12TH NOV. Big surprise yesterday- the Chief Executive of the Heart Of England Trust, Mark Newbold- resigned! Shambolic and very worrying state of the Trust exposed in yesterday's excellent Midlands Today report. Our concerns are validated.
OUR PETITION STAYS ONLINE & will be addressed to the NEW Chief Executive, once a name is announced, whilst still also being addressed to Andrew Mitchell, MP.

2014-11-06 15:20:01 +0000

1,000 signatures reached