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To: Janet Guy, Chair, NCCG & David Evans, Chief Executive, Northumbria NHS Trust

Save Rothbury Hospital from closure.

Significant success!

I am absolutely delighted to be writing today to tell you that we have had a considerable victory in our campaign to have the beds reinstated at Rothbury Community Hospital. There have had to be compromises, but what we have achieved is a pragmatic agreement.

As you will remember, we argued for Coquetdale Cares: The Community Vision, back in 2017. Earlier this year, myself and Maurice Cole, met with Sir Jim Mackey and Claire Riley of the NHS Trust. They really listened to our concerns and began to get things moving.

During the last few months, the CCG and the NHS Trust have been listening and working together, and with community representatives, to make what they are calling The Art of the Possible, a reality. The Art of the Possible is their response to our Vision. And we like it!

It involves a plan to:

Increase outpatient clinics, from falls clinics through to orthopaedics and others, some of which will use new technological links that enable virtual consultations.
Provide additional clinical and daycare services utilising the hospital site as a hub for health and care delivery. Services include:
Dementia care
Learning disability forums
Health and well-being clinics
Chemotherapy care
Enhanced emergency healthcare planning
Mental Health and IAPT services
Physiotherapy
Dentistry
Introduce a new metric to measure the number of miles travelled for services and, where possible, the NHS will look to reduce this.
Introduce a flexible bed model – with inpatient beds available within the hospital for short-term rehab and end of life care. The number of beds will be dependent on clinical need.
Importantly, they have really taken on board our idea to have rooms available for carers/partners/loved ones to stay when appropriate. This will be particularly during end-of-life care, and potentially if someone is admitted with dementia, their carers could stay too. They are definitely looking into making this available.

I hope you will agree that this is all excellent news. The team are delighted.

However - at the CCG Meeting yesterday, I made a sincere promise to the community - to keep a watchful eye on how this all develops. We have every intention of closely monitoring the unfolding of this. We cannot afford at this stage to let our guard down.

The opening date is planned for 1st April 2020. Let's hope there is nothing 'foolish' about it!

With great thanks to you for your continued belief in the Campaign and support of it.

Love and happiness

Katie

Katie Scott
Co-ordinator, Save Rothbury Community Hospital Campaign

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-49497435

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/victory-sight-rothbury-hospital-campaigners-16826710

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/health/health-chiefs-and-campaigners-hail-significant-progress-on-future-of-rothbury-hospital-492708

We, the undersigned, call upon the NHS Northumberland CCG and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to safeguard the future of Rothbury Community Hospital and re-open the ward with immediate effect.

Why is this important?

The Save Rothbury Hospital Campaign believe that the suspension of in-patient services at Rothbury is having significant adverse consequences for our local population. We want to protect this precious and valuable resource. We ask the NHSCCG and NHS Foundation Trust to think with their hearts - not with their wallets.

The immediate effects the sudden closure are:

1. Patients are not being admitted to a low tech facility close to home. This will cause a higher rate of acute admissions to the new Cramlington hospital.
2. Patients are unable to return to a low tech facility for rehabilitation, and discharge planning, close to home after an acute admission elsewhere.
3. Most crucially of all - we are left with no facility to provide end of life care for patients close to home, if circumstances, including patient choice, mean they cannot be cared for in their own homes.

The people who are suffering (and will continue to suffer) as a result of this heartless decision are our frail and vulnerable residents of Rothbury and Coquetdale. We refuse to allow this to happen - we care about all of our people.
Rothbury, Northumberland

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2016-10-11 17:31:28 +0100

1,000 signatures reached

2016-09-12 22:47:48 +0100

500 signatures reached

2016-09-12 12:18:33 +0100

100 signatures reached

2016-09-12 11:30:47 +0100

50 signatures reached

2016-09-12 11:13:42 +0100

25 signatures reached

2016-09-12 11:04:38 +0100

10 signatures reached