“Keep them open” shouted protestors outside hospitals scattered round North West London. It was 4 years ago when it was announced that several hospital’s Accident and Emergency departments would be closed. This plan would allow the Harrow based, Northwick Park’s A and E to have a £21m re-design. This would mean that the government’s dream of turning it into a ‘super hospital’ would be fulfilled. To fund this development NHS England needed to close the A and E’s at Central Middlesex and Ealing Hospital. However this is not the first time a major part of Ealing Hospital has been left vulnerable to the governments increasingly demanding ideas. On the 30th June, earlier this year the “Charlie Chaplin” ward in the hospitals paediatric department was closed down as outlined in the government’s policy, Shaping a Healthier Future. This meant that the nearest paediatric ward to Ealing is in Harrow at Northwick Park Hospital. So what’s the problem? Northwick Park Hospital is at least a 25-minute drive from Ealing Broadway, a drastic change from the 10 minutes it used to take to get to Ealing Hospital. Although there is only a 15-minute time gap this could make a huge difference when rushing a child to hospital in a life or death situation. But unfortunately this is only the tip of the iceberg.

With England’s population on the rise, the death to birth rate of its major cities being disproportionate and the A and E’s struggling to meet their four hour treatment it is understandable why the public are worrying about the amount of thought that has been implemented into this plan. The political stakes are sky high.

One NHS employee and local resident to Ealing Hospital, who would prefer not to be named, was initially very concerned about the changes. “So initially, it is about the distance, particularly having a daughter who was a frequent attender in her younger years. I was also concerned about the potential increase in waiting times due to a higher population attending the central A and E service from Northwick Park. From a professional stance my main concern was the retention in experienced staff that knew and may not have agreed with the closure and would have left for alternative employment, which then would require the wards to be run by agency staff.  However I can see the sense of putting medical and nursing expertise in central areas because research suggests that this strategy can have better health outcomes for patients”.

Another Ealing resident, Bill Cross, a member of the ‘Save Ealing Hospital Committee' looked at the events from another point of view. “I’ve recently developed Type 2 Diabetes and I have had to be admitted as an emergency through A and E at Ealing with low blood sugars. I live on my own and don’t have easy access to transport. I’ve paid my taxes all my life and I’m disgusted that the government is shutting Ealing A and E. It has made me nervous and very worried about my future. My consultant diabetologist was based at Ealing Hospital and is now relocated to God knows where. I will fight to the bitter end to get Ealing’s A and E back. Shaping a Healthier Future, you must be ‘aving a laugh mate ”.

What’s your opinion? Should we start thinking that this is the first steps to privatizing the NHS? It’s obvious from the continued demonstrations outside Ealing General Hospital that there is still a lot of discontent around this matter. People have valid concerns about gaining access to immediate healthcare but all mainstream political parties are subscribed to managing the NHS resource in a more efficient way. You could also argue that these changes are aligned with a more progressive society and some people are threatened by changed.  This viewpoint appeared to be backed by the legal system in this country. The A and E closure plan was subject to a judicial view after which the judge said “go ahead”.

Tom Hare, Hampton School