Posted By: Jean Ashworth
Date Posted: 10/12/2007

Hospital propaganda must end says Simon Danczuk! He claims he fought the battle to retain services at the Rochdale Infirmary in a long and lengthy submission to the IRP but unfortunately his submission arrived after the closing date!

Now that I find quite unacceptable as this was a very serious issue for someone standing to represent the Borough of Rochdale to not have had his concerns in time for the report and decision.

I also think it is strange not to have seen him at any meetings regarding these downgrading of our hospital services, nor has he ever spoken to the staff on A&E or on any of the wards affected by these changes.

Does he know what the real situation is in our hospital?

Last week there was:

Not one medical hospital bed anywhere!

All A & E departments were yet again on divert.

A poorly baby had to wait 8 hours to be transferred for a bed as non were available until one was found  in STOKE?

After being stabilised by one of our first class paediatric consultants and his team on the children’s ward at the Rochdale Infirmary the baby was successfully transferred and is now back in Rochdale. 

This week is worse than last week and the worst is yet to come!

Another 40 beds lost on Stonehill!

We are in crisis in Rochdale yet this person blames the Lib Dems!

MP Paul Rowen has listened and really does know the full facts because he has made it his priority to see for himself and to look, listen and deal with this very worrying issue.

As has the Leader of the Conservative party Cllr Ashley Dearnley, who has also spoken out against these closures and the downgrading of our hospital services, and joined in many protests alongside the Friends of Our Hospital with Cllr Jane Gartside.

The Labour government needs to get true and realistic facts and figures and look at the real problems our LOCAL health services are facing.

Lack of beds, lack of resources, lack of staff. And certainly lack of support.

Too much emphasise is being put on the staff to put right what this government has got well and truly wrong and is not big enough to admit it, just as they didn’t admit the amalgamation of the four hospitals in the Pennine Acute was too big a merger to handle, they just do not know how to say “sorry we got it wrong”.

The facts are as above and a true record of what is really happening week in and week out on our wards.

Staff are stressed and are at breaking point, they are having to take this governments failures on board; they care hands-on with the sick, poorly and dying week in week out and know that the deal Rochdale and the surrounding areas have been given is just not going to work.

Neither can the staff at Fairfield or Oldham cope as every day of every week all of our hospitals are asking for help just to keep wards open.

As someone who does work hands-on and knows the real situation I can assure you that  lives are going to be lost.

Listen to the people, listen to the staff, look at the chaos our healthcare is in!