Hospital admission crisis

Councillor Jean Ashworth

Councillor Jean Ashworth has spoken out over the Christmas/New Year period about her deep concern regarding the current plans to downgrade Rochdale Infirmary to a Locality Hospital. She says Accident and Emergency Departments nationwide are struggling to cope with the volume of patients needing care with many A&E departments constantly having to go on divert to other areas which is the case at Rochdale Infirmary, Fairfield, Oldham Royal and North Manchester. Over the past few weeks, all four hospitals have experienced an over whelming influx of patients.

Councillor Ashworth who works at Rochdale Infirmary said: "We have seen patients waiting in ambulances for a bed to be free, it is ludicrous that the NHS is failing to deliver an adequate service because of too much interference from people who clearly are not looking at the reality of the major ongoing problems, which are not going to go away.

"To close an A&E department in a deprived town is asking for trouble and lives will most definitely be lost because of time, travel and lack of beds elsewhere.

"There isn’t one ounce of evidence that closing/downgrading whatever name you chose to give has or will work in any area; all the money spent on these Lift Centres has not proved that fewer patients need hospital care if anything the figures are at the highest ever known!

"I have worked for the Pennine Acute for over 30 years and I see the truth and the heartache of our dedicated staff working all out to provide the care and the absolute stress of not being able to carry out that care because of silly targets and lack of beds.

"No amount of saving money will conquer the bugs or illnesses we face every year; no amount of care in the community will cope either with the ever growing stress this situation has caused.

"I ask from my heart for a re-think into this unsafe downgrading of our healthcare. Let's look after our sick as they deserve to be looked after. Let’s also give the wonderful staff credit instead of targets! Help the dedicated staff to carry on saving lives, not losing them through a project that looks good on paper, saving the NHS money, but how many lives will be lost to prove it just will not work?"