Mike Hancock News
MP to help hospital ward campaigners take petition to Downing Street
Mike Hancock, MP, will tomorrow, Thursday 7th April at 1.30pm help campaigners fighting to re-open G5 "end of life" respite care ward for older people at Queen Alexandra Hospital to deliver their petition to 10, Downing Street.
Mike Hancock has also submitted a parliamentary motion backing the campaign and asking that the ward is re-opened.
Mike said: "This was a greatly valued and appreciated ward at Queen Alexandra hospital. Older patients have unique needs and wants. Due to an ageing population, this will be needed even more in the future. The massive response to the petition shows how much local people are concerned about the closure. Hundreds upon hundreds of people have made comments as to how they and their relatives found G5 ward a massive help in their relatives' last days."
Michael Andrewes of "Keep G5 Ward" and who started the campaign said: "We are very grateful to Mike Hancock helping us with this and allowing us to show to the heart of Government how much this ward was valued by local people. There has been a huge response to the campaign and petition. I hope that the Government will listen to the people of Portsmouth"
G5 ward was closed in September. There were then representations to the Secretary of State for Health and Portsmouth City Council's Health Scrutiny Panel (which is independent of the NHS) by Mike Hancock, Michael Andrewes and other members of the "Keep G5 Ward" campaign. The Panel found that the closure was a substantial variation in provision and that the hospital management had not consulted on the closure properly as they should with a substantial variation. The Secretary of State of Health then asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to look at the closure. They submitted their report to the Secretary of State for Health on 31st March. It will not be published until he makes a decision which will be in about a month's time.
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