Comments on: Defending Heatherwood

By: Phillip Lee

Phillip Lee — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:24:40 +0000

Heatherwood and Wexham trust are in debt to the tune of £10 million. Most importantly, I have been assured that, despite this dreadfully large figure, the number of beds is secure. As regards jobs, the new management team need time, however, I suspect job losses are in the pipeline. My opinion is that there needs to be an open and frank discussion about the services that East Berkshire (and indeed South Bucks)really need. My responsibility as your possible future MP will be to lobby central government to secure the very best care for the people of Bracknell Town and the surrounding area.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:03:09 +0000

The Bracknell Standard says that 300 jobs could go at Heatherwood.
http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/news/s/2065858_heatherwood_hospital_staff_left_in_fear_over_jobs
One of the staff tells me that surveyers have been in to look at selling off parts of the Hospital.

What can be done by us to stop the cuts to the only hospital in easy reach of Bracknell?

By: Phillip Lee

Phillip Lee — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:55:00 +0000

My opinion about relocating a new hospital for East Berkshire has always been a longterm goal. My point about the location of Wexham Park Hospital is that it is nowhere near its ideal location to serve the people of East Berkshire. I am under no illusions about the difficulty of relocating it and the costs involved, however, in my professional opinion the hospital should be located along the M4 corridor. With the recent downgrading of Wycombe General Hospital, it strikes me that additional funds from a neighbouring PCT could be drawn in by locating that new hospital at J8/9 of the motorway. It is just an idea that I think is worth pursuing.

Your point about locating services in Bracknell is well made which is why I believe that the new HealthSpace has the potential to provide fantastic services for those people with chronic illness. Acute medical and surgical services, however, need specialized staff and the use of doctor-intensive rotas. With the new EU directive on working hours, and the need for a large turnover of patients for educational purposes, Bracknell on its own could never support a 21st century acute hospital in the future.

I will, of course, continue to campaign hard to defend the services that we have at Heatherwood Hospital. My ultimate goal is to secure the best healthcare for all in the Bracknell constituency.

By: anon

anon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:54:43 +0000

I recently had to go for an endoscopy on the NHS. I was referred to a private hospital in Milton Keynes. The facilities were top class, the waiting times were minimal, the nurses were excellent. Can we get one of these Private Hospitals built in Bracknell so we don’t have to travel so far? (Face it, the costs of moving a major hospital are just too high – leave those where they are, instead get the private sector to build a large clinic here – at least that has some chance of happening.) And as a private company, it is up to them to provide a decent service to nhs patients. Whovever gets the best post treatment reviews, meets standards, and charges decent rates gets the most referrals. This idea is one of the good suggestions from labour – lets not drop it, instead it needs to be rolled out far more widely. The NHS needs competition to improve standards. If they don’t perform, the work goes to the private sector. Patients come first.