A minor injuries department at a south west London hospital has been saved from closure by a local campaign led by a healthcare worker.
The Enhanced Primary Care Hub (EPCH), which is also known as the Minor Injuries Unit, at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, provides treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, such as broken bones, sprains and burns.
Queen Mary’s Hospital had been under review by St George’s Trust, which had proposed the hub’s closure as part of wider cost-saving measures.
Concerns about the impact of the hub’s closure prompted local healthcare worker Lisa Bogg to launch a petition calling for the service to be protected.
Bogg explained that she had an appointment with a Queen Mary’s Hospital staff member whose job was ‘in limbo’ and was shocked at the proposed closure.
She told the Londoners: “I thought, no way, that can’t happen. We need to do something.
“No one wants to travel to Kingston or St. Georges – especially the children, the elderly. You don’t want to be taking vulnerable people miles away.”
Bogg explained that her experience as a health care worker ‘dealing with vulnerable patients everyday’ influenced her to start a petition against the closure.
The petition gained 8,000 signatures within a week, and reached over 10,000 in the following days.
On Change.org, Bogg wrote: “The impending closure will not only impact the patients who depend on its services but will also put additional strain on nearby hospitals that may struggle to handle increased patient loads.”
Residents commenting on the petition called the hub a ‘vital service’, including a retired GP who said: “This closure is extremely unwise and will place extra pressure on St George’s & Kingston Hospitals plus straining the resources held by GPs.
“It will all end in tears! Patients and medical staff are fed up with a 3rd rate heath service!”
The closure would have made St George’s Hospital the nearest hospital for patients to be seen – an almost hour-long distance from Queen Mary’s via public transport.
Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields said: “For Roehampton it’s just too far to get to other hospitals.
“It takes two buses, at least an hour if not longer, and it means people won’t go for the care they need.”
The MP said there is ‘relatively high health inequality’ in the area already.
“The very people who find it hardest to get around are being asked to go really far for their treatment,” she said.
In a joint effort, Anderson and other locals MPs, including Paul Kohler and Sarah Olney, raised the issue in a meeting with the NHS trust, warning that closure would affect access to urgent care across Roehampton and Putney.
Anderson recalled the petition being ‘massively helpful’ in pushing the campaign, adding: “I’d like to thank Lisa Bogg.”
Bogg said: “With the petition reaching the amount it did in such a short space of time, I think St. George’s realised that they can’t close it. The people are speaking here.”
Following the campaign, the trust confirmed that closure plans have been ruled out.
It is understood that the hospital is still reviewing aspects of the Enhanced Primary Care Hub service, with a focus on retaining the service, whilst balancing staff and cost pressures.
Anderson said there was a possibility of reinstating the drop-in system that existed before the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added the hospital ‘needs to get back onto a sound financial footing’, but noted a ‘positive situation’ surrounding recent NHS investments by the UK Labour Government.
Featured image credit: Google Maps
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