An event for YOU if you/anyone you know who has liked, shared or cared about the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign! You NEED to come to Broadway Theatre, Catford for the People's Commission THIS Saturday! http://bit.ly/slhthetruth
BOOK your place for a unique event chaired by top human rights lawyer and QC Michael Mansfield + panel - http://bit.ly/slhthetruth
Cllr Liam Curran @CllrCurran @SaveLewishamAE People of Lewisham and their Council in High Court today to protect their busy,successful,popular hospital #justice4lewisham
Marking the start of Justice for Lewisham week, the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign held The People's Commission of Inquiry on Saturday. Chaired by Michael Mansfield QC, it examined the government plans to downgrade and potentially close Lewisham Hospital. View photos and watch powerful testimonies and summaries from key witnesses and Michael Mansfield himself: http://bit.ly/slhthetruth
In front of a packed audience in The Broadway Theatre Catford, the panel heard evidence from 25 witnesses – patients, patient group representatives, GPs, hospital consultants and nurses. This was a unique chance for those who felt that their evidence had been ignored by the Trust Special Administrator Matthew Kershaw and by the Secretary of State, who they believe, accepted Mr Kershaw’s proposals for Lewisham almost in their entirety.
In summing up to the Commission Michael Mansfield QC, who will produce a report over the summer, made the following initial observations:
“The first concern is the absence of democracy. The democratic element as you’ve heard today was removed effectively... Another concern...is that when a reasoned argument was put to the TSA on various occasions we had more than one witness saying effectively they were dismissed.”
Anita Downs @AnitaDows Party opposite Lewisham Hospital 12-2pm, cake, music, update on hospital campaign & more. Hoping Unison will join us @UNISONOurNHS
The lawyer for Lewisham Council accused South London Healthcare Trust Special Administrator (TSA) Matthew Kershaw of using “language riddled with intellectual dishonesty” in the report which recommended the downgrading of A&E and maternity services at Lewisham Hospital.
Comments Email Print Elisabeth Laing QC made the allegation at the High Court this afternoon, where two judicial reviews into Mr Kershaw’s recommendations are due to end today.
They have been brought by Lewisham Council and campaign group Save Lewisham Hospital (SLH) who both believe the plans to downgrade the hospitals emergency unit are unlawful.
Mr Kershaw was appointed to look into the financially stricken South London Healthcare Trust (SLHT), which includes Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup, the Princess Royal in Orpington and Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich.
However, during the process of his administration Mr Kershaw took into consideration healthcare across the whole of south London, including Lewisham Hospital, Kings College Hospital in Camberwell and even Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.
If his recommendations go ahead, there will be just two A&E units across the four boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham - which have a combined population of over 1 million people.
Ms Laing also claimed the government’s four tests to determine whether local health services could be reconfigured have not been met.
She said: “Undue weight was given to other health professionals and communities.
“It is made clear in the outline to the four tests that changes should not be made at local hospitals unless clinical staff and the communities the hospital serve agree, and that has clearly not been met.”
The legal arguments centre around two key facets – Mr Kershaw, and therefore Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, going outside their remit and including Lewisham Hospital in their plans rather than just SLHT, and the perceived failure to meet four key government tests when considering the reconfiguration of local health services – GP support, public engagement, clear clinical evidence and improved patient choice.
David Lock QC, representing the SLH campaign group, said: “The four tests should be locally led.”
But the government’s representative, Rory Phillips QC, said that the situation was not black and white, saying: “The tests were not formulated to apply to the TSA regime, which was not invoked when the tests came into law.”
He added: “The TSA has to have regard for the four tests, and the secretary of state is satisfied these have been fulfilled. This is a genuine statement.”
The decision by Mr Justice Silber will not be made at the end of the hearing – the judge has already said he will make it in writing after he has had time to consider the evidence due to the importance of the case.
Mr Lock QC made the point that the TSA would not have been appointed to Lewisham, a successful and financially stable trust, in any other circumstances.
He added: “His recommendations were outside the TSA process. He had been appointed to South London Healthcare Trust, not Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust.”
Mr Kershaw recommended the disolution of SLHT, which is due to start in October.
However its dismantling cannot begin until the uncertainty over Lewisham has been resolved.
What do you think about the future of healthcare in south-east London? Email robin.cottle@Archant.co.uk with your views or tweet @bexleytimes.
SaveLewishamA&E @SaveLewishamAE UPDATE! meeting at High Court tomorrow #Justice4Lewisham announcement, meet from 10:30AM - NOT 9:30AM. PLS RT! 5pm at hospital win or lose
SaveLewishamA&E @SaveLewishamAE UPDATE! meeting at High Court tomorrow #Justice4Lewisham announcement, meet from 10:30AM - NOT 9:30AM. PLS RT! 5pm at hospital win or lose
Campaigners will gather on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice from 10.30 am ahead of the decision which is expected to be handed down at 11.30am.
the war wont be until PFI is tackled-----this gov or the one in red wont tackle it---------billions to buy out andbillions it has cost us all---------defered, defered and defered
Save Lewisham Hospital #Lewisham and @SaveLewishamAE are trending on a day we get #Justice4Lewisham AMAZING messages, AMAZING support. THANK YOU. Like · · Share · @SaveLewishamAE on Twitter · A few seconds ago ·
There is a case to rationalise some A&E and other departments, as some of the smaller ones don't have the facilities and breadth of medical staff necessary. My father had to go down to Haywards Heath for a complicated operation, as this was the only hospital in Kent and Sussex with the necessary consultants and knowledge for that treatment (he's fine now)
But Lewisham had nothing to do with this, and was purely a financial decision to bail out a failed PFI nearby, so this is an excellent decision.
High Court quashes decision by Jeremy Hunt to close Lewisham Hospital
The High Court today (31 July 2013) found that the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, had acted outside his powers and therefore unlawfully, in deciding to substantially cut services and close departments at Lewisham Hospital.
In today’s judgment Mr Justice Silber said that the decision of the Secretary of State must be “quashed” as he had acted outside his powers as Secretary of State, and in breach of the National Health Service Act 2006, when he announced to Parliament that services at Lewisham Hospital would be downgraded and closed.
Law firm Leigh Day, representing the Save Lewisham Campaign Group, successfully argued that the decision of the Secretary of State was unlawful. They also successfully argued that the decision of Trust Special Administrator, the first to be appointed under new health service guidance, was also unlawful.
The Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign made up of and supported by patients, community groups, GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and other health professionals working in Lewisham was formed in 2012, in response to the South London Healthcare Trust Special Administrator (TSA) Mathew Kershaw proposal that, as part of the cost saving measures put forward for the neighbouring trust, South London Healthcare NHS Trust, that services at Lewisham Hospital should be reduced.
Despite being appointed TSA for the South London Healthcare Trust, in his final report to the Secretary of State in January 2013, Mr Kershaw not only proposed changes to South London Healthcare Trust but also to Lewisham Healthcare Trust, in particular to Lewisham Hospital which it runs.
Mr Kershaw proposed that the Hospital should close and downgrade some of its services, including its A&E department, acute admitting wards and adult Intensive Care Unit. He also suggested that the maternity service at the hospital should be downgraded or closed completely.
These recommendations were made despite widespread agreement that Lewisham Hospital was a high achieving and popular hospital not in financial difficulty.
Save Lewisham Hospital campaign argued to the TSA at the time, that the alternative health care options proposed would have been extremely difficult for residents to access.
However, on 31 January 2013 the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, announced to parliament that he accepted the TSA’s recommendations about South London Healthcare Trust including the recommendation to reconfigure NHS services ‘beyond the confines of [SLHT], across all of South East London [including Lewisham].’ (Para 40)
The High Court today found that “The TSA did not have vires [the power] to make his recommendations relating to LH [Lewisham Hospital]; The Secretary of State did not have vires to make his Decision relating to LH.” (Para 208) ‘Therefore the Decision of the Secretary of State insofar as it relates to LH must be quashed as must the recommendations of the TSA also insofar as they relate to LH.’ (Para 210)
In his judgment (Para 38) Mr Justice Silber also referred to a pledge made by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in January 2013 to Dame Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham Deptford that, in relation to Lewisham Hospital in particular:
“What the Government and I specifically promised was that there should be no closures or reorganisations unless they had support from the GP commissioners, unless there was proper public and patient engagement and unless there was an evidence base. Let me be absolutely clear: unlike under the last Government when these closures and changes were imposed in a top-down way, if they do not meet those criteria, they will not happen.”
Rosa Curling from law firm Leigh Day, who represented the Save Lewisham Hospital Group said:
“When the Secretary of State appointed the Trust Special Administrator to investigate and develop recommendations on the future of South London Healthcare NHS Trust, he promised that there would be no “back-door approach to reconfiguration”; there would be no reconfiguration of neighbouring NHS services delivered by other NHS bodies beyond the South London Trust.
“He broke this promise – in fact, his decision regarding South London included a substantial reconfiguration of services delivered by other NHS bodies beyond South London and in particular in relation to Lewisham Hospital. The court has today agreed that the TSA and the Secretary of State has no legal power to do this and has emphatically made clear that this decision should be quashed.”
Dr Louise Irvine, local GP and Chair of the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, said that she had been overwhelmed by the support from people around the UK:
“This is an incredible day. We are delighted for every single person who has supported the campaign and those who will now continue to benefit from this extraordinary hospital. The support from thousands of people in Lewisham is a very real demonstration of the Big Society.
“David Cameron himself said that there would be no ‘top-down’ approach to closures and we appreciate the Court’s decision which should serve as a reminder to this Government to not forget their promises and not to underestimate those who they seek to represent.”
-ENDS- Press Contact: David Standard, Head of Media Relations 07540 332717, dstandard@leighday.co.uk
Join the celebrations
Outside Lewisham Hospital from 5PM today (Wednesday 31st July) onwards! Join in the celebrations online! Post your messages to the Save Lewisham Hospital Facebook page and tweet your #Justice4Lewisham messages @SaveLewishamAE
Good news. I have just been listening to the radio about this, and they basically said that it all boils down to disastrous PFI contracts. Was one of these contracts for Lewisham, or is it all about the stupid PFI contract related to another hospital? And who signed these ridiculous contracts?
My borough, my hospital, my son born there, ambulanced to A+E almost exactly one year ago, my protest, marching wirh many others...and we have won (for now). Great feeling.
Was one of these contracts for Lewisham, or is it all about the stupid PFI contract related to another hospital? And who signed these ridiculous contracts?
The suggestion was that although Lewisham's trust was working well/was profitable the neighbouring South London Healthcare NHS Trust was losing £1m a week. By running down some of the services used by Lewisham NHS Trust patients would be forced to use the South London HC NHS Trust and therefore increase its profitability etc.
What's causing the debt at the SLHC Trust (or at least some of it) are PFI contracts dating back to 1998 which soak up 16% of the budget. The plan was to break up this Trust, pay off the debt and re-allocate resources along with the A&E Ward at Lewisham. The latter has now been saved but I presume the SL NHS Trust will still be broken up as planned.
Comments
BOOK your place for a unique event chaired by top human rights lawyer and QC Michael Mansfield + panel - http://bit.ly/slhthetruth
Judicial Review for Lewisham Hospital starts today. 9.30am, High Court, Strand. Good luck! #justice4Lewisham @SaveLewishamAE
@SaveLewishamAE People of Lewisham and their Council in High Court today to protect their busy,successful,popular hospital #justice4lewisham
In front of a packed audience in The Broadway Theatre Catford, the panel heard evidence from 25 witnesses – patients, patient group representatives, GPs, hospital consultants and nurses. This was a unique chance for those who felt that their evidence had been ignored by the Trust Special Administrator Matthew Kershaw and by the Secretary of State, who they believe, accepted Mr Kershaw’s proposals for Lewisham almost in their entirety.
In summing up to the Commission Michael Mansfield QC, who will produce a report over the summer, made the following initial observations:
“The first concern is the absence of democracy. The democratic element as you’ve heard today was removed effectively... Another concern...is that when a reasoned argument was put to the TSA on various occasions we had more than one witness saying effectively they were dismissed.”
Find out more: http://bit.ly/slhthetruth
Good luck to the Hunt saboteurs today, standing up against The dismantling of the health service http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/jeremy-hunt-lewisham-hospital-unlawful …
Party opposite Lewisham Hospital 12-2pm, cake, music, update on hospital campaign & more. Hoping Unison will join us @UNISONOurNHS
Comments Email Print
Elisabeth Laing QC made the allegation at the High Court this afternoon, where two judicial reviews into Mr Kershaw’s recommendations are due to end today.
They have been brought by Lewisham Council and campaign group Save Lewisham Hospital (SLH) who both believe the plans to downgrade the hospitals emergency unit are unlawful.
Mr Kershaw was appointed to look into the financially stricken South London Healthcare Trust (SLHT), which includes Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup, the Princess Royal in Orpington and Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich.
However, during the process of his administration Mr Kershaw took into consideration healthcare across the whole of south London, including Lewisham Hospital, Kings College Hospital in Camberwell and even Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.
If his recommendations go ahead, there will be just two A&E units across the four boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham - which have a combined population of over 1 million people.
Ms Laing also claimed the government’s four tests to determine whether local health services could be reconfigured have not been met.
She said: “Undue weight was given to other health professionals and communities.
“It is made clear in the outline to the four tests that changes should not be made at local hospitals unless clinical staff and the communities the hospital serve agree, and that has clearly not been met.”
The legal arguments centre around two key facets – Mr Kershaw, and therefore Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, going outside their remit and including Lewisham Hospital in their plans rather than just SLHT, and the perceived failure to meet four key government tests when considering the reconfiguration of local health services – GP support, public engagement, clear clinical evidence and improved patient choice.
David Lock QC, representing the SLH campaign group, said: “The four tests should be locally led.”
But the government’s representative, Rory Phillips QC, said that the situation was not black and white, saying: “The tests were not formulated to apply to the TSA regime, which was not invoked when the tests came into law.”
He added: “The TSA has to have regard for the four tests, and the secretary of state is satisfied these have been fulfilled. This is a genuine statement.”
The decision by Mr Justice Silber will not be made at the end of the hearing – the judge has already said he will make it in writing after he has had time to consider the evidence due to the importance of the case.
Mr Lock QC made the point that the TSA would not have been appointed to Lewisham, a successful and financially stable trust, in any other circumstances.
He added: “His recommendations were outside the TSA process. He had been appointed to South London Healthcare Trust, not Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust.”
Mr Kershaw recommended the disolution of SLHT, which is due to start in October.
However its dismantling cannot begin until the uncertainty over Lewisham has been resolved.
What do you think about the future of healthcare in south-east London? Email robin.cottle@Archant.co.uk with your views or tweet @bexleytimes.
UPDATE! meeting at High Court tomorrow #Justice4Lewisham announcement, meet from 10:30AM - NOT 9:30AM. PLS RT! 5pm at hospital win or lose
D-day awaits at High Court for @SaveLewishamAE and @LewishamCouncil v @Jeremy_Hunt. Decision due at 1130am pic.twitter.com/cEgxSsmKfS
Retweeted by SaveLewishamA&E
Great news.
the war wont be until PFI is tackled-----this gov or the one in red wont tackle it---------billions to buy out andbillions it has cost us all---------defered, defered and defered
#Lewisham and @SaveLewishamAE are trending on a day we get #Justice4Lewisham AMAZING messages, AMAZING support. THANK YOU.
Like · · Share · @SaveLewishamAE on Twitter · A few seconds ago ·
But Lewisham had nothing to do with this, and was purely a financial decision to bail out a failed PFI nearby, so this is an excellent decision.
Press statement from @LeighDay_Law and @SaveLewishamAE >> http://bit.ly/lewishamwins #Justice4Lewisham
High Court quashes decision by Jeremy Hunt to close Lewisham Hospital
The High Court today (31 July 2013) found that the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, had acted outside his powers and therefore unlawfully, in deciding to substantially cut services and close departments at Lewisham Hospital.
In today’s judgment Mr Justice Silber said that the decision of the Secretary of State must be “quashed” as he had acted outside his powers as Secretary of State, and in breach of the National Health Service Act 2006, when he announced to Parliament that services at Lewisham Hospital would be downgraded and closed.
Law firm Leigh Day, representing the Save Lewisham Campaign Group, successfully argued that the decision of the Secretary of State was unlawful. They also successfully argued that the decision of Trust Special Administrator, the first to be appointed under new health service guidance, was also unlawful.
The Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign made up of and supported by patients, community groups, GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and other health professionals working in Lewisham was formed in 2012, in response to the South London Healthcare Trust Special Administrator (TSA) Mathew Kershaw proposal that, as part of the cost saving measures put forward for the neighbouring trust, South London Healthcare NHS Trust, that services at Lewisham Hospital should be reduced.
Despite being appointed TSA for the South London Healthcare Trust, in his final report to the Secretary of State in January 2013, Mr Kershaw not only proposed changes to South London Healthcare Trust but also to Lewisham Healthcare Trust, in particular to Lewisham Hospital which it runs.
Mr Kershaw proposed that the Hospital should close and downgrade some of its services, including its A&E department, acute admitting wards and adult Intensive Care Unit. He also suggested that the maternity service at the hospital should be downgraded or closed completely.
These recommendations were made despite widespread agreement that Lewisham Hospital was a high achieving and popular hospital not in financial difficulty.
Save Lewisham Hospital campaign argued to the TSA at the time, that the alternative health care options proposed would have been extremely difficult for residents to access.
However, on 31 January 2013 the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, announced to parliament that he accepted the TSA’s recommendations about South London Healthcare Trust including the recommendation to reconfigure NHS services ‘beyond the confines of [SLHT], across all of South East London [including Lewisham].’ (Para 40)
The High Court today found that “The TSA did not have vires [the power] to make his recommendations relating to LH [Lewisham Hospital]; The Secretary of State did not have vires to make his Decision relating to LH.” (Para 208) ‘Therefore the Decision of the Secretary of State insofar as it relates to LH must be quashed as must the recommendations of the TSA also insofar as they relate to LH.’ (Para 210)
In his judgment (Para 38) Mr Justice Silber also referred to a pledge made by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in January 2013 to Dame Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham Deptford that, in relation to Lewisham Hospital in particular:
“What the Government and I specifically promised was that there should be no closures or reorganisations unless they had support from the GP commissioners, unless there was proper public and patient engagement and unless there was an evidence base. Let me be absolutely clear: unlike under the last Government when these closures and changes were imposed in a top-down way, if they do not meet those criteria, they will not happen.”
Rosa Curling from law firm Leigh Day, who represented the Save Lewisham Hospital Group said:
“When the Secretary of State appointed the Trust Special Administrator to investigate and develop recommendations on the future of South London Healthcare NHS Trust, he promised that there would be no “back-door approach to reconfiguration”; there would be no reconfiguration of neighbouring NHS services delivered by other NHS bodies beyond the South London Trust.
“He broke this promise – in fact, his decision regarding South London included a substantial reconfiguration of services delivered by other NHS bodies beyond South London and in particular in relation to Lewisham Hospital. The court has today agreed that the TSA and the Secretary of State has no legal power to do this and has emphatically made clear that this decision should be quashed.”
Dr Louise Irvine, local GP and Chair of the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, said that she had been overwhelmed by the support from people around the UK:
“This is an incredible day. We are delighted for every single person who has supported the campaign and those who will now continue to benefit from this extraordinary hospital. The support from thousands of people in Lewisham is a very real demonstration of the Big Society.
“David Cameron himself said that there would be no ‘top-down’ approach to closures and we appreciate the Court’s decision which should serve as a reminder to this Government to not forget their promises and not to underestimate those who they seek to represent.”
-ENDS-
Press Contact: David Standard, Head of Media Relations
07540 332717, dstandard@leighday.co.uk
Join the celebrations
Outside Lewisham Hospital from 5PM today (Wednesday 31st July) onwards!
Join in the celebrations online! Post your messages to the Save Lewisham Hospital Facebook page and tweet your #Justice4Lewisham messages @SaveLewishamAE
Great feeling.
The suggestion was that although Lewisham's trust was working well/was profitable the neighbouring South London Healthcare NHS Trust was losing £1m a week. By running down some of the services used by Lewisham NHS Trust patients would be forced to use the South London HC NHS Trust and therefore increase its profitability etc.
What's causing the debt at the SLHC Trust (or at least some of it) are PFI contracts dating back to 1998 which soak up 16% of the budget. The plan was to break up this Trust, pay off the debt and re-allocate resources along with the A&E Ward at Lewisham. The latter has now been saved but I presume the SL NHS Trust will still be broken up as planned.