The ACTION TO SAVE ST. JOHN'S HOSPITAL Party

Next Public meeting Thursday 31st May 2012 at 7.30pm, Kaim Park Hotel, Bathgate

Latest News from the Party

Latest press release

Related website links

Bullying report

NHS internal report into waiting times

PCW report on waiting times

17th. May 2012.

NHS Waiting Times and Bullying Update

Audit Scotland’s decision to investigate waiting times at all Scottish Health Boards is welcomed. There is anecdotal evidence that this is not only a Lothian problem.

There have been calls for a national whistleblower hotline. We agree that this should be available to all NHS staff and patients. As we have shown, it was only through staff and patients having the confidence that their complaints would be dealt with, and dealt with confidentially, that we were able to expose the mismanagement of NHS Lothian.

The related investigation into bullying at NHS Lothian has shown that it is not the preserve of this Board area. In fact, and in fairness to NHS Lothian, in some cases other Boards appear to have a bigger problem.

This bullying culture is not new. It has been known about for years and widely reported in both the profession and media. The Cabinet Secretary is to be commended for tackling this situation and dealing with it openly, honestly and robustly. It is to her credit that a situation that has prevailed for years under her predecessors, albeit exposed on her watch, will now be thoroughly reviewed.

15th. May 2012.

The Truth about Bullying in NHS Lothian.

Saying we told you so as many times as we have may appear gratuitous, and it doesn’t give us any personal or collective satisfaction. The unfortunate truth is that as has so often happened, our comments have proven extremely prescient.

We have repeatedly said that NHS Lothian could not be trusted with patient care, the design of services, capacity planning and the wellbeing of staff. All have been proven to be true.

The revelations we made in September 2011 that NHS Lothian was fiddling waiting times has had consequences far beyond the fact that rather than deal with the causes of burgeoning waiting lists, they chose to try and hide them. Exposing the culture within the organisation reveals the reasons why they got away with it..

Read the full statement on bullying in NHS Lothian here..

Media news

18th. May 2012.

NHS Lothian waiting list scandal hits 7000

THE number of patients waiting too long for hospital treatment in the Lothians reached at least 7000 in the wake of the waiting lists scandal, it has been revealed.

The figure continued to rise for months after the introduction of almost £5 million of emergency measures intended to cut the backlog.

Read the full Edinburgh Evening News article here

18th. May 2012.

Calls to create NHS whistleblowing hotline

THERE were calls in the Scottish Parliament yesterday for a national NHS whistleblowing phone line to be set up in the wake of the NHS Lothian waiting lists scandal.

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said data gathered by her party showed only one case of whistleblowing in the NHS in the past two years.

Read the full Edinburgh Evening News article here

18th. May 2012.

Medics call for trauma action

the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has released a report calling for change to major trauma care in Scotland.

It says that death rates for people who have suffered severe trauma and are alive when reaching hospital is 40 per cent higher in the UK than in North America.

Read the full Edinburgh Evening News article here

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All information is available on www.atssjh.org.uk

Read the St. John's Hospital Stakeholder Group remit document

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Following years of relentless removal of services from St. John's Hospital in Livingston and the huge public protest at the downgrading of local health care facilities, the Action to Save St. John's Hospital Party (ASSJH) was formed in early 2007. We stood several candidates in that year’s Scottish Parliamentary and local elections.

The result was a huge success for our Party. Not only did we have considerable influence in changing the political landscape in Scotland, but we also had three candidates elected to West Lothian Council. Unfortunately, at the May 2012 elections we failed to retain any of our Council seats. However, the campaign and the fight for St John’s go on.

A comprehensive package of services at St. John's Hospital is in the best interests of patients, staff, the local community and the wider region. Achieving this is our overarching priority. The ASSJH Party has brought issues regarding St. John's to the public and political arenas. We have succeeded in stopping the removal of further services from St. John's, including cardiology and oncology services. We have been at the forefront of delivering the new short-stay elective surgical centre, have overseen a huge increase in births at St. John’s, and enhanced local prostate treatment and care, as well as a whole range of other services.

However, there are now new threats to other parts of St John’s, including paediatrics.

In addition, we have exposed some of the biggest scandals in the history of the NHS in Scotland. We uncovered NHS Lothian’s fraudulent waiting times statistics, its culture of bullying and harassment, and the disastrous PFI contract at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The Party remains dedicated to pursuing an agenda which will see existing services maintained and others repatriated to St. John’s, thus allowing it to maintain its position as a fully-functioning acute, emergency hospital at the heart of the pan-Lothian health strategy.


Dr. Ashok Jacob	Gordon Beurskens	Ellen Glass


The Action to Save St. John's Hospital Party Constitution