The Passing of a True Campaigner.
On 6th. November 2011, Ernie Walker lost his long battle against cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are for his wife, Joyce, his extended family and his many friends.
A tribute to Ernie Walker
HeraldScotland Tribute to Ernie Walker
25th. October 2011.
Following the Sunday Times front page coverage of NHS Lothian's patients being offered surgery as far afield as Harrogate and Northumberland, they have gone into a tailspin of denial and obfuscation.
The question of patients being offered surgery elsewhere was raised by me at the meeting of the St. John’s Hospital Stakeholders Group on 14 th. September. As previously reported on this website, we have serious concerns about taking patients elsewhere, when a moderate investment at our local hospital would secure further surgical services there.
What is interesting is that at the September meeting, Sandra Mair, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at NHS Lothian, undertook to bring figures to the next meeting. At the October meeting of the Group, no additional figures were provided. No information was provided.
It was therefore interesting, to put it mildly, to read that according to Jackie Sansbury the Chief Operating Officer NHS Lothian don’t have figures for those patients offered remote alternative locations for their operations, so to what extent they are massaging the figures remains a mystery.
But wait! Hold the front page! I hear today that they have miraculously found the figures, and that the numbers are “small”. So small in fact that they couldn’t find them in the first place!
NHS Lothian really needs to get hold of itself. This has all the hallmarks of the ACS debacle earlier this year, where they were forced into another humiliating climb-down. If they can’t deal with this issue effectively, then heaven help them when the next instalment is released!
Councillor Gordon Beurskens.
Action to Save St. John’s Hospital.
Whitburn & Blackburn Ward (7)
27th September 2011
Hiding the truth
In the past 8 weeks, we have been asked about a number of cases where patients had been offered surgery at hospitals as far away as Northumberland. At the September meeting of the St. John’s Hospital Stakeholders Group, Sandra Mair, Director of Operations for St. John’s was asked about the reliance being placed by NHS Lothian on other hospitals. Given that the “pound follows the patient”, it seems extraordinary that in these times of budget pressures, NHS Lothian are paying for surgery elsewhere...
Read the full article here
25th September 2011
Congratulations to St. John’s Hospital and a huge thanks on behalf of the community.
Results from the 2011 Inpatient Patient Experience Survey were published last week. The results show a huge improvement in the overall patient experience at St. John’s, with above the Scottish average results in a number of areas.
Read the full statement here
25th September 2011
Meeting of West Lothian Council 6th. September 2011.
AMENDMENT.
West Lothian Council recognises the rights of campaign groups to highlight anecdotal evidence of concern to the wider community, but strongly asserts that comparative data is essential to ensure informed debate.
Council notes that progress has been made at the Royal Infirmary..
Read the full statement here
21st. September 2011.
Operation Magnetise-Statement by Cllr. Gordon Beurskens.
After my statement on this site of 16 th. July, news reached me about the planning matters this case was supposedly about. At the risk of provoking further knee-jerk reaction in the absence of a case, the following is an update.
The Procurator Fiscal has recently engaged in the precognition of witnesses before reaching a decision on proceedings. My view of the timescale of this cannot be translated into readable form, except to say it is despicable. After almost three years, and in the run-up to the 2012 local elections, they are finally making their moves.
This case is predicated on..
Read the full statement here..
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