The Stop the Downgrade Campaign

18th October 2008 - YET ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE

Once again NHS Lothian has misled the people of West Lothian and once again they have been found out.
Following much confusion it has emerged that they are not, as was announced by their Associate Medical Director together with the Chair of the West Lothian Community Health & Care Partnership, opening a unit which will see an additional 3000 patients a day attend at St John’s.

They are not bringing the influx of Doctors, jobs and support services or the large economic benefits to the area that this would have indicated. They are in fact opening a unit which will see an additional 3000 people per YEAR, around 8 per day, go through it. It certainly is not a commitment to the long term future of St. John’s as an Acute Emergency Hospital. In fact it uses our vital theatre space, which could be used for emergency surgery and elective orthopaedics, for bunions.

Does the Chair of the West Lothian Community Health & Care Partnership honestly think that this is what the people of the area need when she welcomed this as great news for St John’s and the people of West Lothian? Did anyone even bother to ask us? West Lothian have yet again been disappointed and let down by their health board, once again their best interests have been overlooked by their Health Board and once again their voices have gone unheard by their Health Board.

We have in the past seen many broken promises from this board, here is yet another. They have raised the hopes of many people including the unemployed of the area. It is time that they were roundly condemned for this practice and those guilty of perpetrating it brought to book.