As the end of another year approaches, the SDC Team would like to say thank you to the many people who have given the Campaign such outstanding support in the fight to prevent St. John's from being stripped of essential services. These people include members of the public, volunteers, anonymous health professionals, patients, local Councillors and local business owners, all who give their time, efforts and support to the Campaign. Without this support there would be no Campaign.
The year has seen continued attempts by NHS Lothian to remove services from St. John's, usually by stealth, to centralise in Edinburgh, often against the best interest of West Lothian residents and without any kind of public consultation.
Thanks to the information the Campaign receives from many sources these practices by NHS Lothian are exposed and in many cases prevented, a recent example being the NHS Lothian practice of offering treatment at hospitals in distant locations and penalising patients who declined. This practice has been stopped and a probe ordered into why it was allowed to happen.
Sadly, two stalwarts of the Campaign, Marion Mackay and Ernie Walker passed away this year. Their passion for St. John's and tireless work with the Campaign will be sorely missed.
In the coming year we can expect more of the same from NHS Lothian in their overriding obsession with centralising key services out of St. John's to the Edinburgh 'big two' hospitals. As these services are removed, more and more West Lothian residents will find themselves affected and having to travel to North or South Edinburgh for treatment and long journeys to visit patients there.
To continue and step up the fight to support services at St. John's we need more people to add their voices and efforts to the Campaign. Please help by attending our public meetings, e-mail us or contact us through our website. All offers of support will be very welcome.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year from the SDC Team
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