Agenda item

7.09pm - Councillor Ben Coleman moved, seconded by Councillor Patricia Quigley, the special motion in their names:

 

“This Council celebrates the 70^th birthday of our National Health Service and thanks all the millions of NHS workers who have saved the lives and improved the health of the people of Great Britain since 1948.

 

The Council is particularly proud of our local hospitals and healthcare facilities and thanks all our NHS healthcare professionals and staff who work day in, day out to look after the health and wellbeing of people in this part of West London.

 

The Council notes that it is the Council’s formal position to call on the government, the Hammersmith & Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS North West London and Imperial College NHS Trust to put an end permanently to the Shaping a Healthier Future plan.

 

The Council also notes that, along with Ealing Council, our borough was the first in the country to refuse to sign a Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) as the closure of Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals was intrinsic to the plan.

 

The Council recognises that since the election of the Labour administration in 2014, the Council has been working with local residents, expert health officials, lawyers and Save Our Hospitals campaigners on an alternative approach to Charing Cross Hospital that will see it improved and safe from closure.

 

The Council agrees that the Labour administration is right to undertake these actions and to fight to save Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council notes that a significant and present threat to the health and wellbeing of Hammersmith & Fulham’s residents remains in the form of the Shaping A Healthier Future (SaHF) plan, which was signed off in 2013 by Jeremy Hunt MP (Con), the then Secretary of State for Health.

 

The Council notes that SaHF’s plan for Charing Cross Hospital proposes to:

 

·         Demolish the current Charing Cross Hospital

·         Sell off most the Charing Cross Hospital site

·         Replace the current hospital with a series of clinics on a site no more than 13% the size of the current hospital

·         Re-brand the clinics as a “local hospital”

·         Replace the current A&E with an Urgent Care Clinic

·         Re-brand the Urgent Care Clinic a "Class 3 A&E"

·         Lose more than 300 and possibly all of the acute care beds.

 

The Council notes that in February 2013 the former Conservative administration left the cross-party campaign to oppose SaHF and the demolition of Charing Cross Hospital. It recalls that Conservative councillors did that following talks with government and local health officials. Not only did these talks not include cross-party Labour councillors or any residents from the local Save Our Hospitals campaign, Conservative councillors did not even inform these campaign partners that they were having such discussions.

 

The Council notes that, on unilaterally leaving the cross-party campaign, the then Conservative administration chose to change the Council’s position to support the SaHF proposals without any prior public scrutiny in the relevant Scrutiny Committee of what this change would actually mean for the health and wellbeing of the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham.

 

The Council notes that in the same week the Conservative councillors abandoned the cross-party campaign, their administration sent each household in the borough a taxpayer-funded magazine that claimed they had “saved” Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council recalls that, following a public outcry from local residents and Save Our Hospitals campaigners, these events led the local Chronicle newspaper to run the headline “Cries of ‘traitors’ and call for a public enquiry”.

 

The Council notes that the Labour opposition called an Extraordinary Council Meeting to review the Conservative administration’s change in position on Charing Cross Hospital. That took place on 19 March 2013. Labour councillors put down a motion that concluded:

 

·         “This Council therefore agrees to commission an independent assessment of these proposals”.

 

The Council notes that Conservative councillors (including many current Conservative councillors) voted that proposal down and voted for an amendment that detailed their support for the SaHF plan and the consequential demolition of Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council notes that the current leader of the opposition, Cllr Andrew Brown, spoke in favour of the SaFH plan – accusing those opposing it of burying their heads in the sand – and voted for a Conservative amendment which killed any independent assessment at that important moment in time.

 

The Council notes that Conservative councillors not only supported the SaHF proposals, they also became enthusiastic and aggressive proponents of the false premise that Charing Cross Hospital and its A&E were and are not under any threat.

 

The Council notes that as recently as 2017, Conservative councillors distributed literature to local Hammersmith & Fulham residents that said,

 

“there have never been any plans to close Charing Cross Hospital”.

 

The Council regrets these actions by Conservative councillors.

 

The Council notes the following public messages put out by the current Conservative leader of the opposition on Twitter:

 

“Andrew Brown      25/03/2013

Just broken shoddy twitter absence by retweeting excellent news on future of CX hospital. CX hospital now has bright future. Great for H&F”

 

“Andrew Brown      25/03/2013

The proposal by @NHS_London needs to be viewed in wider context not just H&F”

 

“Andrew Brown      28/10/2013

“Close A&Es to save lives” doctors urge Jeremy Hunt via @Telegraph. Important article from @NHS_NWLondon perspective”

 

“Andrew Brown      28/10/2013

It’s crucial for patents’ lives & outcomes that @NHS_NWLondon plans to reorganise its hospitals for C21st to go ahead.”

 

“Andrew Brown      29/10/2013

.@nhs_fighter @lbhf Have you read article? Do you care about patients’ lives & outcomes? Isn’t that more important than bricks & mortar?”

 

“Andrew Brown      14/04/2014

Just caught up on yesterday’s #bbccsp with my Town Ward colleague @gregsmithsw6 demolishing Labour lies & myths on CX & Comms. Very proud!”

 

“Andrew Brown      15/05/2014

CX will retain an A&E + many other services will specialise in oncology, geriatrics & world class elective surgery.”

 

“Andrew Brown      29/05/2014

NHS NWL's plans aren't about taking away services they are about reorganising them to provide better higher quality care.”

 

Andrew Brown        10/06/2014

Good to see @andyj1979 & @peter_graham still leading the fight against @HFLabour lies, mistruths & incompetences.

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

About to be on @BBCLondon949 discussing future of Charing Cross Hospital.”

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

Discussed on @BBCLondon949 the misleading & scaremongering claims about future of A&E at CXH. @DrBruceKeoogh review on emergency care crucial”

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

As ImperialNHS trust have confirmed they have no plans to close CX A&E”

 

“Andrew Brown      27/11/2017

STP plan states that CX will continue to provide its current A&E & wider services for at least lifetime of the plan”

 

The Council also notes that Greg Hands MP has put out a large variety of statements that dismiss any threat to Charing Cross Hospital, including this tweet:

 

“Greg Hands           22/05/2017 

Anyone getting a Labour or H&F Council leaflet about Charing Cross, remember local NHS has rebuked their falsehoods!”

 

The Council agrees that the position taken by Hammersmith & Fulham’s Conservative elected representatives on Charing Cross Hospital since 2013 has given cause for mistrust of their approach on the future of Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council calls on the Conservative councillors and Greg Hands MP to apologise for their approach and believes that local Conservatives have not demonstrated they can be trusted again on this vitally important matter.

 

The Council agrees that the details of the SaHF plan, bullet-pointed above, are correct and the serious threat to Charing Cross Hospital remains. It notes that health chiefs have delayed their proposals until after April 2021.

 

The Council notes the serious criticisms of SaFH and the STP contained in the report of the Independent Healthcare Commission for North West London and in “Health and Social Care in North West London, a review of Shaping a Healthier Future and the North-West London STP”, both of which were instigated by this borough’s Labour administration.

 

The Council calls on Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP (Con), the new Secretary of State for Health, to take note of these criticisms and act to end SaHF immediately and to remove the threats to Charing Cross and Ealing Hospitals.

 

The Council notes that the Labour administration has a close and trusted working relationship with residents, health experts and Save Our Hospitals campaigners. It agrees that it is in the best interest of all in the borough that it continues to work in this way to reach the objective of saving Charing Cross Hospital.”

 

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Ben Coleman, Patricia Quigley (who gave her maiden speech), Rory Vaughan, Lucy Richardson, Stephen Cowan, and Guy Vincent (for the Administration) and Councillor Andrew Brown (for the Opposition).

 

Councillor Ben Coleman made a speech winding up the debate before the motion was put to the vote.

 

FOR                            31

AGAINST                   0

NOT VOTING            11

 

The motion was declared CARRIED.

 

7.48pm – RESOLVED

 

This Council celebrates the 70^th birthday of our National Health Service and thanks all the millions of NHS workers who have saved the lives and improved the health of the people of Great Britain since 1948.

 

The Council is particularly proud of our local hospitals and healthcare facilities and thanks all our NHS healthcare professionals and staff who work day in, day out to look after the health and wellbeing of people in this part of West London.

 

The Council notes that it is the Council’s formal position to call on the government, the Hammersmith & Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS North West London and Imperial College NHS Trust to put an end permanently to the Shaping a Healthier Future plan.

 

The Council also notes that, along with Ealing Council, our borough was the first in the country to refuse to sign a Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) as the closure of Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals was intrinsic to the plan.

 

The Council recognises that since the election of the Labour administration in 2014, the Council has been working with local residents, expert health officials, lawyers and Save Our Hospitals campaigners on an alternative approach to Charing Cross Hospital that will see it improved and safe from closure.

 

The Council agrees that the Labour administration is right to undertake these actions and to fight to save Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council notes that a significant and present threat to the health and wellbeing of Hammersmith & Fulham’s residents remains in the form of the Shaping A Healthier Future (SaHF) plan, which was signed off in 2013 by Jeremy Hunt MP (Con), the then Secretary of State for Health.

 

The Council notes that SaHF’s plan for Charing Cross Hospital proposes to:

 

·         Demolish the current Charing Cross Hospital

·         Sell off most the Charing Cross Hospital site

·         Replace the current hospital with a series of clinics on a site no more than 13% the size of the current hospital

·         Re-brand the clinics as a “local hospital”

·         Replace the current A&E with an Urgent Care Clinic

·         Re-brand the Urgent Care Clinic a "Class 3 A&E"

·         Lose more than 300 and possibly all of the acute care beds.

 

The Council notes that in February 2013 the former Conservative administration left the cross-party campaign to oppose SaHF and the demolition of Charing Cross Hospital. It recalls that Conservative councillors did that following talks with government and local health officials. Not only did these talks not include cross-party Labour councillors or any residents from the local Save Our Hospitals campaign, Conservative councillors did not even inform these campaign partners that they were having such discussions.

 

The Council notes that, on unilaterally leaving the cross-party campaign, the then Conservative administration chose to change the Council’s position to support the SaHF proposals without any prior public scrutiny in the relevant Scrutiny Committee of what this change would actually mean for the health and wellbeing of the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham.

 

The Council notes that in the same week the Conservative councillors abandoned the cross-party campaign, their administration sent each household in the borough a taxpayer-funded magazine that claimed they had “saved” Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council recalls that, following a public outcry from local residents and Save Our Hospitals campaigners, these events led the local Chronicle newspaper to run the headline “Cries of ‘traitors’ and call for a public enquiry”.

 

The Council notes that the Labour opposition called an Extraordinary Council Meeting to review the Conservative administration’s change in position on Charing Cross Hospital. That took place on 19 March 2013. Labour councillors put down a motion that concluded:

 

·         “This Council therefore agrees to commission an independent assessment of these proposals”.

 

The Council notes that Conservative councillors (including many current Conservative councillors) voted that proposal down and voted for an amendment that detailed their support for the SaHF plan and the consequential demolition of Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council notes that the current leader of the opposition, Cllr Andrew Brown, spoke in favour of the SaFH plan – accusing those opposing it of burying their heads in the sand – and voted for a Conservative amendment which killed any independent assessment at that important moment in time.

 

The Council notes that Conservative councillors not only supported the SaHF proposals, they also became enthusiastic and aggressive proponents of the false premise that Charing Cross Hospital and its A&E were and are not under any threat.

 

The Council notes that as recently as 2017, Conservative councillors distributed literature to local Hammersmith & Fulham residents that said,

 

“there have never been any plans to close Charing Cross Hospital”.

 

The Council regrets these actions by Conservative councillors.

 

The Council notes the following public messages put out by the current Conservative leader of the opposition on Twitter:

 

“Andrew Brown      25/03/2013

Just broken shoddy twitter absence by retweeting excellent news on future of CX hospital. CX hospital now has bright future. Great for H&F”

 

“Andrew Brown      25/03/2013

The proposal by @NHS_London needs to be viewed in wider context not just H&F”

 

“Andrew Brown      28/10/2013

“Close A&Es to save lives” doctors urge Jeremy Hunt via @Telegraph. Important article from @NHS_NWLondon perspective”

 

“Andrew Brown      28/10/2013

It’s crucial for patents’ lives & outcomes that @NHS_NWLondon plans to reorganise its hospitals for C21st to go ahead.”

 

“Andrew Brown      29/10/2013

.@nhs_fighter @lbhf Have you read article? Do you care about patients’ lives & outcomes? Isn’t that more important than bricks & mortar?”

 

“Andrew Brown      14/04/2014

Just caught up on yesterday’s #bbccsp with my Town Ward colleague @gregsmithsw6 demolishing Labour lies & myths on CX & Comms. Very proud!”

 

“Andrew Brown      15/05/2014

CX will retain an A&E + many other services will specialise in oncology, geriatrics & world class elective surgery.”

 

“Andrew Brown      29/05/2014

NHS NWL's plans aren't about taking away services they are about reorganising them to provide better higher quality care.”

 

Andrew Brown        10/06/2014

Good to see @andyj1979 & @peter_graham still leading the fight against @HFLabour lies, mistruths & incompetences.

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

About to be on @BBCLondon949 discussing future of Charing Cross Hospital.”

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

Discussed on @BBCLondon949 the misleading & scaremongering claims about future of A&E at CXH. @DrBruceKeoogh review on emergency care crucial”

 

“Andrew Brown      08/09/2014

As ImperialNHS trust have confirmed they have no plans to close CX A&E”

 

“Andrew Brown      27/11/2017

STP plan states that CX will continue to provide its current A&E & wider services for at least lifetime of the plan”

 

The Council also notes that Greg Hands MP has put out a large variety of statements that dismiss any threat to Charing Cross Hospital, including this tweet:

 

“Greg Hands           22/05/2017 

Anyone getting a Labour or H&F Council leaflet about Charing Cross, remember local NHS has rebuked their falsehoods!”

 

The Council agrees that the position taken by Hammersmith & Fulham’s Conservative elected representatives on Charing Cross Hospital since 2013 has given cause for mistrust of their approach on the future of Charing Cross Hospital.

 

The Council calls on the Conservative councillors and Greg Hands MP to apologise for their approach and believes that local Conservatives have not demonstrated they can be trusted again on this vitally important matter.

 

The Council agrees that the details of the SaHF plan, bullet-pointed above, are correct and the serious threat to Charing Cross Hospital remains. It notes that health chiefs have delayed their proposals until after April 2021.

 

The Council notes the serious criticisms of SaFH and the STP contained in the report of the Independent Healthcare Commission for North West London and in “Health and Social Care in North West London, a review of Shaping a Healthier Future and the North-West London STP”, both of which were instigated by this borough’s Labour administration.

 

The Council calls on Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP (Con), the new Secretary of State for Health, to take note of these criticisms and act to end SaHF immediately and to remove the threats to Charing Cross and Ealing Hospitals.

 

The Council notes that the Labour administration has a close and trusted working relationship with residents, health experts and Save Our Hospitals campaigners. It agrees that it is in the best interest of all in the borough that it continues to work in this way to reach the objective of saving Charing Cross Hospital.