Alston Moor Health Campaign needs your support to pay for the legal work done for us which has given us a more optimistic future for our hospital.

Alston Moor Hospital Campaign

I’m one of many on Alston Moor relying on my local hospital.  The decision to close our hospital is a serious concern, and as an active member of the campaign group, I’m prepared to stand up against these cuts.

The proposed closure of the beds in our community hospital risks the loss of all our healthcare - leaving us with journeys of at least 40 minutes for any medical help, and to visit our friends and relations in hospital.

OUTLINE

Alston Moor, in the high North Pennines, has a small community hospital integrated with our GP surgery.  The Success Regime, imposed by NHS England, produced a plan for healthcare changes across North Cumbria, including closure of all hospital beds in Alston.  The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) approved this disastrous plan and Cumbria County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee (HSC) failed to report it to the Secretary of State for Health, despite serious concerns being raised.  We took a legal case which we have resolved before going to court, and now need to pay the costs for court and legal advice that has enabled a satisfactory resolution.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE

We believe that the CCG's decision is neither backed up by the clinical evidence nor consistent with patient choice. Moreover, we consider that the HSC neither followed the legal rules nor acted fairly by rushing through a vote on whether to make a referral to the Secretary of State for Health, which could have resulted in a reversal of the bed closures.

There have been many questionable aspects of the process by which the decision has been made.  So a legal challenge was appropriate.  Our legal team investigated the legal and practical aspects and decided that only Cumbria County Council, responsible for the HSC, could be held legally liable with any prospect of obtaining judicial review. 

After a number of legal communications, we obtained a high-level discussion with Cumbria County Council.  As a result, we have obtained strong support from them for the Alternative Plan now in development – so that their Adult Social Care and Public Health officers will engage with the discussions intending to ensure a good integrated service that meets the health needs of everyone on Alston Moor.

OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS NEEDS

We've always had to be as self-sufficient as possible.  However, some things can't be provided by the voluntary efforts of our small community of 2,000 people.  Healthcare is obviously one.  Our community hospital cares for people who are well enough to leave the big (and distant) acute hospital but not yet ready to manage at home; it offers respite for those normally cared for at home and provides excellent and exemplary end-of-life care.  Friends and relations can make frequent visits, including brief drop-ins which may be all the patient can cope with, which aids recovery and contributes to a better death for the person who is dying and those close to them. The hospital also provides a 24-hour minor injuries unit, staffed by hospital nurses, and the doctors in the GP practice are hospital doctors too - this makes the surgery in our small remote community viable. 

IMPLICATIONS OF HOSPITAL CLOSURE

The implications of having no medical personnel on Alston Moor are obvious - it will be catastrophic for residents. 

We will be forced to travel over 20 miles along narrow winding roads, often closed by winter snow for even urgent care, and to visit patients in convalescence or at end-of-life.  There is no available public transport. Tourism, an important part of the local economy, will diminish through fear of being unable to reach emergency medical care in reasonable time. 

We need people to move here - and no-one with young children, or a chronic condition or who is getting old, would choose to move to a place where the nearest medical care is 20+ miles away along slow, possibly impassable roads.  Closure of the hospital could lead to closure of our schools; population decline would make our vibrant community unviable.

Our local GPs and the hospital's League of Friends have devised a scheme incorporating medical and social care into one organisation, taking in the local care home, sheltered housing, GP surgery and hospital.  This would lead to reduced costs for both the social care and NHS elements and provide security for local people right up to the end of their lives.  We have been 'given' 12 months to develop the scheme, and we now have ensured that the County Council officers will work with the Cumbria Partnership Foundation NHS Trust and local representative to create an innovative facility meeting our needs.

Alston Moor Health Campaign needs your support to pay for the legal work done for us which has given us a more optimistic future for our hospital. Please support us with a pledge - however large or small will be most appreciated.