Defending Epsom Hospital

Local Liberal Democrats joined the recent cross-party demonstration outside Epsom Hospital arranged by the GMB and the Epsom Guardian.

There were also Conservative, Labour, Green and UKIP representatives. Including the two Independent candidates, five of Epsom & Ewell's seven parliamentary candidates took part. The Residents Association were not represented. (We don't know if they were invited, though.)

The demonstration was triggered by a conversation overheard on a train that revealed that once again the NHS is preparing plans that might result in Epsom hospital being closed instead of being modernised.

This has been considered several times previously since the amalgamation of Epsom hospital with St Helier in 1999. The basic problem is that the experts advising on future plans for local hospitals are asked the wrong question, how to minimise the cost to the NHS, so they always recommend amalgamation into a single larger hospital.

Demonstrators believe that account should also be taken of the total cost to the community, including the expense of travelling to remote super-hospitals. This should support the popular common-sense solution of keeping our local hospitals where they are.

[Photos courtesy of Robert Leach]