Horton General Hospital, Banbury
The GMB wish to make you aware of the extreme concern regarding the proposed downgrading, or indeed closure, of the Horton Consultant Led Maternity Unit and the other cuts to vital services outlined in the Oxford University Hospital Trust’s emerging options.
It is vitally important that with an ever-expanding town and catchment area of Banbury – currently at unprecedented proportions, that we retain the full services of a General Hospital in Banbury.
The Horton not only serves Banbury town itself but a very large surrounding rural area. Many of those patients find themselves without the benefit of transport links. Due to cutbacks in local buses and the duration and duress of the journey to Oxford is prohibitively expensive and stressful. This creates unnecessary pressure, which, is not conducive to the health and well-being of the patient.
You need to be physically fit to undertake the journey. Transporting small children on public transport is difficult enough at the best of times. Within the Horton’s catchment, there are three areas of significant deprivation. These people cannot afford a car or taxi to transport themselves and their families to/from Oxford.
Hospitalisation in the JR also makes it very difficult for family and friends to visit the patient both in terms of transport difficulties and travel time. It is an acknowledged fact that lack of direct contact with loved ones is detrimental to the patient’s recovery and well-being.
With the imminent threat to the maternity unit, we share the huge concerns for the safety of both mothers and babies. Such an action will undoubtedly put unnecessary stress on the mother and increase the potential for harm to mother and baby and will inevitably result in loss of life.
We are aware that Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital already struggles to accommodate all those mothers that currently use their maternity facilities. The closure of our Consultant Led Unit will add to that pressure and impact on other communities in the district. This is wholly unnecessary.
We would urge you to support that the full services of the Horton General Hospital are retained and
that the OCCG are asked to reconsider the proposals. Services at The Horton General Hospital need to be expanded, not reduced.
Protest
There will be a protest at the hospital on Sunday 21 August 10.30am, the aim is to form a huge circle around the hospital but this would need assistance and support from all in the local community against these cuts. Please, Please join us.
What else you can do….
We are urging you to encourage people of Oxfordshire to write to the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group via their GP (using our template letter if they prefer) , and copy their letter to their MP.
http://www.keepthehortongeneral.org/docs/letter_to_OCCG_your_doctor_and_your_MP.docx
However we also need donations to help with publicity costs via our crowdfunder
https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Savourhorton
And we need people to help us collect signatures on our petition
http://www.keepthehortongeneral.org/docs/petition.pdf
There are many more actions people can take
on http://www.keepthehortongeneral.org/whatcanido2013.htm
365_hands_off_the_horton_campaign
Posted: 19th August 2016