'We need to stand up for residents' - review into health shake-up in Weymouth and Portland backed

The request will go to the Dorset Health Scrutiny committee which, in turn, could call on the Secretary of State to order the review.

Claims were made at a meeting of the borough council on Thursday that some of the evidence used to justify the proposed changes was misleading or misinterpreted.

The CCG have responded to these claims - see our story here

There was anger about the closure of beds at Portland Hospital with allegations that the decision could be putting people's lives at risk.

Cllr Paul Kimber, who proposed the motion, said the Clinical Services Review for Weymouth and Portland needed to be looked at again.

He said that emergency maternity cases and other time-critical emergencies would, under the current proposals, move to Bournemouth Hospital – with obvious risks for local people who might need to travel across the county.

“Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has not seen nor had referred to it any evidence that the proposals will save lives indeed the opposite is a possible outcome,” he said.

He said that because the borough was grouped with West Dorset it was claimed by the CCG that there was overall support from the consultation for the changes – but if the Weymouth and Portland figures were extracted they showed local people against the proposals. He produced a paper from the health body which appeared to support his claim.

“They (Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group) were challenged to produce figures for Weymouth and Portland at the time and they waited until they won their vote then confirmed the figures,” he said. The same claim was supported by Dr Jon Orrell.

During the public session Giovanna Lewis, a former NHS employee, said: “Weymouth and Portland residents voted against the closures but it was misinterpreted by the CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) .

“Bournemouth Hospital is in a most congested area and will be harder to reach for everyone in this room.

“Dorchester Hospital is seeing twice the number of patients it was designed for but is now supposed to be taking up the slack.”

Said fellow campaigner Lesley Saunders: “There are more and more people in the area and fewer and fewer health services. It seems madness: there is no logic in the changes that I can see.”

She said that her late husband had been brought to Portland Hospital, close to his family, after being admitted to Dorset County Hospital, a decision which had freed a high dependency bed at DCH.

“We need to employ more doctors and nurses. There needs to be more people employed rather than cutting beds.”

Cllr Jon Orrell, a GP, said that the area has four of the most deprived areas in the country, which equated to more people than average with poor health: “We're almost being sacrificed to get a new, shiny, hospital in Bournemouth.”

He said he had been suspicious of the CCG claims that local people had voted for the changes in the consultation and asked for a breakdown of the figures: “The day after they made their decision they told me they had been turned down in Weymouth and Portland.

“They didn't play fair and we need to stand up for our residents,” he said.

Supporting the call for the inquiry Cllr Margaret Leicester said: “If there are no facilities people on the island people will start dying especially if there is an emergency and the beach road is closed. It's something we all need to fight against.”

Portland councillor Sandy West told the story of a friend who's uncle suffered a fall and had to be taken to Dorset County Hospital where she arrived to visit him – only to be told he had been moved to Sherborne.

“He could have had a bed in Portland Hospital,” said Cllr West.

“The whole thing has been an absolute shambles...community cottage hospitals are needed. They free up beds at DCH and allow family and friends to be near.”

Cllr Kate Wheller said the nurse shortage might have been self-generated : “Portland Hospital was taken off the rota so nurses couldn't put their names down to work there,” she said.

And she warned that it was only a question of time before there were problems at Westham Hospital because of staff shortages.

Cllr Ray Nowak admitted people were getting passionate about the issue: “It's not just Portland, it's across the area services are closing down.

“We should ask the Dorset Health Scrutiny committee why it's happening...it might not just be about recruiting nurses, it might be that it's the lack of budget.

“We need to know that if we need healthcare it's going to happen.”

He said that when he had a stroke he had to wait for 45 minutes in his living room for an ambulance to arrive: “I was told I might as well wait at home because there was no bed for me in DCH anyway.”

DORSET’S Clinical Commissioning Group have responded to criticisms of their review of local health services in Weymouth and Portland – by hitting out at borough councillors.

Thursday evening’s borough council meeting passed a resolution calling for an independent review of the CCG’s actions.

There was criticism at the meeting of how the closure of beds at Portland Hospital was handed and the use of consultation figures, which some councillors claimed were misleading.

In a statement issued on Saturday morning (13/10) the CCG say they are “disappointed” not to be told of the motion nor to be invited to the council meeting to present their case.

Chief Officer for Dorset CCG Tim Goodson said: “Throughout the Clinial Service Review (CSR) process we followed the correct procedures by presenting to local Health Scrutiny Committees and working closely with them to answer their questions. Members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council are part of the Dorset Health Scrutiny Committee, and would have been able to feed back at their Council meeting.

All Scrutiny Committees are held in public should any councillor wish to attend.

“Local councillors were also able to take part in the public consultation which saw over 18,500 responses.

“It is important to recognise that beds at Portland Hospital would not be used for emergency cases and the majority of Weymouth and Portland residents would still use the Emergency Department (or A&E) at Dorset County Hospital. The most serious cases would go to a hospital that specialises more with certain procedures; this is the same as what happens now.

“The full report on responses is available via www.dorsetsvision.nhs.uk which clearly shows the responses from Weymouth and Portland were not grouped with any other localities.

“Overall we (NHS Dorset CCG) are disappointed that we were not made aware of this motion by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, nor invited to present our case or be heard, particularly at the current time when there is a large amount of misinformation being circulated by an increasingly political campaign group, following the Judicial Review brought by Anna Hinsull being dismissed on all seven grounds by the High Court Judge.”