Is the closure of ward 11 really safe?
by Len Edgar
By most people's estimation I am somewhat advanced
in years. At 73 years old, I have had more reason than
most to use services at my local hospital recently.
Sadly, the threat to services at Westmorland General
Hospital - near to my home in Kendal - means that I am
even more worried than most people about what happens
to me when I become ill.
Last year, I was outraged when the trust axed ward 11, the last remaining ward for acute medical admissions. Since the creation of the NHS sixty years ago there has always been an acute medical admissions facility in Kendal and for it to be axed is frightening. It was amusing to see the Trust have to make a u-turn on the closure when it was revealed that staff had not been consulted with
and - importantly - that the ambulance service was not yet "up to standard" and would not be able to deal with the additional responsibility of taking acutely ill patients to Lancaster.
This safety element is vitally important. The trust have now announced that massive steps forward have been made in the ambulance service locally and that these improvements (including quicker response times) mean that it is safe to close ward 11. I am quite surprised at the quickness with which these supposed improvements have been made, especially as a paramedic friend of mine admits the crews still need a fair amount of training.
I had an unfortunate chance to experience first hand the validity of the Trust's claims when I collapsed on my allotment during the Christmas period. I have a history of heart problems and high blood pressure. A neighbour phoned an ambulance and within twenty minutes a car arrived, but I was unable to get into it and, besides, there was no paramedic staff. Almost 75 minutes after the intial phone call an ambulance finally arrived by which time I was literally frozen. It was as well that
I didn't have a heart attack otherwise I would have been dead on arrival.
I was taken to Royal Lancaster Infirmary for assessment and it was found I has broken my hip. I am grateful for the care I received and am now recuperating at home. But I am concerned about the trust's willingness to accept that there have been huge steps forward in ambulance provision when the evidence suggests the contrary. The service is already stretched, does miracles to work between Kendal and the rest of South Lakeland and is not prepared at the moment to evolve its service to provide life-saving treatment en route to Lancaster. It isn't prepared for it, the crews aren't prepared for it and I suspect, if we're honest, Royal Lancaster Infirmary isn't prepared for it either.
