NHS Trust given deadline to come up with plan to re-open Chorley's A&E
The NHS trust that runs Chorley A&E has been given a deadline to come up with a plan on how they're going to get the unit re-opened.
The NHS trust that runs Chorley A&E has been given a deadline to come up with a plan on how they're going to get the unit re-opened.
The County Council has released a report calling for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals to put a full plan in place by 22nd November.
The A&E unit was downgraded to an urgent care centre back in April due to staff shortages
and the NHS trust say it won't re-open until April next year.
Campaigners have been protesting outside the hospital every Saturday since the unit closed and they're heading to parliament in October to lobby MPs on getting the unit re-opened.
Today's report, produced by Lancashire County Council, wants the NHS trust to explain why the Royal Preston Hospital isn't meeting 4 hour waiting times.
The authority's scrutiny health committee also says the trust need to show tehy're exploring all methods to recruit staff and says "poor management and communication has failed to convince the community that there's a genuine commitment to re-open the A&E."
There are also calls for the urgent care unit's opening hours to be extended when possible.
The report's author, County Councillor Steve Holgate, chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee, said: "The closure of Chorley's Accident and Emergency Department has generated a huge amount of concern in the local area, so it is vitally important that the Health Scrutiny Committee put together this report.
"Over a number of months we have considered evidence from a wide variety of sources, including Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, the local clinical commissioning groups, various NHS bodies, local MPs and local campaigners.
"This has been a rigorous process and we have identified a number of issues which have both a local and a national resonance. The key areas of concern for the committee have been around the impact of the closure, not just on residents of Chorley and South Ribble, but also on surrounding hospitals, policies and practices relating to recruitment, how the situation was communicated to local people and what the future holds.
"There are clearly significant problems in providing Emergency Care, not just here in Lancashire but across the country. I hope that this report can play a role in helping to provide solutions, particularly at a local level in Chorley."
The Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Karen Partington, says, “We welcome the publication of this report and thank the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the work they have undertaken in this review.
“We note the report’s recommendations, and are committed to making any improvements necessary. We agree that we could have informed the Overview and Scrutiny Committee about the challenges we were facing before we did, and will ensure we provide more timely updates about this and other issues going forwards.
“We acknowledge that there has been some confusion about our staffing position and the reasons for the decision to temporarily replace the emergency department with an urgent care centre, and we will review how we can better communicate such complex issues in the future.
“We also accept that despite taking every available opportunity to confirm our board’s commitment to reinstating the emergency department, some people remain unconvinced. We wish to again assure our local communities that the decision was the best possible option to maintain safe care and services for patients in the circumstances, and we are sorry for the concern this change has undoubtedly caused.
“We are continuing to make extensive efforts to recruit the staff we need, which is a significant challenge due to the national shortage of emergency department doctors. We remain committed to reinstating the department as soon as we have enough doctors to provide a safe and sustainable service.
“In the meantime the urgent care centre at Chorley is providing an excellent service for patients, and this remains the best option to maintain safe care whilst we do what we can to reinstate the emergency department.
“The System Resilience Group is monitoring the action we are taking to reinstate the Emergency Department, and we will share this plan with Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as requested."
You can read the report here