A New Whipps Cross Hospital? Yes! Fewer Beds & No Palliative Care Unit? No!
Barts Health NHS Trust are committed to us having a new hospital at Whipps Cross by 2026
We really welcome Bart's commitment to building a new hospital at Whipps Cross. A new hospital is vital for us all. But we are concerned about the funding and details of their proposals. Despite our population growth they're proposing a cut of at least 51 beds and assume vastly improved community services will support this. Another major concern is that there are no plans at present to reprovide the Margaret Centre as part of the redevelopment. We fear there's a serious risk that sick people could fall through the net.
We're fighting for a hospital designed for our community's future needs, properly financed and sustainably built.
We're concerned that decisions are being made behind closed doors and have real concerns about some of their proposals so:
We're calling on individuals & groups to get involved in building a big campaign for the new hospital at Whipps Cross. Because if we don't campaign hard, we'll have a brand new hospital with all the old problems.
Barts' plans are moving fast:
An architect-led design team has been appointed
Work has begun to prepare the site of the new hospital - the former nurses' home
Barts is proposing the new hospital could be a "Centre of Excellence" for the care of frail
& older people - in addition to many existing services
But they're proposing 51 fewer beds than we have now - despite a huge population
growth, especially of older people
Approx £400m has been promised by the Govt for the redevelopment of Whipps Cross
- which is nowhere near enough
So the funding of the hospital depends on selling off a lot of the land for housing.
We're fighting for:
More beds, not a cut of 51
The reprovision of the Margaret Centre as a specialist palliative care unit.
24/7 Blue light A&E and all the facilities to support this
Govt funding that will secure more beds, our A&E, & a carbon neutral hospital
A truly sustainable hospital & site for patients, staff & our planet
Key worker housing that really is affordable
Community involvement in the whole process; the Redevelopment Board must
be open to the public: no decisions behind closed doors.
If you would like to get regular news letters about the campaign please:
If you want to get more involved than that and help us to run the campaign please email:
whipps.cross.campaign@gmail.com
We'd love to hear from you. And please don't forget to check regularly our "Latest News" and "Documents" section here for the latest developments.
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