Newark Hospital

Mark Spencer Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2010 Westminster Hall

[Patrick Mercer (Newark) (Con)]

I am most grateful that you are chairing this important debate, Mr Amess. Nottinghamshire is getting a good outing this morning. I hope that the local press appreciate it; it is not at all laid on for their benefit. I thank the Minister for being here. It shows a degree of commitment from his Department as well as from him personally. Not only did he give up his time to make his first ministerial visit to Newark hospital when I asked him, he is also here today. I thank him personally for the great interest and acumen that he is showing. I also thank the hon. Members who are here in support. My local paper, the Newark Advertiser, is interested in the issue and has been supportive, and the “Save Newark Hospital” campaign has been immensely helpful.

This subject is extremely important in my constituency. I will not say that it divides public opinion, because it does not. It is quite simple: I cannot find a single person in Newark who does not support the development and further expansion of the services of a vibrant and successful hospital in a town due to grow by many thousands over the next five to 10 years. The issue does not divide the town; everybody agrees that we need a proper, developing and expanding hospital.

A health care review began 18 months ago, entitled “Help to shape the future of Newark’s NHS”. As a sitting Member, I realised that the three elements involved—Nottinghamshire County primary care trust, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the East Midlands ambulance service—needed my responsible and sensible support if we were to improve health service in a town that is growing exponentially.

The process made good progress, but recently we have run into trouble. The subject, quite rightly, became extremely contentious and difficult during the election campaign, and is now attracting more and more energy as people become more concerned about what is going on. One or two mendacious suggestions that the hospital would close were made during the campaign. I do not believe that the hospital will close under this Administration or any other, nor should it, so we can put that suggestion to one side. Those in the town of Newark who hope to frighten individuals with it are both irresponsible and mendacious, but things become difficult when one sees the health care review document—it also says that Newark hospital will not close, which is fine—which says:

“Some services will change, some will be added.”

If we pitch against that the changes that have occurred, we can understand the perception in my constituency. First, we are going to lose our accident and emergency ward. I know that and accept it, but it is alarming to the people of Newark. I will return to that issue in a moment. We have already lost the Friary ward; I will return to that in a moment as well. The blood classification service has been alienated. Pharmacy services have been closed. All sorts of dilemmas exist about the protocols under which ambulances work: for instance, if a child is knocked over within sight of Newark hospital, the ambulance that picks up that child will not take the child to Newark hospital. Nor should it—Newark hospital cannot cope with injured children—but it is hard for a parent who can see the hospital not to wonder why his or her child is being taken to Lincoln, King’s Mill or Mansfield hospitals or to Sutton in Ashfield, for instance. It is a difficult matter of perception. Furthermore, we were recently told that another ward would be closed. I think that my constituents feel that they have been misled rather than informed by the process.

We have had a healthy debate among the three different factions and various town campaigns, but if the Minister will bear with me for a few moments, I would like to apply to what is happening in Newark the four crucial tests laid down by the Health Secretary for the improvement of health services throughout the country. I repeat that a lot of it is a matter of perception. Ambulances were never going to take children to Newark hospital. However, why that has not been properly explained to my constituents, who continue to think that ambulances could do so, is a wholly different matter. I have no doubt that the Minister, who is nodding in agreement, understands that as well as I.

The first of the four crucial tests is that changes should have the support of GP commissioners. Let us test the closure of the accident and emergency ward at Newark hospital. Anybody who bothers to lift the stone and look underneath will understand that Newark has not had an A and E ward for as long as I can remember. There is no debate about whether it should; it meets none of the criteria. Therefore, the sign is clearly misleading and unhelpful, and it must go. However, Newark sits at an extremely important point on the A1, near the dualling of the A46 and the east coast railway line, where there is massive potential for large-scale injuries. If the Potters Bar crash happened in Newark, as it might, Newark hospital could not cope with that many accident and emergency cases.

However, we need something better than what is proposed. I am told—although I treat this with a certain amount of scepticism—that GPs are strongly behind the idea of having a minor injuries unit-plus rather than an A and E ward. I cannot describe how irritating that is, not only to me but to the people of Newark. Most will accept that A and E has no place at Newark hospital, but most believe, and indicated during the consultation process, that we need an urgent care centre, ward or similar at Newark hospital where people can go to receive the care that they need. I believe that that will be provided, so it does not matter much; we are really arguing about what the notice should say. However, I say to the Minister that if we do not get an urgent care ward, centre or whatever, it will spread unnecessary alarm and despondency in Newark. The title “minor injuries unit” suggests cuts and bruises or coughs and sneezes, which is unacceptable and similarly misleading to the public.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust says that it supports

“the provision of an ‘urgent care, minor illnesses and minor injuries service’ at Newark Hospital, as agreed by local clinicians and supported by the majority of local people during the formal consultation process”

and wishes

“to ensure that the name of the new unit clearly describes the breadth of services provided and ensures that patients access services in the right place, at the right time, first time.”

The next test, however, is that proposed changes must strengthen public and patient engagement. I seek an assurance from the Minister about patients, members of the public, all local GPs and particularly the staff of Newark hospital, who have been enormously supportive, helpful and loyal to their organisation. A horrible rumour circulated in town that staff had been gagged from talking to the press or the Minister. I am sure that the Minister would agree that during his visit last Thursday, not only did we hear some extremely articulate individuals but members of staff were not restricted at all. They and their opinions are terribly important. Will staff at Newark hospital be included in all decisions on the future of the hospital? I ask the Minister how we can achieve that, because clearly we are anxious to help with the process.

The next question I ask the Minister comes under the same heading of strengthening public and patient engagement. I absolutely accept his point that the process has to be led from the bottom up—it must be led from the grass roots and must not be top down and dictated from the top. I know that the Government are committed to maintaining front-line services, but will the Minister assure me that services at my local hospital will not be reduced or diminished for acute and sub-acute patients? I understand that change has to occur—I am not being a stick-in-the-mud about this; I am trying to be as helpful as I can—but that question is crucial. As I have said, not only has the Friary ward been closed, but there is word that another 30 beds will be taken away. That is the equivalent of another ward. If we lose that number of beds, my worry is that very shortly Newark hospital will become nothing more than a cottage hospital. That is the last thing I want, so I ask the Minister to deal with that question.

[Mr Mark Spencer (Sherwood) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend recognise that Newark hospital is important to not only his constituents, but the constituents of Sherwood and Bassetlaw? It is particularly important to people who live in villages to the east of the A614, many of whom prefer to use the services at Newark rather than travel to the Queen’s medical centre or to King’s Mill hospital.

[Patrick Mercer]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention and I congratulate him on his tremendous success at the election, although I regret the departure of his predecessor, who was a close friend of mine. I completely agree: the hospital’s influence extends far beyond Newark. Once the A46 is dualled—heaven help us if that is cancelled—it becomes even more important that the hospital can provide a quick and urgent service to people in the Sherwood constituency. I absolutely accept his point.

The third crucial test is that of greater local clarity and the need to have a clinical evidence base for any proposals that will be made. In the light of that, it is proposed that patients are treated at Lincoln hospital’s accident and emergency department instead of Newark’s. The patient safety record at Lincoln hospital is worse than at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Can the Minister shed some light on the matter of patient safety, because I want my constituents, or anyone who is injured, to go to the best possible place? If such a situation exists, can we have some explanation for that proposal?

The last test is that proposals should take account of patient choice. Many in the town of Newark would say that the consultation process was faulty and was not properly delivered. A number of proposals were clearly supported by everybody who responded to the process and therefore my fourth, and almost my last, question to the Minister—I am sorry if I am burdening him with tedious matters—is whether he will investigate the closure of the Friary ward, which is our local psycho-geriatric ward, and consider whether it might be reopened in the future. We have been told that the Friary ward has only been closed temporarily and that we will get psycho-geriatric services back in the near future. It is crucial that that happens.

I respect and understand those four points. The difficulty is that Newark lies right on the edge of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In theory, we have excellent communications in all four directions, but if we have a national health service based on centres of excellence in places such as Lincoln, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Nottingham, we obviously need communication from Newark to those centres of excellence. I understand that we cannot have one of the several hospitals in Nottingham inside Newark, but we must have an ambulance service that is capable of getting our injured or routinely sick to centres of excellence quickly, efficiently and calmly. I have received a number of reassurances from the ambulance service that those improvements are in hand, but I would be grateful to the Minister if he could dilate upon that a little more. Can he reassure me that we will have an ambulance service that is fit for the 21st century, which can deal with the increasing number of people who live inside the town?

You will be relieved to hear that I have almost finished, Mr Amess. I understand that we must have demonstrably better outcomes for patients and that we must ensure they receive the highest-quality specialist care in specialist centres. I understand that, in many cases, it is better to treat people at home rather than in hospitals. I am not being narrow minded or reactionary about this, but so much of the process has been badly presented to the public, to health care professionals and to patients. If only we could have some clarity on the matter and I could see clearly that the four tests set by the Secretary of State were being met, I would be a lot happier. The matter is crucial to Newark, which sits on the edge of two different local authority areas, and I am extremely grateful to the Minister for the time he has taken to visit the town. However, a strong and vibrant outcome from this process would assure Newark that it does not just sit on the edge of everything; it lies in the heart of the east midlands, which is exactly where it ought to lie.