Bandaged and ‘wounded’ health campaigners staged a ‘die-in’ to protest against a proposed swathe of NHS cuts in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Campaigners from Save Our Hospitals and Ealing Save Our NHS gathered at Lyric Square in Hammersmith to stage their protest.
The gathering was also organised to celebrate the recent government decision to scrap the downgrading of Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith and Ealing Hospital as major acute hospitals.
Anne Drinkell from Save Our Hospitals said campaigners were concerned at savings which are likely to be on the cards for Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
The health body faces savings to cut its massive £29.7m deficit and is consulting about reducing services including cutting the opening hours of Hammersmith urgent care centre. It plans to close it from midnight to 8am as it said very few people used it overnight. The highest number of patients was 18 in one night according to its analysis.
Ms Drinkell said: “We condemn these cuts as entirely unacceptable attacks on health provision.”
“We staged the die-in with many of our supporters bloody and bandaged – demonstrating the damaging effects to our health were these cuts to go ahead.”
She said other services which could be affected include dementia services, stroke provision, cardiology services, dermatology services and gynaecology services in the community.
“Taking funds from dementia services, stroke survivors and people with serious chronic illnesses is penalizing some of the most vulnerable people in our community. It’s just plain wrong.”
She added: “It’s crazy to cut funding for Out of Hours Medical care when so many people find it impossible to get a GP appointment. All that will happen is that desperate patients end up going to A&E departments or online competitors like GP at Hand.”
The CCG is also looking at reducing the number of out-of-hours GP appointments and the number of medical hubs from three to two as it says too few people are using them.
It is also facing a £21m bill from patients registered with the digital GP At Hand service which is based in Fulham.
It is lobbying NHS England to reimburse it the extra registration costs for the service.
A spokeswoman said: “The CCG has a very challenging financial position and has reviewed all of its areas of spend in order to ensure value for money and reduce costs where possible. The decisions are not related to GP at Hand.”
Campaigners were told at last week’s joint committee meeting of North West London CCGs that finance chiefs were also lobbying for central government to be reimbursed for the bill for patients registering for the new digital service GP At Hand.
Under NHS rules H&F CCG has to pay registration costs even if patients live outside the area.
This article originally appeared on My London
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