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Whittington Health board members to attend Hornsey public meeting organised by Lynne Featherstone MP1 March 2013 Board members of Whittington Health, which looks after Whittington Hospital and more than 30 local health centres, will tonight attend Lynne Featherstone MP’s Hornsey public meeting. Deputy chairman Robert Aitken said: “This is another good opportunity to meet local people in the areas served by the Trust and find out what they think of our investment plans. “The board, which is made up mostly of local residents who rely on the Trust’s services, has been very encouraged by the passion and interest shown by local people who share our determination to see the hospital flourish.” The board’s investment plans include: • £10 million for a long-overdue upgrade of maternity services • £2.9 million for a same-day treatment centre to help more people get faster urgent treatment • £3.6m for a teaching centre for tomorrow’s doctors and nurses This is only currently possible if funds are released from surplus buildings, which are empty, under-used or cannot be adapted for modern medical needs. Only a small fraction of these are used for patient services, and these services will be moved to better facilities. The Trust held its first discussion meeting on Monday 25 February at the Whittington Hospital which was well-attended. It will hold one more in the hospital and four at community venues. Reassurances offered by the board to some concerns raised on Monday include: • The Trust’s plans are based on detailed assessments by local GPs of the size and make-up of the population and its health needs • The Trust’s board of directors includes significant numbers of medically qualified people, including a local GP, a senior nurse, and two medical consultants, on whose advice the plans were drafted • Local GPs, through the formal groups that now commission hospital services, support the Trust’s investment plans • People who are elected or appointed to serve the hospital in some way, through its board or as governors of the Trust, are selected in a fair, open and transparent way by rigorous processes • The non executive directors of the board and the Trust’s membership and shadow governors are mostly local people whose own families are treated by the Trust • Patient safety is paramount and the ratio of nurses to patients is well within national guidelines and will remain so • Improving processes, so that patients’ time is not wasted for example using out-dated approaches to diagnosing people, will mean fewer beds are needed in the future because more people will be treated the same day. The meeting will take place tonight, 1 March at 7.30pm, at Greig City Academy, High Street, Hornsey N8 7NU. Entry is via Hillfield Avenue only. Board members will be at the venue from 6pm onwards to take informal questions and will remain for the meeting. Further details of Trust meetings are on http://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ Representatives of the Board will host five discussion meetings for the local community, which will take place on: • Thursday 14 March: 6.30 – 8pm at Lordship Lane Health Centre 239 Lordship Lane, N17 6AA • Thursday 21 March: 6.30 – 8pm at the Highgate Society 10A South Grove, N6 6BS • Tuesday 9 April: 6.30 – 8pm at Holloway Community Health Centre 11 Hornsey Street, N7 8GG • Monday 15 April: 2.30 – 4pm at the Whittington Hospital’s N19 restaurant Magdala Avenue, N19 5NF • Thursday 18 April: 2.30 – 4pm at Lordship Lane Health Centre 239 Lordship Lane, N17 6AA |