Briefing note to be kept on GP practice reception desk

The New Hospital Campaign

Advice for reception staff about the new hospital campaign.

You have a poster in your waiting room and/or on your TV screenthat asks your patients to get involved in the New Hospital Campaign. They may ask you for more information, or for a leaflet. This briefing will help you understand what it’s all about.

Background

The local clinical commissioning group Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group, and the West Herts Hospital Trust are currently developing a 5-year plan – known as a Sustainability & Transformation Plan. This is intended to ensure that our area gets the right services from the NHS and it is properly funded.

This plan is meant to be put together with the direct involvement of the local community including this surgery and The New Hospital Campaign Team. So far this hasn’t really been happening.

The community needs to be aware of this and we all need to ensure that we stand up and be counted. After all we have all paid for the NHS and nobody would argue we don’t deserve better.

If we don’t act the following will happen

  • Hemel Hospital services will be cut further
  • Watford hospital will continue to be patched up
  • St Albans will get a few new services (from Hemel)
  • No new hospital will be built within the next 5-10 years

An alternative plan has already been submitted to the NHS for a new centrally located hospital but the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have not considered it properly.

We need our patients and GPs to get motivated and to do something.

The first thing we need people to do is to sign our petitions that make the case. Details are in the leaflet.

NOTE The petition can ONLY be done online. If your patient doesn’t have access to the internet, please suggest that they ask a relative or friend to help.

Please give your patient a leaflet if they haven’t collected one already and tell them it is really important that people not only enter their email address on the webpage but also click on the email they receive back as if they don’t their vote won’t count!

Please give out a leaflet if appropriate.

Please talk to your patients if you have time.

Please feedback to your GPs what their patients are thinking.

Together we can make a difference!

For more information or for more posters or flyers please contact.

Everest House PPG Steve Day -

The New Hospital Campaign Team -