Re: Consultation on Improvements to How Health Services Are Delivered in Orpington

Orpington Health Services

Public Consultation

FACTS International Ltd

Ashford

TN24 8BR 28th October 2012

Re: Consultation on improvements to how health services are delivered in Orpington

Bromley Mencap welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation exercise. We asked for feedback and comments from our 1500 members and key stakeholders using a variety of methods, including, the Carers Forum, a Bulletin article and our e-news.

In terms of the proposals for health services in Orpington and the Orpington Hospital site in particular, the feedback we received was mixed.

Generally, our members were sceptical about the plans, feeling that the hospital had been deliberately starved of investment and resources, to the point where it is not viable as a hospital fit for the future. This is in spite of some excellent facilities and provision. The reasons suggested ranged from gross mismanagement, or that the site was destined for closure some time ago as part of cost saving strategies rather than health care needs. The specific feedback received focussed on the closure of the Hydrotherapy Pooland is summarised below.

Members were aware of the proposed closure of the hydrotherapy service some months back and expressed their concerns then. Many feel that the justifications used for its proposed closure were skewed to fit the agreed outcome, for example that the service was underutilised, whereas individuals experience is that access was restricted, largely due to staff availability. Other suggestions were that people were using the service for leisure purposes, because local swimming pools don’t have the specialist equipment or facilities to enable them to access mainstream provision. The group of people using the Orpington Hydrotherapy pool and service were doing so as part of an assessed health care need. At one point it was suggested that the individuals currently accessing this service would have their health care needs re-assessed. To date we have not been told if this has happened.

At the recent Carers Forum it was suggested that the decision to close the Orpington Hydrotherapy Pool was based upon research that showed that the majority of people preferred land based therapies as opposed to water based ones. When challenged on this point, it was said that the research was not specific to Orpington or indeed the hydrotherapy pool and its users.

It was in fact international research and not related to the needs of people with profound and multiple disabilities. It appeared to some members of the Forum that the decision has been made and that justifications were being trawled out to support the case.

The suggested alternatives – Queen Mary’s Hospital (QMH) - Sidcup, Goldie Leigh, Oxleas Trust - Greenwich plus other facilities such as the Phoenix Centre have not really been thought out, in either equality impact or practical terms. The QMH provision is currently oversubscribed, primarily due to demands linked to trauma or surgery. People recognised that giving priority to patients in this category made sense, but felt that the long term ongoing needs of disabled people were being ignored or marginalised. The Goldie Leigh facility was a long way away, particularly for those travelling from the more remote parts of the Borough. Individuals and their carers visited this site and it took over 2 hours each way. If the assessed need is for say 30 minutes hydrotherapy, they are looking at over 5 hours in total. Is this really a suitable alternative? They do recognise that they are a minority, but that this specialist facility is the only way in which people can maintain and improve mobility and have any form of exercise. As a ‘minority’ they should still be able to access the same facilities as able bodied patients.

We are aware that other organisations – Bromley Link have made contact with other disability groups e.g. MS Society, who believe that hydrotherapy is of proven benefit to their members, but that they have not been given access to the facility or consulted on its future

Finally, some members are aware of documents sent out by Orpington based GP practices. When read with this consultation lead them to feel that the change of use of the site is a foregone conclusion. If this is the case, then our members want to ensure that patients living in Orpington who have disabilities should be able to access the new facilities proposed and that the new clinical space should be fully accessible and have facilities such as a “Changing Place” that caters for people with multiple disabilities, rather than the default provision of a DDA compliant accessible toilet. Additionally, the new provision should take positive action by reaching out to disabled individuals and groups, so that they can take advantage of specialist service i.e. health promotion, diabetes services etc.

Please feel free to contact me if you require any more information

Yours sincerely

Malcolm Wood – Strategic Manager

Bromley Mencap Ltd. A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No: 2179385. Registered Charity Number: 800685.