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UNISON Office Temple Court 107
Oxford Road, Cowley, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 2ER.
tel 01865770022
fax 0871 9896368
No stewards are based in the office so please contact your steward direct or
phone UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845 from 6 am to midnight, Mon - Fri and 9 am to
4 pm on Sat
UNISON
celebrates reopening of community hospital in Oxford.
8th Oct - A cheer went up in the meeting room as UNISON
nursing staff cut the birthday cake for Oxford's new City Community
Hospital. The celebration, marked the successful end of an 18 month campaign led by
UNISON health workers which drew on broad political and community
support.
UNISON PCT Convenor Mark Ladbrooke, thanked the UNISON members at
the hospital for their determination and campaigning zeal in
getting it reopened as an NHS facility staffed by NHS workers and
delivering care to NHS standards.
Picture: UNISON Nursing staff from the community hospital join
with
Mr Preedy from the West Indies Day Centre and Amy Nicholls who
baked and
decorated the birthday cake.
Joint Branch Chair Nigel Carter spoke of our pride at being able
to work with the West Indies Day Centre members to challenge the
closure on equality issues he told of how we worked with the Labour Group,
supported by the Greens to gain the unanimous vote for the
hospital at the City Council. He warmly commended local Labour MP Andrew
Smith for his prompt and unstinting backing.
Picture: within an hour of the indefinite closure of
the community hospital
being announced Andrew Smith was meeting with UNISON members.
"Everyone pulled together in this campaign" commented Joe Richards, a leader of the retired car workers UNITE union branch and and delegate to the Oxford and District Trades Union Council, "union solidarity and community campaigning still works ... as it always has".
"From young PCT stewards to experienced campaigners involved in the local Keep Our NHS Public campaign group we drove this forwards" said Margaret Pearce, UNISON Retired Members Officer whose mother had been cared for in the hospital. "The LINKS patient community group reinforced the campaign and we took it to the council health scrutiny committee and won support across all parties."
Anthea Parsons, joint Branch Chair added "It is particularly impressive that PCT managers recognised the strength of feeling among staff and community about this hospital and changed tack to work with the Oxford Radcliffe Trust to provide a 'state of the art' NHS facility. You know it takes a bit of bottle to admit you were wrong and then to put it right with such style - good on them!
UNISON Oxford Radcliffe Convenor and nurse, Bryan Nicholls, commented about how in an era of health markets and competition dogma its so good to see co-operation between NHS organisations for the benefit of patients. Oxford's City Community Hospital, is now based at the John Radcliffe and is jointly staffed by NHS workers from both trusts. Further development is planned to raise this community hospital to the highest standards by next June.
How we won the campaign - here and poster
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How we won our campaign PETITION – re-open Oxford City’s Community Hospital. Oxford City has had a Community Hospital since 1988 - it served mainly older patients providing rehabilitation and palliative care as well as day hospital services. These services were provided by a highly skilled multidisciplinary NHS team. However since May 2008 the 24 bed community hospital has been closed indefinitely and possibly unlawfully without public consultation. We, the undersigned, call on the Primary Care Trust, as a public body, to re-establish an NHS Community Hospital in Oxford by 1st May 2009 with the same capacity, staffing levels and skills.
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15th Dec - City Council debates motion.
Proposer Cllr Joe McManners This council notes that: 1) OxComm was a PCT run 24 bed Community Hospital on the site of the Churchill Hospital for Oxford City patients to have intermediate care after hospital or to prevent admission. 2) OxComm was closed in May due to infection concerns on a temporary basis. 8 beds were commissioned from a Nursing Home as an interim measure. 3) Recently Oxfordshire PCT have indicated they are unlikely to replace OxComm on a like for like basis as previously suggested. This Council is of the strong view that Oxford City residents deserve, like other areas in the County, to have a Community hospital that is local and accessible for relatives. The Council feels that Oxford City residents have at least the same needs as other areas of the County and calls on Oxfordshire PCT to replace OxComm as soon as is practically possible |
A delegation of nursing staff from Oxford's Community Hospital lobby Andrew Smith MP whose constituents will be severely affected by the units indefinite closure. Picture >> Over 20 people turned out today, Thursday 20th November 2008, to lobby and speak at the Council Health Scrutiny Committee against the permanent closure of Oxford's community hospital, OxComm. Besides a delegation of staff were supporters from pensioners groups, the West Indies Day Centre, the Trade Union Council and the campaign group 'Keep Our NHS Public'.We'd also particularly like to thank Councillors Joe McManners (Labour) & Larry Saunders (Green) and for their help and also note our appreciation at supportive comments which came from councillors of all parties. |
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Initially despite considerable pressure from these councillors on the scrutiny
committee the PCT commissioners refused to give a commitment to reopen
the NHS hospital, preferring instead to use fewer lower grade private
nursing home beds, and preferring to transfer patients to hospitals
outside the city and redefining the admission criteria to community
hospitals so less people qualify for a bed. The PCT commissioners are
advised by 'World Class Commissioner' experts, Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The union will need to discuss further challenges to the PCT. Possibly a challenge at the next Trust Board meeting (Thurs 27th Nov at 9 am Oxford Town Hall). We will also need to take legal advice about whether the Trust has failed to consult the public on what, in reality, is the closure of a service and whether they have also failed to conduct an equality impact assessment. From UNISON Oxfordshire Health Branch - many, many thanks to all those who turned up today. |
Re-open Oxford's Community Hospital!
Background
In late May 2008 unions and staff were asked to agree the temporary closure of
Oxford's 24 bed Community Hospital because of an outbreak of
Clostridium Difficile.
This was seen by many as an over reaction but with the promise of a new
hospital within months with the same number of beds we reluctantly went along with it.
The Council Health Scrutiny Committee (which comprises locally elected councillors) also expressed concerns about the temporary closure. Nursing staff were issued with temporary amendments of contract requiring them to work on other community hospitals in Oxfordshire.
The current situation
Over 6 months later
(13th October) staff were issued with a letter reporting that PCT commissioners
are reconsidering whether to keep a city community hospital or not.
"Plans to find alternative facilities to replace the Churchill unit [OxComm] have not been successful so far with no real options for new facilities being identified. PCT commissioners have reviewed the plans for the future provision of Oxcomm and have decided to wait for the outcome of a service demand project aimed at identifying what services are needed for Oxford City residents in the future. After this work is completed plans for future services will be made, these plans may include a bed based service but this depends upon what the project shows."
It was made clear at a meeting with the staff that there is no date agreed
for the completion of this "service demand project" by the commissioners.
There are concerns that PCT commissioners and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (the multi
billion dollar private corporation who have been instructed to advise them) did
not offer sufficient funding for the service to be renegotiated over the last 6
months. This issue is currently the subject of a 'Freedom of Information'
enquiry which is being lodged with the PCT. This latest move by commissioners
makes a mockery of consultation and the five Darzi pledges (see below)
OxComm staff were previously threatened with the closure of this community
hospital - staff worked with all unions and lobbied the Trust Board en mass and
saved the hospital for patients, staff and our community. Subsequently PCT
management cut the number of beds in the hospital from 28 to 24 citing
operational safety as the reason. OxComm had been running at virtually 100% capacity until its closure.
OxComm, like other community hospitals, is used almost exclusively by older
people. Now the majority of these patients are being diverted to other community
hospitals outside the city. This is taking beds from people mainly in West
Oxfordshire and South Oxfordshire. In addition it means that vulnerable older
patients from Oxford City get less contact from friends and family - who are
important in ensuring their wellbeing and speedy recovery. The PCT is also
paying for 8 beds in a private nursing facility in Oxford.
Each winter there is further demand on community beds by pensioner patients. This normally peaks around February. The council can be fined if they fail to provide places for patients who can not be discharged from acute hospitals. The PCT commissioners and their business consultants are transferring risk to patients and liabilities to the council tax payer by removing community hospital beds. The message to Oxfordshire's pensioners this winter must be - whatever you do - don't get sick. And if one community hospital is closed and care is outsourced to a private provider then every community service is at risk.
Responding to the situation
OxComm nursing staff are moving quickly to gather more information and
inform the public of this situation.
 | Union members have met with Andrew Smith MP in whose constituency OxComm is situated. Andrew Smith listened to the concerns of staff and has written to the PCT Chief Executive asking for an explanation of the PCT's actions. (See his response to the UNISON convenor here) | ||||||||||
| Staff have arranged a briefing session for the Oxford City member of the Health Scrutiny Committee. | ||||||||||
| The union is making contact with pensioner groups - the main users of community hospitals. | ||||||||||
| The union is raising the issue of whether this indefinite closure is lawful - any equality impact assessment would show a disproportionate disadvantage for black and minority ethnic pensioners. | ||||||||||
| Lord Darzi as part of the NHS Next Stage Review (leading local change)
said ... "... we are making five pledges on change in the NHS, which PCTs will have a duty to have regard to:
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