200 LIVES SAVED SINCE A&E CHANGES
Figures revealed at public meeting held by local MP
Local MP Kitty Ussher recently organised a public meeting to hold hospital bosses to account over the changes that have been taking place at Burnley and Blackburn hospitals. The well-attended meeting at Sion Baptist Church in October 2009 was designed to give constituents the chance to scrutinise what progress had been made by the hospital management since Kitty launched her "sort out our hospital" campaign in Janaury 2009. At the meeting it was revealed by the consultant doctors that 200 lives had been saved since the controversial changes to A&E, and that mortality figures had significantly improved and were now around the national average. And there was good news that some blue-light ambulances are now going once more to Burnley. |  |
But the hospital still had a long way to go to meet the target of a four-hour wait for A&E, even though ambulance times haven't suffered because of the changes.
The meeting also heard that staff morale ahd significantly improved, with 80 per cent of staff now believing that they gave good care. And there has been progress on building the new specialist maternity unit, which should be up and running by mid 2010.
Kitty said: "I know this has been a very controversial issue, and one that I have campaigned hard on but we cannot deny that it has now been proved independently that 200 lives have been saved as a result of the changes.
"I challenge the local Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicians to say if they would prefer these changes not to have happened, and these people to no longer be with us?"
You can download a copy of the presentation made by Burnley Hospital at the meeting here
