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MP
for the Gosport constituency, Peter Viggers, has pressed
for greater use of local healthcare services.
In the House of Commons yesterday he asked the Secretary
of State for Health about planned changes for the greater
use of local hospitals in the diagnosis and treatment of
accident and emergency cases.
He said, “I want to see local hospitals being more
widely used for appropriate treatment. In our area, the local
hospitals’ trust has studied ways of using Haslar’s
Accident Treatment Centre to a greater extent and has come
to the conclusion that more cases which are currently handled
at the Queen Alexandra Hospital can instead be treated at
Haslar. Also, a recent government publication, “Keeping
the NHS Local – A New Direction of Travel”, states
that a model will be studied in West Cornwall in which patients
are assessed in a local unit, with doctors from the nearest
acute hospital site advising remotely via a telemedicine
link. I should emphasise that A&E doctors are very concerned
that serious emergency cases should be treated at Queen Alexandra
Hospital, as it has full A&E facilities. Hospitals and
the Ambulance Service should therefore provide clear guidelines
to avoid any risk of misunderstanding.
“Although I have accepted the need to close temporarily the Accident Treatment
Centre at night due to staffing implications as a result of the Iraq conflict,
I have received written assurances from the Trust’s Chief Executive, Alan
Bedford, that the unit will be re-opened at night as soon as is feasible, and
that its use will be extended to include the provision of more services. “I will
be working very closely with the Trust to ensure that progress
is made.
“I am grateful to the A&E
staff at Queen Alexandra Hospital which I have visited
twice recently, and the Chairman
and Acting Chief Executive of the Ambulance Trust who will
be meeting the Save Haslar Group on 23rd June.”.
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