Newark people are passionate about their hospital and want to be treated there when they are ill, district councillor Mrs Gill Dawn told colleagues on Tuesday.
Her comments came after a health review presentation by officers from NHS Nottinghamshire County to Newark and Sherwood District Council’s external relations and partnerships scrutiny committee.
Mrs Dawn said people with a serious illness did not want to go to Nottingham or Mansfield. They wanted, she said, to be treated near their home and where their families could be close by.
“It seems very much to me that Newark Hospital is going to end up as a cottage hospital — somewhere where people just go to convalesce,” Mrs Dawn said.
She said Grantham Hospital had already gone through a similar situation and ended up with very little.
Mrs Dawn said many people were terrified they were going to lose the services they had.
Mrs Irene Brown was concerned there would not be enough ambulances in Newark to take patients to other hospitals.
“We are talking about people’s lives here. When people dial 999 will there be an ambulance?” she said.
The director of communications and engagement for NHS Nottinghamshire County, Mr Matt Youdale, said they were working with the ambulance service to ensure vehicles would be available and they would meet target times.
He said national guidelines meant things could not remain as they were. He said they were asking people for their opinions on the options open.
He said on average Newark accident and emergency saw less than a patient an hour between 10pm and 6am, so financially it could be said they could not justify opening.
“But we wanted to let the people of Newark make that decision,” he said.<a href="../events/health/index.asp"><br><br>
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By Julian Caine 09
its already been decieded that services are being downgraded and as for a shortage of ambulances to take people to other hospitals not all ambulance staff are fully trained some are only medical assistants and if somebody requires urgent treatment and there isnt a paramedic paired up with them the patient cant be treated until arrival at hospital imagine having an heart attack and having to wait 20 mins till arrival at kings mill to be given belated cpr when your already clinically dead there has already been cases of people dying in newark because of ill trained ambulance staff imagine having to go to kings mill 20 mins delay will lead to loss of life HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME NOTTS PCT I HOPE NONE OF YOU FALL ILL IN NEWARK STOP THIS WHITEWASH NOW
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