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Meeting at Leighton Hospital
Local MP’s Meet with Health Chiefs at Leighton Hospital
Eddisbury MP Stephen O’Brien – Shadow Health Minister – and Edward Timpson MP for Crewe & Nantwich, met with John Moran Chairman, and Phil Morley, the Chief Executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) at Leighton Hospital on Friday 30 January, to discuss a range of local healthcare issues.
The two MPs were given a tour of the hospital when they were able to meet with a number of healthcare professionals before they sat down to discuss the hospital’s 6-hour closure to new emergency admissions in December, First Responders, ambulance response times, the fight against hospital superbugs and the Trust’s plans for the future.
Stephen O’Brien said: “I was delighted to be able to meet with the Chairman, John Moran, Chief Executive, Phil Morley and other healthcare professionals to discuss a number of key issues. During my tour, I was able to see the newly upgraded wards and A&E Department – again the pressure on these new facilities will return with the snow that has arrived this week.
“The hospital’s temporary closure to new emergency admissions back in December - which caused concern among local people - and winter planning to avoid a repetition in future years were also discussed. Ward 11 was opened back in November to provide additional bed capacity and an extra ward was also made available to deal with the high number of A&E admissions requiring hospital beds. It is important that in future years the number of additional wards and bed capacity is correlated more closely with the severity of the winter weather forecasts predicted by the Met Office. However, the doubling of admissions over this period, as well as the spread of flu and the winter vomiting bug among both patients and members of staff placed the system under severe pressure, from which important lessons have been learnt.
“During the meeting we also raised concerns about the future of our local First Responders and pressed the case for the retention of key parts of this excellent service. Both I and Edward Timpson fully support our local First Responders and the invaluable contribution they make to improving emergency response times, as well as the administration of vital first aid and life saving drugs.
“Equally we were both impressed with the Trust’s continuing commitment to tackling hospital superbugs and the standard of care provided for elderly patients.
“We will be continuing to work closely with the Trust on these issues and would like to extend our thanks to all the doctors, nurses and members of staff at Leighton Hospital for their continuing hard work, professionalism and commitment to providing the highest possible standards of care for their patients.”
3rd February 2009
   
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