Protest Planned against St Michael's Closure

Following the leaked announcement that the Royal Cornwall Hospital's Trust were seeking to close St Michael's Hospital in Hayle 'in the shortest possible time' a protest has been planned for a march which will take place on Sunday, 27 August at 5:00pm. As many people as possible are asked to meet at Paradise Park where owner Nick Reynolds as offered free use of the car park there. The march will then progress down Foundry Hill, stopping off at St Michaels Hospital, and then through the town to the recreation ground.

People are also being encouraged to sign the petitions that are now available in many shops from Bodmin to St Just.

In a recent development  assurances have been given to patients and staff at at St Julia's Hospice (which is on the same site as St Michaels hospital),  that the hospice will not close or otherwise be adversely affected as a result of the closure of St Michael's Hospital. St Julia's Hospice is run by the independent charity Cornwall Hospice Care, but gets many essential services such as electricity, heating, water and oxygen from St Michael's. A spokesman said that: "There is no suggestion that St Julia's Hospice will be closed as a result of the proposed closure of St Michael's Hospital."

However there is understandable scepticism from the public as this statement comes in the wake of a previous reassuring statement from the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust which only two months ago denied there were any plans to close St Michael's. The recent statement also gives no assurances the Marie Therese House Occupational Therapy unit.

If St Michaels does close then it is very difficult to see how the services on which the Hospice relies could be cost-effectively provided. This has led to speculation that it is the intention to sell of St Michaels to the private sector in a deal which will see support for the hospice continue and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust buying back operations and other services for NHS patients from the newly privatised facility.

Such an arrangement would see an increase in expenditure in the long-term but could provide a significant 'one time' injection of cash to help the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust achieve its short term financial target. Indeed without such a private sector arrangement it is impossible to see how the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust could close St Michaels and still have any hope of meeting waiting list targets.

While it has now been confirmed that that the RCHT Chief Executive has resigned and been given a handsome golden handshake,  400 staff throughout the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust have received notice that their jobs are under review they may be made redundant. In addition staff over 65 years of age, those on temporary contracts and staff who have been employed for less than two years have been informed that their services are no longer required. Even free the meagre free refreshments that used to be given to hospital volunteers as a 'thank you' for their efforts at the end of their shift have been withdrawn to save a few pence.

The Chief Executive of Penwith District Council and others have questioned the legality of cutting services without going through the necessary consultation processes and questions about exactly why the projected deficit of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust as a whole - originally said to be £8m suddenly became £16m and is now forecast to be £31m Cornish MPs Andrew George and Julia Goldsworthy met with  Health Minister Lord Warner and urged his to think again about the funding for the NHS in Cornwall but it is reported that the meeting was 'less than satisfactory'.

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