Chief Executive denies further A&E closure

Responding to a story that appeared in yesterday’s press, Pennine Acute Hospitals Chief Executive, John Saxby has responded angrily to claims that plans were being drawn up to close the Accident and Emergency Department at North Manchester General Hospital as part of the ‘Healthier Together’ consultation which is studying the provision of NHS services across the region.

Mr Saxby wrote to all Pennine Acute staff yesterday evening, (March 6th) in an attempt to reassure them that there were current plans to close the unit. His letter says: “... You may already have seen, or be aware of, a piece in today’s [newspaper] which claims that the A&E at North Manchester General Hospital could be axed. The newspaper says that some members of Pennine Acute staff contacted them because they believe the A&E is under threat.

“I am sorry if any of you have heard about this story and are worried as a result. I want you to hear directly from me that it is incorrect. No plans have been developed concerning the A&E at North Manchester General Hospital - or any of our sites. 

“Developing proposals for how and where some services are provided cannot be looked at in isolation. This is because there are important dependencies between some kinds of care which are critical for delivering safe, high-quality care and the best outcomes for patients. Emergency care is one of these.

"For this reason, hospital provision for all of Greater Manchester will be addressed as a whole within the broad Healthier Together programme. Led by commissioners and clinicians - including representatives from our own trust - with input from patients and the public, Healthier Together will review, make long-term recommendations for, and lead the design and delivery of the care system across the entire Greater Manchester area. This will include all aspects of healthcare, including emergency and urgent care.

“No proposals are yet developed. We are at the start of the process by which, working together, we’ll develop a long-term vision for our future, which includes reviewing all aspects of our business. Brian Steven - our Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance - is the Board’s designated lead for this programme and is working with a dedicated team to put the framework in place to enable us to begin our transformation journey.

"Our senior clinical leaders are helping with this early work, including testing the methodology we will later use to assess and shape possible scenarios for our future. It is essential to ensure our approach is the right one before we begin, so that we can be confident we will have the right tools to correctly test and understand the implications of any future scenarios...”

Although the story appears to be speculative, there have been concerns for many years that North Manchester General could lose its A & E Department if there was to be a regional reorganisation of accident and emergency services and that this could lead to a downgrading of other services at the hospital, similar to those which have occurred at the Rochdale Infirmary, but these have never materialised.

A trade union source at the Trust told Rochdale Online that the story appeared to be ‘unhelpful speculation’ at this stage and that she was unaware of any plans involving the closure of the A & E Department.