Have Your Say

At last BHU patients are to get the chance to have their say at the “Information and Discussion” meetings that are being hosted by the Ashford & St Peter’s Hospital Trust to take place at St Peter’s Hospital (Chertsey House) on Wednesday 9 August at 6.30 – 8.00pm and Saturday 9 September at 10.30am – 12pm. We welcome these meetings and would urge all BHU patients to attend so that you can explain to the decision makers how much you rely on the services of the Blanche Heriot Unit and what it would mean to you if the Blanche Heriot Unit closes and you have to go a clinic on the outskirts of Guildford. However, these are NOT CONSULTATION meetings. As far as the service commissioners, Surrey County Council and NHS England, are concerned, the decision is already taken – the service at Blanche Heriot will transfer to Central & North West London NHS Trust (CNWL) on 1 October and the Blanche Heriot Unit will close. The BHU Patients Campaign Group is mounting a legal challenge to this decision. In the meantime we call upon the commissioners to agree now to delay the transfer of the service for a further six months to allow proper consultation to take place with BHU patients, starting with the meetings on 9 August and 9 September. We are confident that a rigorous review of the requirement for sexual health, HIV and GUM services in Surrey, with full weight given to input from people who know what is needed at first hand - the patients, GPs, other health professionals and bodies such as the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People - will lead to the retention of a hospital-based Level 3 service at Blanche Heriot. We are also confident that a detailed cost benefit analysis will demonstrate that this is an affordable option given the current unrealistic assumption that a £2million (33%) cut can be made in the cost of providing these services to the people of Surrey. So turn up to the meetings at St Peter’s Hospital on Wednesday 9th August and Saturday 9thSeptember and have your say. IT'S TIME FOR US TO BE LISTENED TO.