HEALTH bosses have hit back at criticism of plans to remove the A&E and maternity departments at Redbridge's only hospital.

Health for North East London's (HFNEL) plans to reorganise health services in the area - which would include the loss of the two key units at King George Hospital - have come up against fierce opposition from many residents who believe the move would put lives at risk and heavy extra strain on Whipps Cross Hospital.

The plan has been opposed by Redbridge Council's Health Scrutiny which vowed to call on the secretary of state for health to reject it - with Ilford North MP Lee Scott also calling for it to be scrapped in Parliament.

Veteran community campaigner, Helen Zammett, of the Counties Residents Association, released a briefing on the proposals which showed estimated increased travel times to Whipps for residents in the west of the borough.

It also quoted a report by Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS trust saying that King George and Queen's Hospital combined had the "busiest maternity unit in London."

But a spokeswoman for HFNEL disputed some of these claims.

She said: "King George is not the busiest maternity in London, nor is it the busiest unit in north east London.

"In fact it is the smallest unit in north east London. In addition, projected birth rate is expected to rise much faster elsewhere – particularly Newham.

"In addition, there are just not enough midwives and senior doctors to provide a full maternity service at each site – we really need to increase the time that senior doctors are available on wards.

"We also need to ensure that there are enough midwives to provide one-to-one care to mothers once their labour is established.

"By concentrating more specialist services on fewer sites, we can significantly improve the services for mothers by having more midwives and consultants on duty and providing 24/7 specialist cover.

"When we asked people what they wanted from their health service they told us providing this kind of quality of care was the most important thing. And although King George Hospital would no longer have a birthing centre on site, there are nearby centres at Queen’s, Newham and Whipps Cross, which will offer this quality care and a midwife-led unit to be completed soon at Barking to offer low risk mothers the opportunity to give birth in a less clinical environment."

"Under our proposals up to 75% of people who currently use the accident and emergency department would continue to do so, in the Urgent Care Centre on site.

"In fact 85 per cent of people who currently come to King George A&E are not actually admitted. This means that only the most seriously ill people would go to Queen’s or Whipps Cross – and they deserve better treatment than is the case now.

"Our plans would mean that services are better organised, with more senior clinical input earlier in a patient's treatment and high quality care would be available across both sites and across North East London.

Ms Zammett also criticised the consultation itself, claiming residents were not given enough information to answer the attached questionnaire - and questioned why no community impact assessment had been carried out by HFNEL.

The HFNEL spokeswoman said: "These changes are certainly complex, and we have tried to simplify and explain them, without leaving out detail.

"This is why we have produced a summary document and an easy-read version as well as the full consultation document. The questionnaire was tested by our People’s Platform, made up of members of the public, was independently tested with readers by IPSOS Mori and was approved by the Plain Language Commission. We made changes following their feedback. In addition we are running roadshows throughout January and February where people can speak to NHS staff and we can take them through the proposals and the questionnaire face-to-face.

"An Integrated Impact Assessment is being carried out. Initial scoping and early documents are available on the website. We recently met with over 25 groups to discuss the plans as part of the impact assessment. Draft reports will be available shortly in order that the public can comment – or use the information to inform their response."

For more information visit: healthfornel.nhs.uk/