THE FIGHT to save the borough's only A&E service will be discussed at a special council meeting tonight (January 4).
Redbridge Council will meet to discuss plans to shut the facility at King George Hospital in Ilford, which would mean patients would be sent to either Whipps Cross in Leytonstone or Queen's Hospital in Romford for emergency care.
On December 16, Health for North East London – a trust set up under the previous government to propose radical changes to healthcare in the area – decided that the service would shut, arguing that this would increase the overall quality of care.
However, campaigners say the closure would damage patient safety and dramatically increase transfer times.
Labour councillor Andy Walker, a member of the health scrutiny committee, plans to refer the decision to the government's health secretary Andrew Lansley later this month, in an effort to have it overturned.
The plans have proved to be hugely controversial among residents, and there have been a number of public protests against the changes, including a series of marches through Ilford town centre.
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