The Stop the Downgrade Campaign

Working to reinstate St. John's Hospital Livingston as an Acute Emergency Hospital

St. John's, the heartbeat of West Lothian

Contact us on our confidential hotline - Use this to tell us of ANY threats to hospital services - ANONYMITY GUARANTEED  
Use this button to confidentially let us know of any Service threat activities at St. John's

 



Next Public meeting 31st May 2012 at the Kaim Park Hotel, Bathgate 7.30pm

 
Send us your comments for our letters page
 
St. John's Hospital Stakeholder Group - Meeting minutes
   
What you can do to help the Campaign
   
E-mail us - get on our distribution list for newsletters and updates
   
   
   
   
   

 

Bullying report
NHS internal report into waiting times
PCW report on waiting times

Latest news from the ATSSJH party

 

14th. May 2012.

Worried Staff at St. John's raise concerns over Patient care, staffing levels and parking.

Read the SDC letters page here..


5th. May 2012.

ATSSJH Party - Election Results

After a hard fought election campaign, the result for us has been extremely disappointing. In losing all of our Council seats, West Lothian has lost a dedicated voice for health care at the heart of the Council. However, despite our hard work and commitment over the last five years, we respect the right of the electorate to ignore the ongoing threat to St. John’s services at the hands of an incompetent and discredited Health Board. This is democracy.

Read the full ATSSJH statement here


4th May 2012

NHS Lothian set for second probe into its waiting times

A FURTHER probe into NHS Lothian waiting lists is set to be carried out, it has emerged.

The health board has said it plans to follow the Scottish Government’s direction to every board in the country to review waiting times practices as part of its internal audit this year.

And it could also be scrutinised by Audit Scotland as part of a newly announced independent national review of waiting times practices..

Read the full Scotsman article here


3rd May 2012

ATSSJH Party Election day statement

St John’s is being dismantled under our noses. First we lost emergency surgery and trauma orthopaedics, and now the children’s ward is under threat. The trainee doctors were withdrawn in April and the ward is only being kept open by the consultants working overtime. This agreement ends in July. NHS Lothian is talking about a “regional” service which means our children will have to go to the Sick Kids. Worse, there are plans to reduce the number of births at St John’s, forcing more of us to travel to the Infirmary.

Some claim the hospital is busier than ever. But the “growth” is mainly in outpatients and minor surgery. Most surgical patients, people with serious illnesses and anyone with complex problems are sent to Edinburgh. Our children are next.

West Lothian people fought to build St John’s after Bangour. Now we have to fight again to keep it in its present form. Our presence in the Council since 2007 has so far prevented the further loss of services. We will oppose the Health Board’s repeated attempts to downgrade St John’s, and we won’t let the children’s ward go.

We will also keep St John’s in the news, having publicised much already including paediatrics, the waiting times fraud and torchlight operations at the Infirmary.

We do not oppose any political party. But we do stand with St John’s because this is our last chance to prevent major service change which will diminish the hospital forever. No-one consults the public before services are lost. We believe that we deserve better.

In voting for us you are making it clear that West Lothian will no longer be damaged to pay for a PFI hospital in Edinburgh.

In voting for us, you are asking that we continue to hold the balance of power in the Council so that its entire strength can be placed behind St John’s.

In voting for us you are ensuring that we can extend our five year track record of providing efficient, high-quality Council services delivered with no increase in local taxation.

In voting for us, you are giving a voice to the St John’s staff who are too afraid to speak, and to the thousands of patients who are desperate to keep their care local.

When you cast your vote, we ask that you think about what kind of hospital you want in West Lothian.

 

The Action to Save St. John's Hospital party

www.atssjh.org.uk


1st May 2012

Opinions masquerading as facts do nothing to preserve St John's as a 24/7 acute, emergency hospital. Here are the facts which can be verified through the minutes of the St John's Hospital Stakeholder Group and NHS Lothian Board papers.

Fact : NHS Lothian has known that a staffing crisis in the children’s ward was imminent since at least 2011, when they were written to by senior paediatric doctors

Fact : In April, all the paediatric trainee doctors at St John's were withdrawn..

Read the full ATSSJH statement here


27th April 2012

ST. JOHN’S HOSPITAL CAMPAIGN NEWSLETTER – ELECTION ISSUE

On Thursday May 3rd the people of West Lothian get their last chance to prevent the downgrade of the Children’s Ward at St. John’s. The Health Board has stated that the existing service will be maintained only till June. Once the election is over we believe the Board will say that there is not enough staff and that the Children’s Ward will be closed in the evenings and at weekends. When this happens the Special Care Baby Unit will close also. Worse still, the Board has also indicated that fewer women may be allowed to have their babies at St. John’s. And to add to the misery, children coming to A&E at St. John’s will either be transferred by ambulance or their parents asked to take them directly to the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh..

Read the full ATSSJH Newsletter here

GIVING YOUR YOUR VOTE TO ATSSJH ON MAY 3RD IS A VOTE FOR St. JOHN'S!


27th. April 2012.

Barbour’s Short Cut to Retirement - statement by ATSSJH party

James Barbour, the former Chief Executive of NHS Lothian since 2001 has “retired”, citing the need to do “something new and different”.

His departure comes after some of the most disgraceful scandals in NHS Lothian’s history, revealed exclusively by this party..

Read the full ATSSJH statement here

 


23rd April 2012

Disbelief as firm running Edinburgh Royal Infirmary gives itself 99.14% for performance

Read the full Scotsman article here


21st April 2012

NHS chiefs urged to scrap Consort facilities contract

HEALTH bosses were today urged to take the maintenance contract for Edinburgh Royal Infirmary back in-house after the blunder by Consort which plunged two operating theatres into darkness, leaving one patient to be stitched up by torchlight.

NHS Lothian revealed staff had to ventilate the patient by hand after Consort cut off the power supply..

Read the full Scotsman article here

 


20th April 2012

ATSSJH motion on Paediatrics to West Lothian Council

Motion to West Lothian Council 17th. April, 2012.

Paediatric Services at St. John’s Hospital.

This Council notes the attempts made by the Action to Save St. John’s Hospital Party, supported by the Labour, Conservative and Independent members to establish the facts regarding paediatric and neonatal services at St. John’s Hospital.

Council further notes the comments made by the Leader of the Council and NHS Lothian that those who were trying to establish the facts were “scaremongering”; that there was “no threat” to paediatrics at St. John’s; and that those seeking the truth about contingency plans were behaving “disgracefully”.

Council therefore notes with astonishment the paediatrics paper presented to NHS Lothian Board on 28 th. March 2012. The paper states, inter alia, under “Key Risks”:

“4.1 An inability to staff the middle grade rota at St John’s for every shift with someone who has the necessary competencies to cover the paediatric service and the neonatal service.

Read the full Motion to West Lothian Council here


April 19th 2012

ERI surgeon forced to operate by torchlight

A PATIENT had to be sewn up by torchlight after the room was plunged into darkness when workers cut the power at two theatres at the Royal Infirmary.

The operating theatres suffered a complete power cut when staff from Consort, the private firm which runs the hospital, started scheduled maintenance work too early and switched the electricity off while the theatres were in use, instead of waiting until surgery was over..

 

Read the Edinburgh Evening News article here


NEWSLETTER 16th April 2012

NHS Lothian has failed once again to protect the interests of patients.

Their programme of centralisation has forced many thousands of West Lothian patients to travel to the Royal Infirmary. But it is clear that this is an unsafe hospital and that the Health Board will try to cover up serious mistakes which could cost lives.

On Thursday 29th March 2012 at 3.45 pm, two important procedures were ongoing in theatres 1 and 2 at the Royal Infirmary. In one, a surgeon was completing major surgery while in the other an anaesthetist was carefully inserting a needle into a patient’s back through which to administer the anaesthetic drug.

Suddenly, without warning, the power to both theatres was cut off! It was 20 minutes before the power returned. Meanwhile, the surgeon was forced to stitch up a gaping abdominal wound by torchlight and it was only through a miracle that the anaesthetist didn’t end up paralysing the patient in the theatre next door..

Read the full Newsletter here

 


April 1st 2012

The SDC has said it for years-NOW IT'S OFFICIAL

Two firms to probe claims of bullying by NHS bosses

TWO outside organisations are to be brought in to probe bullying among NHS Lothian management in the wake of the waiting times scandal.

Board chairman Charles Winstanley is expected to give details next week, following approval by Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Dr Winstanley was ordered to carry out the investigation into “inappropriate and oppressive management styles” at the health board after auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers uncovered large-scale manipulation of waiting list figures.

Staff had suspended up to 5000 patients from the waiting list in order to hit targets for the number of people treated within 18 weeks of referral. Auditors found that staff were fiddling figures because they felt pressured by senior managers not to deliver bad news on waiting times.

Read the full Scotsman article here


April 1st 2012

HEALTH chiefs are drawing up contingency plans to close the children’s ward at St John’s Hospital at weekends in the wake of a staffing crisis.

NHS Lothian insists the move would be highly unlikely but has been forced to outline an emergency plan due to recruitment difficulties.

It also said its maternity unit might only be able to handle straightforward births.

In a paper presented to the NHS Lothian board yesterday, a section titled “Key Risks” said there was a potential danger that the health board couldn’t staff every shift for the paediatric and neonatal services.

Read the full Edinburgh Evening News article here


March 28th 2012

Waiting list scandal man reveals shock at English proposal

Alex Kerr, 59, who is disabled by osteoarthritis, went to the doctor about 18 months ago when he developed a painful growth on the instep of his foot.

At an appointment at the orthopedics department of St John’s Hospital, Livingston, Mr Kerr was told he should have surgery to remove it and was put on the waiting list.

Shortly after, he received a phone call from NHS Lothian offering him an appointment at a hospital in Northumberland.

Read the full Edinburgh Evening News article here


MORE staff at NHS Lothian are set to be suspended over the waiting lists scandal amid warnings it will cost up to £9 million to sort out..

Read the full Scotsman article here


20th March 2012

comment


20th March 2012

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2012

The Downgrade Continues – St John’s Is Being Torn Apart!!

This is the newsletter we hoped we would never have to write.

NHS Lothian, in their determination to downgrade St John’s to the status of a geriatric hospital, is now on the verge of destroying the children’s ward. They plan to use the pretext of the Postgraduate Dean asking for all paediatric trainee doctors to be removed from St John’s on April 11 th.

The crisis in paediatrics has been recognised for years. The Board knew about it but deliberately did nothing until the very last moment. The doctors in the children’s ward begged the Board last year to save the situation. They were ignored. Now the Board is scrambling to find doctors, nurses, indeed anyone from anywhere to help shore up children’s services at St John’s until after the May election. Once this is behind us they will pull the plug. First the Board will close the children’s ward at weekends, then at night, and then forever. The beds which are released will be eventually used for geriatrics from Edinburgh who cannot be accommodated in the undersized Royal Infirmary. This is happening already in some parts of St John’s where services have been centralised to Edinburgh leaving behind empty beds.

The downgrading of paediatrics is a threat not just to our children but to us all..

Read the full newsletter here


2nd March 2012

EMERGENCY SURGERY FOR NHS AUDIT

Scotsman article published 1st March 2012

  • The Scottish Government has ordered a halt to an audit into NHS Lothian's waiting times - so it could take charge.
  • The Government has now insisted that it instructs the investigation and receives the report first.
  • NHS Lothian Chairman suggests that the' integrity' of the Board has been called into question.
 

Read the full Scotsman article here

 


St. John's Stakeholder Group - Minutes of latest meeting 11th January 2012


20th February 2012

AN UPDATE FROM ST. JOHN’S

SDC newsletter - February 20th 2012

Contents

* The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) unanounced visit to St. John's January 2012.

* St John’s received lavish praise for the high standard of cleanliness throughout the hospital.

* But HEI was damning when it came to staffing levels in St. John's.

* Lothian Health Board has slashed staff at St John’s to the point where the wards are now unsafe.

* These changes were noticed by the HEI who included it in their draft report.

* The SDC asks for the draft report to be published in full.
* The Scottish Government needs to explain its role in the removal of paediatric trainees.
 

Read the SDC February 20th 2012 newsletter here

 


 

DESPITE NHS DENIALS THE CHILDREN’S WARD AT St. JOHN'S IS UNDER THREAT

SDC newsletter - January 27th 2012

Contents

* Despite NHS denials the Children's ward at St. John's is under threat

* Paediatric trainees at St. John's withdrawn from April 4th

* Consultants warned months ago that they couldn't deliver a safe service

* No local cross party/MSP support for St. John's

* NHS Lothian to get extra millions to spend on Edinburgh and private hospitals while empty

* facilities at St. John's remain unused
 

Read the SDC January 27th 2012 newsletter here

 


17th January 2012

SDC newsletter January 17th 2012

Contents

* Sturgeon slams NHS chiefs over English surgery offer

* NHS director's massive salary reward for constant attrition of services

* Consultant recruitement stalled as St. John's is seen as liable to become a 'geriatric hospital'

* Potentially serious conflict of interest re NHS Consultants and private hospital work

* St John's staff austerity sacrifices as NHS executives enjoy huge salaries and run up deficit

* More services at St. John's including the Childrens' ward potentially vulnerable

*

Read the SDC January 17th 2012 newsletter here


14th January 2012

Sturgeon slams NHS chiefs over English surgery offer

We would like to thank the three SDC members who highlighted the plight of friends and family who were offered surgical operations down south. They chose to stay loyal to their local hospital and refused. What they didn't know was that in doing so, it gave NHS Lothian the chance to take them off the waiting times statistics to make their performance look better than it acutally was. We've been saying it for years: you can't trust NHS Lothian with facts and figures!
 
The article can be found below. Although the story quotes Labour MSPs, let's not lose sight of the the fact that it was the SDC membership who raised this with Action to Save St. John's Hospital Councillors Gordon Beurskens and Ellen Glass. They took this up through the Stakeholders Group, and after giving the story to the Sunday Times, the issue gained momentum.
 
We have them to thank for the interevention of the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary. If it had been left to our MSPs, it probably wouldn't have seen the light of day. But worse still, Ellen and Gordon got no credit for the work they've done, and the Labour Party has yet again stolen credit for their work. Well, we are grateful for what they do. And long may it continue.
 
The Council elections are only a few weeks away. We cannot afford to forget all that they have achieved on our behalf. Your votes will count now more than ever. If we hadn't had the influence the Action to Save St. John's Party have since 2007, who knows where we would have been. Rest assured, the bigger parties wouldn't have been paying as close attention to detail as they have.
 
Read the story here, and watch out for our newsletter to be released this week!

NHS bosses have been rapped by the Health Secretary for offering surgery in England to patients from the Lothians – then removing them from waiting list targets when they declined..

Read the full Evening News article here


28th November 2011

Dismay as watchdogs see doctors treating patients

Members of the NHS Lothian Board said they feared the inspections could intrude on patient privacy and lead to wide-ranging conclusions being drawn from a small number of observations. They have also queried the level of training of the inspectors..

Read the Evening News article here

 

English treatment is off table for patients

PATIENTS from the Lothians are no longer being offered the option of treatment in England to avoid lengthy waits. The halt on treatment south of the Border was introduced after NHS Lothian chief executive James Barbour announced he had launched a probe ...

Read the Scotsman article here

 


25th October 2011

NHS LOTHIAN ADMITS “MASSAGING” WAITING TIMES!!!

NHS Lothian Board has been “massaging” waiting times figures to mislead the Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, and the public.

The conduct of the Board is disgraceful.

The SDC calls upon the Health Secretary to conduct an enquiry into NHS Lothian’s practice of offering patients, often from West Lothian, operations in Northumberland and Harrogate. When these patients refuse, they are then withdrawn from the waiting times guarantee!

Read more here

Read the Scotsman article here


You read it here first.........

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh unannounced inspection report
 
For years we have been saying that the RIE was a mess! Now the evidence proves it. The national media have now caught up with us after publication yesterday of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate following their visit to the RIE in August.
 
But you didn't need the nationals to tell you: we published it last week on this site, and we highlighted that the Board failed to publish its own monitoring statistics for August. Was that because they knew what was coming in the report? Of course it was! Now the question has to be asked whether their own monitoring figures, that contrast starkly with the report findings, are reliable. Their answers will be interesting!
 
Not only does the report highlight the failures in general standards of cleanliness, it catalogues a list of failures including inappropriate handling of dirty linen; toilets not being used increasing the risk of Legionnaire's disease; equipment not fit for purpose; dangerous handling of sharps (needles etc); hand washing and decontamination procedures not being followed, to name but a few.
 
We don't blame hard pressed nursing staff for these failures. The fault clearly lies at the door of NHS Lothian. Their own monitoring has quite obviously failed. And while they continue to cut the numbers of frontline staff, we fear that this will be the thin edge of the wedge. They pay monstrous fees to the PFI contract that provides a get-rich-quick scheme for shareholders underwritten by the taxpayer, who in turn pay domestic staff a pittance to maximise their profits.

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh unannounced inspection report Sept 2011 (PDF, 492K)

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh unannounced inspection action plan Sept 2011 (PDF, 1030K)

 


September 26th 2011

PEOPLE with broken bones could be forced to wait 12 hours before seeing a doctor.

Read the Express article here


September 26th 2011

Care warning as nursing staff hit 'breaking point'...

Read the Herald Scotland article here


Newsletter September 2011

CHILDREN’S WARD SHOCKER !!

Informed sources have told the SDC that the Health Board plan to downgrade the children’s ward at St John’s! This is part of the plan to pour almost one BILLION pounds into the new Sick Kids hospital which the Board want to build right beside the Royal Infirmary at Little France. The reason is simple. The Board needs hard cash to pay the anticipated cost of £30 million every year for 30 years to the company which will build the new hospital. This money can only come from savings and one of the obvious targets is the existing children’s ward at St John’s...

Read the full September 2011 newsletter here

 



THE STOP THE DOWNGRADE CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

The primary aim of our Campaign is an immediate stop to the transfer of services to Edinburgh. It is our belief that Lothian is served best by TWO acute, emergency hospitals – St. John’s and Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary.It is essential that services in both hospitals are made safe and sustainable. This is clinically and ethically appropriate. It will allow also the overwhelming majority of Lothian’s population to enjoy high quality emergency services close to their homes. On the St John’s site this will require a considerable enhancement of the existing catchment area from 170000 to at least 250000.
 
Moreover, St John’s will need to provide a mix of local and regional services. The latter should include a component of emergency general surgery. This in turn will provide support for Intensive Care, Accident and Emergency and the Medical Unit.Thanks to the dedication and hard work from our friends in the Action to Save St John’s Hospital Party (www.atssjh.org.uk), we have been successful in retaining existing services at St. John’s, facilitating millions of pounds of investment in the hospital and removing parking charges totally for the patients, visitors and staff.
 
Through public activism we have helped create a stakeholder group whereby the public in West Lothian can influence change at St. John’s through Council representatives. We intend to build on St John’s existing strengths while providing relief to Edinburgh’s hard-pressed Royal Infirmary. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary cannot cope with its workload and it fails continually to admit its patients promptly.
 
Repatriation of services away from Edinburgh back to St. John’s coupled with rezoning will help it provide more equitable health care in Lothian and support Edinburgh’s failing Royal Infirmary. As services return to St John’s it is inevitable that the infrastructure will need to be built up. In this way, we would hope to see the return of specialised laboratory services such as Pathology, and the Mortuary.
 

Be patient! Progress will be slow. However, what matters is the destination! We are working towards re-establishing St John’s as a fully-fledged, fully-staffed emergency general hospital which will evolve to meet the long-term needs of the rapidly expanding local population as well as making a significant contribution to the totality of health care across the whole of Lothian.

 

 
The Stop the Downgrade Campaign Aims and Objectives
 
How to complain to NHS Lothian - complaints made easy
 
Downgraded or not? here are the facts about the services which have been removed from St. John's and the supposed 'new' services added
 
What does the future hold for St. John's? What else is under threat?