A PUBLIC petition demanding the reinstatement of beds at the Ellen Badger has been signed, sealed and delivered to Parliament tonight (Thursday).
As reported in the Herald previously, campaign group Beds for the Badger came up with the idea of creating the petition to ensure the voices of the people in Shipston and the surrounding areas are heard by those in power.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs can present a physical petition (eg, printed on paper) straight to the House of Commons. The petition must ask clearly for the House of Commons to take some action.
After being handed the petition, with over 4,000 signatures, Stratford MP Manuela Perteghella delivered it to Parliament – contained in four boxes.
Members of the campaign group Beds for the Badger went along today in support, including chair Alasdair Elliott and Shipston councillors John Dinnie and Dave Passingham.
Beds for the Badger campaigners, including chair Alasdair Elliott, and Shipston councillors John Dinnie and Dave Passingham, getting on the train at Moreton earlier today, on their way to Parliament.
The delivery of the petition coincides with the launch this week on the public consultation on community beds in south Warwickshire.
In 2019 plans for a new Ellen Badger hospital in Shipston to replace the old ‘unfit for purpose’ one were revealed by South Warwickshire University Foundation Trust. However when SWFT backtracked on the plans to include a bedded ward it justified its decision by saying bed numbers and locations were subject to a bed review across the south of the county. Eventually the county council asked SWFT/ICB to hold a public consultation.
Most of the old hospital was demolished and the new building is complete – but an old ward has been left and included as the prospective location of future beds.
After years of prevarication and hold-ups, Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and SWFT this week is asking the public to decide on the location of beds. However residents have been asked to decide by 14th February, when the consultation ends, between just two options:
Option A – Three sites: Distribute all 35 beds across three sites: Ellen Badger Hospital, Leamington Spa Hospital, and Stratford Hospital. This would reduce the number of beds currently at Stratford Hospital and Leamington Spa Hospital and return up to 12 beds to the Ellen Badger site
Option B – Two sites: Provide all 35 beds at two sites, Leamington Spa Hospital and Stratford Hospital. The wards would remain the same current size at Leamington Spa Hospital and Stratford Hospital and there would no longer be any beds at the Ellen Badger site.
Mr Elliott blamed health bosses for the way the consultation cynically way it divided communities.
He said: “It is cruel that a public body should use public money to pit local communities against each other. Leamington and Stratford have already been expanded by the beds that came from Shipston. It is disappointing to note that the NHS is supporting rural inequalities and the latest penalty for living in rural areas is health. This is the thin end of the wedge. It will be Leamington and Stratford’s execution next in order to balance the books and pay management salaries. There is no attempt to address the inherent problems that are so screamingly obvious.
“We have been trying to open up communication and work with the ICB for many months. We have a number of solutions and we hoped that by working as a team, exploring and refining we would provide long term answers. This consultation proves that this ICB fire fights by looking in the rear-view mirror with myopic eyes. A sustainable vision for the future is not on the agenda.”
People can take part in the South Warwickshire Community Hospital Rehabilitation Bed Consultation online at www.happyhealthylives.uk.