REACH campaign in the news 24/10/2013

The Gloucestershire Echo Online has reported on our campaign

“Campaigners fighting to overturn a decision to downgrade emergency services at Cheltenham General Hospital are urging organisations of all shapes and sizes to lend their support to the cause.

Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce, the main body behind Restore Emergency Services at Cheltenham General Hospital (REACH), is in the process of writing to parish councils and other community groups.”

Read the full article by clicking here,  or see our archive of press coverage

To get in touch

Email: Julia@REACHnow.org.uk, or Telephone: 01242 544599

See our webpage on “What you can do to help“

 

 

An Appeal from Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce

You may remember at the Chamber meeting on 8^th October I promised to email those of you whose towns were affected detrimentally by the reduction in overnight Accident & Emergency services at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Briefly the Cheltenham Chamber is spearheading, through a newly created organisation called REACH, a programme for the restoration of 24/7 emergency facilities.  Please see www.reachnow.org.uk where you can view a 14-page submission by Martin Horwood MP.

To this end we are writing to all the Parish Council Chairs in the areas affected asking for their support and encouraging them to write directly to Dr Helen Miller, Chair of Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG).

We shall also be writing to professional bodies, associations and other groups in a similar vein.

Your own support representing the business community is very important indeed and once you have had a chance to read the attached correspondence [see our ‘Documents’ page], which we think is self-explanatory (please let us know if it is not!) we would be most appreciative indeed if you also write/email Dr Helen Miller at GCCG expressing your concern on behalf of the businesses in your town.

Support from individual businesses and residents would also be really helpful.  The GCCG, in existence for the benefit of Gloucestershire’s population, must understand the extent of our concern.  Unfortunately a judicial review following legal advice is not practical.

This is a most important issue because we feel that unless we take strong action now there is the real possibility in the not too distant future of Cheltenham Hospital being downgraded to a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) a retrograde step for some 200,000 residents in North Gloucestershire.

Please let me know if you require further information.

Kind regards

Michael

M R Ratcliffe

Chief Executive

Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce

Wolseley House

Cheltenham

GL50 1TH

England

Website launched

This is a website for the campaign to Restore Emergency At Cheltenham Hospital (REACH), which is pursuing the following aim:

“To have a fully functioning, fully staffed A&E Department operating 24/7 re-instated at Cheltenham General Hospital, which serves a population of at least 200,000 in Cheltenham, Tewkesbury Borough and the North Cotswolds, at the earliest possible opportunity.”

The focus of the REACH campaign is, as the title suggests, to secure the re-establishment of a full 24/7 Accident and Emergency department at Cheltenham hospital to serve the people of that town and the surrounding districts of Gloucestershire. The campaign is also keeping a watching brief on the related A&E services: the 111 phone line; ambulance provision; and the out of GP hours service. All of these appear to be under pressure and all impact on the quality of response to patients at times of acute needs.

To contact us email: Julia@REACHnow.org.uk or phone 01242 544599.

If you use twitter you can follow @reach_now, if you do not have a twitter account you can still visit twitter.com/reach_now for the latest updates.

If you want to support the campaign, please make a donation via Paypal:

 

See below for a summary of the information on each page:

What Is REACH? Basic information about the campaign

What has happened at Cheltenham A&E? A short article on the changes that have been made recently to Accident and Emergency services at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Wider Context: A brief survey of the wider picture regarding services related to A&E in Gloucestershire, and pressures in the NHS that appear to be behind the local changes.

What can you do to help? A list of suggested actions you can take, including contact details for local MPs.

Press Coverage: A collection of links to coverage of the REACH campaign in the media.

Our Supporters: A list of significant individuals and groups who have signed up to support the REACH campaign

Media Enquiries/Press Releases: Contact details for members of the press and a collection of all press releases issued

Links: A selection of suggested sources of further information.