About us (NJG To check)
The Save the DGH Campaign team like to think that they are representing the entire community within Eastbourne and surrounding towns and villages, but not only that we also think what's good for us is good for Hastings, and we felt we should take this opportunity to let you know that Save the DGH Campaign and Hands Off the Conquest Campaign are working 100% for a better outcome for BOTH towns.
Save the DGH Campaign Group members are:
Monica Corrina-Kavakli Secretary and Founder member
The Very Reverend Wallace Benn Bishop of Lewes
Nigel Waterson Founder member and MP
Stephen Lloyd Lib-Dem Spokesperson
Cllr Colin Belsey Former Mayor of Eastbourne
Ian Lucas Former Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council
Cllr David Tutt Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council
Dr John Clarke Eastbourne GP
Vincent Argent Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Sandy Medway Former non-exec director of NHS Trust
Wendy Beechward Founder member and Maternity Focus Group
Cllr Beryl Healy Lib-Dem Councillor & former nurse
Richard Goude Labour Spokesperson
Tim Cobb Public Relations
Barry Davis Legal Advisor
Richard Booth Treasurer
Liz Walke Chair and Founder member
All services are at risk..
The two Documents are: Creating an NHS Fit for the Future - First Steps for Improving Services in Surrey and Sussex - February 2006 Creating an NHS Fit for the Future - Statement March 2006
SO, WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED?
The main proposal under consideration is to upgrade the Special Care Baby Unit at Hastings to accommodate around 1300 of these births from Eastbourne with an estimated 400 births being catered for at a ‘low-risk’ birthing centre here.
WHAT WILL THAT MEAN FOR FAMILIES IN EASTBOURNE?
This would represent aserious risk to health, untold discomfort, greater inconvenience and far less choice. For instance it would mean that during pregnancy a woman would be forced to make a round trip of 1 hour and 30 minutes just to have her baby’s heart monitored, as no such equipment would be available in a ‘low-risk’ unit.
WILL IT SAVE MONEY?
No. According to a Clinical Services Review carried out in 2004, such a move would make no financial sense whatsoever. The EDGH claim that the proposal is yet to be costed.
Giving birth is always an unpredictable event. Every parent in the UK should have the right to expect a full range of maternity care available locally. Why should Eastbourne be any different?
- The Trust is proposing (obviously they say they are just looking at options) the following:
- Keeping the maternity unit at Hastings as it is but upgrading the Special Care Baby Unit
- Making the maternity unit at Eastbourne low risk and closing the Special Care Baby Unit
- Leaving Crowborough as it is (this is the assumption because it hasn’t been mentioned)
- Clinical Service Review in 2004. This review went through Options Appraisal and come out that status quo is best option.
- Reason that the unit has been closing is staff shortages or capacity issues. Seems like Trust Management have deliberately created this issue.
- In terms of care – Midwife led unit at Eastbourne in the Acute Hospital. Hastings runs a consultant led service.
- Trust has trouble recruiting for midwives in Hastings but OK in Eastbourne.There is a big driver in midwifery for normality – that is a non-medicalised births.Midwives don’t like working in large units (birth rate over 3,000) as they become ‘baby factories’ and, in turn, the care can be very medicalised.
- Of the 1,700, only 400 women would be classified at low risk if Eastbourne was a birthing centre. That is assuming that these women want a low risk option.
- Trust are saying they will ‘consider applying for Neo-natal level 2'. Apparently they SHA has decreed that there can only be one Neo-natal level 2 unit in a region and Brighton has been allocated for this.
- Trust is concerned that women will chose to go to Brighton rather than go to Hastings. The better road will obviously affect people’s choice.
- Womens Health department has won Trust Award for best cross site working.
- Maternity Department has just been awarded CNST level 3 which they’ve got for 3 years. If they reconfigure the service they will have to apply for this again in 1 year. Gaining this level 3 saves the Trust £400,000 Note: CNST is an insurance scheme for Trusts.
- The effect of such a move will begin a cascade for hospital. Other departments in Eastbourne ie. A&E, anaesthetics, surgery will be affected by any downgrade of the maternity and paediatric services.
- The Trust are concerned that if they move the unit to Hastings women will chose to go to Brighton which means the Trust loses money as payment will go to Brighton
- Women will need to go to Hastings to be monitored during pregnancy as a low risk unit doesn’t even have facility to monitor babies heart rates.
See the ‘What Can I Do’ page and make a difference NOW.