KEEP THE HORTON GENERAL

Our hospital provides vital services to Banbury's growing population.

We're about to lose those services.

So what have we done about it?

Local band Caminus join the fight

Banbury rock band Caminus have offered their full support and assistance to the Keep the Horton General campaign. They recently performed at Banbury's Chicago Rock Cafe, flying the Horton's campaign banner.

Caminus' manager Mark Brion said “By promoting the campaign, we are going to try to raise the awareness and get the support of the younger people of Banbury against the proposed closures at the Horton Hospital. I have spoken with George (Parish) on several occasions recently and we have discussed some interesting ideas for the future"

KTHG visit local schools

Keep the Horton General campaigners are visiting local schools informing children of the threats to our hospital and encouraging them to get involved.

Below - campaigners George Parish and Charlotte Bird visit Sibford School, which takes boarding pupils from all over the world including Russia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Iran, France, Georgia, Taiwan &Korea. These children - and their teachers - will be particularly hard-hit if the downgrading of paediatrics goes ahead, as many of their families live abroad, and it will be difficult for school friends and teachers to visit.

KTHG visit sibford school

KTHG campaigner's daughter born at the Horton

We are pleased to announce the safe arrival of KTHG campaigner Kate Spencer's daughter Rebecca, born at the Horton Maternity Unit on 5 September 2007.

Speaking from hospital, Kate said "Rebecca was born less than 2 hours after the onset of labour, and just 40 minutes after I left home. Under the Trust's proposals, she would have been born en-route to the JR."

Kate praised the Horton midwives for their care. "They were under incredible pressure that night, with some midwives even working a double shift because the labour ward was so busy. Despite this, their care was second to none.

I had the privelege of speaking to several new mums while in the post natal ward, and they praised the Horton without exception. No-one can understand why the Trust isn't fighting to preserve services at the Horton."

Banbury Mayor calls for nationwide campaign

Banbury's mayor Kieron Mallon has sent out a battle cry to save District General Hospitals nationwide - with the Horton at the centre of the action.

Speaking at a meeting of Cherwell District Council's executive this week, the Banbury Guardian quotes Mr Mallon saying "A number of hospitals are in a similar position to Banbury's. If we could help some of those hospitals to come together to fight these proposals, I'm sure it would carry more weight"

He was supported by scrutiny committee chairman Dr Peter Skolar, who said that, individually, the government could pick off hospitals one by one; and by MP Tony Baldry, who pledged that MPs would get together. "I am sure we will see it taking off in the next few weeks", he said.

Tony has now arranged a 1.5 hour debate at Westminster on the 10th October 2007, and other Members of Parliament whose constituencies are similarly affected are expected to take part.

Local councils are also getting in touch with other local authorities around the country where they know of hospitals in a similar position to the Horton, in the hope of trying to build up a national campaign in support of smaller general hospitals. It's hoped that there will be many campaign groups in addition to KTHG at Westminster on the 10th October.

David Cameron visits Horton, and announces a "fight for the future of the NHS"

photo - BBC news

Conservative party leader and Witney MP David Cameron visited the Horton General Hospital on 3rd August, where he promised a "bare knuckle fight" with the government over the future of district hospitals.

Citing 40 maternity units and 90 accident and emergency units that are under threat throughout the country, he said: "The government's new health adviser, Professor Ara Darzi, says that district general hospitals are over. I completely disagree. I promise Gordon Brown that there will be a fight for the future of our NHS."

Mr Cameron met KTHG chairman George Parish, but Banbury MP Tony Baldry was prevented from accompanying the tour by the ORHT. The Trust demonstrated it's capacity to twist words by claiming it had had no contact "whatsoever" with Mr Baldry about the visit. This was true - but only because all negotiations had been carried out through Mr Cameron's office, which was told that the tour could not go ahead if Mr Baldry was present.

Vigil at St Mary's, 25 & 26 July

Following the Scrutiny Committee's decision to refer the Oxford Radcliffe Trust’s proposals for the Horton General Hospital to the Secretary of State, Tony Baldry and KTHG held a 24 hour vigil to coincide with the Trust’s all important decision making meeting on 26 July. Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley also attended to show his support for local General Hospitals.

Over 800 people signed to show that they had visited the church over the 24 hour period, and 50 people including a GP stayed overnight in the church. Councillor Stuart Robbins stayed for the full 24 hours.

“For Andrew Lansley to launch his campaign in Banbury is a massive vote of confidence in all those concerned with retaining services at the Horton General Hospital” commented campaign chairman George Parish. “We have huge commitment as a group and with the tireless support of local MP Tony Baldry we have also achieved national recognition. Our job is not done until we know that the future of the Horton General Hospital is assured.”

Tony Baldry addressed the Horton supporters who congregated at St Mary’s 8pm on Wednesday evening. Tony praised the work of Horton campaigners, GPs and staff, and said "This vigil is a demonstration that the people of West and North Oxfordshire, of South Warwickshire and South Northamptonshire are determined to fight for their NHS; determined to fight for local NHS services; determined to “Keep the Horton General” - a General Hospital serving the needs of local people"
Read the full text of Tony's speech here

"Happy 59th birthday, NHS"

Thursday, 5th July, was the 59th birthday of the NHS. George Parish and other Keep the Horton General Campaigners, including local GP Martin Harris, met Mike Fleming (Director of the Horton) to present him with an A3 sized “birthday card”.

The card, designed by Buzz Design, read -

"Happy 59th birthday - we'll help you make it to 60! Hands off the Horton"

Shadow Health Minister visits Banbury on Friday 16th March
On 16 March, Tony Baldry MP and shadow Health Minister, Stephen O'Brien MP hosted a public meeting at the St Mary's Centre (next to St Mary's Church). Despite the meeting being held mid-afternoon on a work day, over 60 people attended to hear the MPs respond to the concerns of councillors, off-duty Horton staff, and members of the public. Earlier in the day, they had met with representatives of Banburyshire's GPs to hear their concerns. This was a great opportunity to be heard, and Mr O'Brien promised to take our story back to the House with him.

Protests around the country on Saturday 3rd March
We joined hundreds of others for a rally in Oxford on 3rd March, organised by Oxfordshire Keep our NHS Public and the NHS Support Federation.

Marchers assembled at 11.30am in Bonn Square, ready for a midday start. The march finished at around 1pm at Manzil Way (the new East Oxford Health Centre site), where there were speeches and entertainment. Speakers included our own George Parish, and Mark Ladbrooke HSGE member. For more details, contact Helen Groom of Keep our NHS Public (Oxfordshire): pfialert@gmail.com

For more events around the country, see http://www.nhscampaign.org.uk/home.html , then click on "Day of Action 3rd March 2007" on the menu.

Open meeting at St Mary's Church, Banbury -
Thursday 25th January, 6 - 8pm

On Thursday 25th January, the Keep the Horton General Campaign held an informal public meeting at St Mary's Church. The original, larger, event had been postponed due to MPs Tony Baldry and Tim Boswell having unavoidable parliamentary commitments. So, we were very pleased that despite the intentional lack of publicity, 50 people braved the cold to ask questions. Leader of Cherwell District Council Mary Harpley, Chairman of CDC Cllr John Harper, Banbury Mayor John Donaldson, Dr Peter Fisher, Cllr Milne-Hume, Cllr Kieron Mallon & Cllr Surinder Dhesi were among the attendees.

We were pleased to welcome two representatives from the ORH Trust, Helen
Peggs (Director of Media and Communications) and Andrew Stevens (Director of Planning and Information). The quality and quantity of questions put to them was outstanding.

George Parish closed the question and answer session after an hour and a half so people could take up personal issues with Helen Peggs and Andrew Stevens.

A very successful meeting which bodes well for the full meeting we plan to hold later in the year.

National conference for NHS Campaigners
Saturday 20th January 2007

Three KTHG committee members attended the NHS Campaigners' National Conference in London on 20th January. This was organised by Keep Our NHS Public ( www.keepournhspublic.com ) to bring all NHS campaigners together to find ways to urgently intensify the pressure on the government to change their approach on the NHS.

Speakers Tony Benn, John Lister, Jacky Davis and Sally Ruane provided an overview of the political situation, summarised what we have learnt so far, and generated support for a TUC-led march, planned for 3rd March. The delegates were also able to join in workshop sessions to develop campaign ideas in smaller groups.

National all-party parliamentary protest in London -
Tuesday 16th January 2007

We had another successful trip to Westminster, this time to take part in a national protest organised by MPs from across all the political parties. Over a thousand campaigners, representing twenty threatened hospitals from as far afield as Cumbria and Cornwall, attended.

george and campaigners at westminster, 16 Jan 2007 david cameron meets campaigners, 16 Jan 2007

We met in the historic 11th century Westminster Hall to hear a succession of inspiring speeches from the organisers and campaign leaders. Patricia Hewitt declined her invitation to attend, but a small delegation was granted a meeting with her at the end of the conference.

Afterwards, we were privileged to meet with the Rt Hon David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party and Witney / Chipping Norton MP, who reiterated his support for our campaign, particularly on behalf of his Chipping Norton constituents. This was a great publicity opportunity, with swarms of journalists descending on us.

We were accompanied for the whole day by ITV Thames Valley, who gave the conference and our campaign 7 minutes of top publicity at the start of their 6 o'clock bulletin.

Horton campaigners also featured on Channel 4's expose of the scandal of the Private Finance Initiative, which aired on Dispatches, 26 February 2007.
(The Private Finance Initiative is an expensive method of borrowing to build new hospitals, while keeping the debt out of the government's accounts. In the process, it sucks billions of pounds out of the NHS into the hands of private investors. A local example of this is Capio, an Independent Sector Treatment Centre sited in Banbury, which is cherry-picking orthapaedic patients at the cost of £7.4m per year - enough to save all our threatened services 4 times over)

Banbury Balloon Release

On 15th December, we took part in a"day of action" to draw attention to the cuts throughout the country. The events were being organised by local groups like Keep the Horton General, united under the banner of PUSH (People United Saving Hospitals)

Banbury's event saw children from local schools and nurseries, and local dignitaries, release hundreds of "Save the Horton" balloons from the bandstand near the Town Hall at 11.30am.

Fundraising Concert

On Saturday 18th November, we held a fundraising concert and dance to raise money for children's services at the Horton. We are donating the £700 raised to the Friends of the Horton. "We're pleased to have raised so much money for children's services at the Horton" said campaign leader George Parish. "We wanted to demonstrate that childrens' services will be continuing at the Horton, despite the threats to services and the huge amount of funds being poured into the Oxford Childrens' Hospital"

Sir Ian Carruthers' review

The Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, has appointed ex NHS chief executive Sir Ian Carruthers to undertake a 6 month review of the proposals affecting various threatened hospitals. She has advised him that no changes should go ahead without the full backing of local consultants and GPs.

However, Sir Ian's remit only allows him to look at "decided" proposals, which ours is not - and trusts have been told that his review should not delay the implementation of any cuts!

So, while initially hopeful that this appointment might represent a government u-turn, we think it's likely that this is just a ploy to protect the government during the difficult winter season.

Wednesday 1st November - national protest march in London

Members of the Keep The Horton General Committee travelled to Westminster to support a national march in protest at health service cuts. The march was organised by the TUC, Keep Our NHS Public and the National Pensioners' Convention. Campaign leader George Parish addressed the crowd before the march. In excess of 2,000 people marched over Westminster Bridge, past Parliament, before gathering for speeches. Afterwards, we were interviewed by the BBC and met with local MPs Tony Baldry and Tim Boswell to discuss campaign tactics.

The Keep the Horton General Campaign goes to Parliament

On Wednesday 11th October, twenty members of the Keep The Horton General Committee travelled to Westminster to protest on the same day as a key debate on the NHS was held in the Commons.

Banbury MP Tony Baldry greeted us outside the Houses of Parliament in the pouring rain, where we gave interviews with the BBC and Central News. He also arranged for us to watch the debate from the Strangers' Gallery.

We are indebted to Tony for arranging for a small group of us to meet Shadow Health Minister Dr Andrew Murrison. Dr Murrison actually left the debate to talk to us for an hour, coincidentally outside the very room where Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt and other members of the cabinet were attending a reception for the Indian Prime Minister. We discussed the crisis at the Horton and NHS policy and he gave us suggestions for our continued campaign. It was an incredibly valuable experience, not least for the opportunity to wear our campaign T shirts inside the House of Commons, as the cabinet members walked past gaping at us!

Protests in Oxford

On Saturday 14th October, hundred of protesters gathered in Oxford to oppose the 600 job cuts across Oxfordshire and the decimation of services at the Horton General Hospital. Following shortly after thousands protested in Banbury and the Trust was given a "weak" rating for financial management, it is no surprise that ORHT chief executive Trevor Campbell Davies admitted it "has not been an easy period for the trust".

The Mayor's Torchlit March

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On Friday 29th September, despite torrential rain, between 3,000 and 4,000 protestors turned out to march for the Horton.

Led by MPs, five mayors, Hook Norton Brass Band, and local headmaster Stephen Wass on a symbolic hobby horse, the mile-long procession brought traffic to a standstill as protestors made their way from the Horton Hospital through the town centre to the People's Park. Drivers caught by the road closure waved and tooted their horns in support as thousands of people marched past, carrying banners, torches and glow-sticks.

(Images - Harry Rhodes, Tudor Photography)

The media was well represented, with the BBC, Central News, radio and local newspapers covering the event. Protestors were met in the park by Fairport Convention's Ric Sanders and celebrated guitarist Vo Fletcher, who entertained the crowds until the speeches commenced.

Local MPs Tony Baldry and Tim Boswell, Banbury mayor John Donaldson and campaigners George Parish and Kate Spencer addressed the crowds as the rain (which had stopped for the duration of the march) started up again.

Tony Baldry addresses the crowds

We can't say enough how much we appreciated your support. We know that when you left your houses, the rain was coming down so hard you couldn't even see the town from the surrounding hills - so thank you.

There were gasps from the crowd as we told the assembled crowd of thousands that the Trust had, to date, only received 150 letters of objection to the proposals. But we're pleased to see hear that at the start of the final week of consultation, 3,000 letters have now been received - so thank you all.

The ORH Trust and Banbury Town Council
Wednesday 20th September

Representatives from the ORH Trust met with Banbury Town Council at the Town Hall and were grilled by the town councillors and selected members of the public. ORHT chairman Sir William Stubbs incensed listeners when he dismissed the 40,000 strong petition against the cuts, saying it would not make "one iota of difference"

"Hands around the Horton" - a huge success!
Sunday 3rd September
Between 2000 and 2500 people completely surrounded the Horton General Hospital site, in a defiant show of opposition to the proposed cuts and a show of support for the Horton staff. Banbury Mayor John Donaldson and Oxford Mayor also lent their support.

Protesters waved banners and chanted "Hands off the Horton", while passing motorists including emergency service vehicles honked their horns.

Click here for a report from the Banbury Guardian

Rally in the People's Park
Sunday 18th June

Over 5,000 people supported our rally in the People's Park, Banbury on Sunday 18th June. Speakers included Tony Baldry MP, Tim Boswell MP, Dr Peter Fisher, Mayor of Banbury John Donaldson, Mark Ladbroke from UNISON and Barry Woods from Cherwell District Council. Several members of the public told moving stories of how the Horton had helped them, which were very well received.

Kate Spencer suggested ways that you can get involved, which are listed on the "What can I do?" page. George Parish closed the rally with a call to march to the second public consultation meeting, for which there was huge support. We finished with "Simply the Best", dedicated to the Horton nurses, who had marched to the rally with placards and received a well deserved round of applause from the assembled crowd.
Photos: www.banburyphotographic.com

Public Consultation Meetings

5000 people came to our rally in the park, so we have to ask why just less than 600 made it to St Mary's on Thursday 6th July, and no more than 20 to the equivalent meetings in Brackley, Bicester and Witney. The answer clearly lies in the ORH Trust's deliberately poor advertising, combined with their statement that people would be turned away from the meeting if the church was full, which put many people off turning out after a hard day's work.

The meeting itself did nothing to allay our fears, being less of a consultation than a statement of intent, conducted in an arrogant manner over an appalling sound system. Nonetheless, over the course of 2 hours of questions, members of the public bombarded the board with excellent questions. Unfortunately many of these were sidestepped, and none were answered in a satisfactory manner.

The Trust appears to be relying on a combination of factors; monetary cut backs, safety issues and misinformation. We are certain that money can be found from other areas - the vast spending currently going on in Oxford, for example, the outrageous waste of money that is the Capio Orthapaedic Centre in Banbury, and the proposed helicopter service. The issue of safety is particularly galling, as there are reports setting out options for running a safe, sustainable service in Banbury - but the trust will not include them as options because this does not fit their agenda of closure.

We are also concerned that they cannot provide evidence that they have approached the Royal Colleges for their agreement to the proposals. Incredibly, we were told that they could not be approached until the service was up and running! They are also basing their decisions on statistics that are our of date or just plain wrong - for example, service usage statistics and estimates of population growth.

Despite their earlier assurances that there would be two public meetings in Banbury, the ORH Trust is using the "low" turnout as justification for not holding a second. This will deny many people the chance to question the board, and could have denied us the chance to march. The trust have said that they will only organise another meeting in Banbury is if enough people call or write and ask them for it. You can call the ORH Trust on 01865 228932 or write to Trevor Campbell Davies at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU.

PRESS RELEASES

Labour councillor loses faith in party's policies 15 October 2007

Response to reports that A&E is threatened 23 August 2007

David Cameron highlights threat to hospitals across UK 22 August 2007

Shadow Health Minister addresses vigil, 31 July 2007

Vigil "24 hours to save the Horton", 18 July 2007

Letter of thanks 14 July 2007

Scrutiny committee refers Horton proposals to the Secretary of State for Health, 12 July 2007

Letter from George Parish to GPs, 22 June 2007

David Cameron defends the Horton 7June 2007

Westminster conference 16 January 2007

Balloon release 19 December 2006