A London-wide ‘consultation’ has been underway to review the services offered by NHS stroke units (SUs) within our hospitals. The resulting proposals are to establish:

• 8 ‘hyper-acute’ SUs; and
• 20+stroke units.

Note: any person suffering a stroke would initially be admitted to a hyper-acute SU for a maximum of 72 hours.

Unfortunately, it is now apparent that the decision to close a number of existing SUs, including that at Ealing Hospital, has already been made. This inevitably begs the question – why undertake a consultation in the first place? Of more serious concern to me however, are the ramifications of this decision and its impact on the residents of Ealing Southall.

In the unfortunate event of a stroke, a patient who would have otherwise been seen at Ealing Hospital would now have to be admitted at an alternative hospital (either at Northwick Park or Charring Cross). After a patient has been stablised in a hyper- acute SU which could take a maximum of 72 hours, he/she will be transferred either to Hillingdon or West Middlesex SU.

If closure of Stroke unit at the Ealing Hospital goes ahead, as is being planned, the implication for the running of other local services both in the hospital and in the community will be serious. There are specialist acute services and procedures available at Ealing Hospital which will be under threat . These include acute surgery (especially vascular and coronary angiography) putting the future of the hospital, in doubt.

I therefore encourage all residents to write to Healthcare for London (note: they can be called freephone on 0808 238 5481), Ealing Hospital PALS Department or contact me directly to register your concerns.

Gurcharan

Some underlying facts:

• During 2006/07, in Ealing Southall 170 people died and 1,600 people were admitted to hospital for stroke-related illness. The admissions from Southall were running at twice the national rate. Approximately 4,000 people in Ealing have had a stroke at some time.
• In terms of current performance, the Ealing Hospital SU is within the upper quartile for the whole of London.