LONDON: Thousands of people streamed through the streets of southeast London yesterday to protest against “insane” proposals to close services at a major hospital, organisers said.
Campaigners estimated that at least 25,000 people joined the protest against plans to shut down the freshly-renovated emergency room at Lewisham Hospital along with its maternity unit.
London’s Metropolitan Police declined to give an estimate for the size of the crowds. A controversial government report has recommended shutting down the two hospital departments to solve a debt crisis in a neighbouring health authority.
The nearby South London Healthcare trust had run up debts of £150m ($237m). Campaigners say the plans would leave just one emergency room to serve around 750,000 people living in southeast London. “Everyone I have spoken to opposes these plans,” said Malcolm Hancock, chaplain of Lewisham Healthcare Trust which manages the hospital.
“There simply is no reason to close vital services for a population where the local population has high health needs.” Health minister Jeremy Hunt will decide whether to go ahead with the plans. The controversy comes amid a government drive to make £20 billion in efficiency savings in the National Health Service by 2015 as part of sweeping austerity measures.
AFP
