HASLEMERE residents in need of urgent medical treatment could find themselves faced with a 30-mile ambulance drive to get to the closest accident and emergency unit, according to Haslemere Hospital League of Friends. The league met to discuss the Surrey and Sussex NHS document Fit for the Future on Monday at Haslemere Hospital. The paper suggests further hospital cuts will be on the cards as NHS bosses try to claw back some of the service's vast deficit. Both the league of friends and South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt have this week expressed concern over the possible closure of the A and E department at The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. If Guildford's A and E closes, the nearest place for local emergency cases would be St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey and The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. Robert Knowles, a spokesman for the Haslemere League of Friends, said: "If Guildford's A and E did close and you had a bad accident in Haslemere there is no way you would get to Chertsey. You would be dead before you got there." He said the league's main concern was for an "equality of service". "In this little corner of Surrey there's virtually nothing. We think that makes the beds and minor injuries service at Haslemere even more important. We are also concerned about the extra pressure that closure would put on Haslemere," he told The Herald. "Haslemere is holding on by its fingertips at the bottom edge of the county. We want people to be aware that there could be another threat just around the corner, not just to the community hospital but to the A and E. "Why should 42,000 people in our area find a further reduction in services? Any reduction now would be tantamount to a breakdown in services." League of Friends chairman Dr Nicky Lee said: "If the accident and emergency services are under threat at Guildford, as the document hints, there will be no emergency services between Chertsey and Portsmouth. That is outrageous. "The need for beds at Haslemere will be even greater, but we wonder where the equality of service is in western Surrey, with all the A and E hospitals in the northern quarter." The league of friends is now calling on the Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust to hold a local meeting to explain the lack of services in the south west of Surrey. The Surrey and Sussex NHS document which has caused the uproar states: "We propose that A and E and acute hospitals should only be used for the most serious cases and that people with less serious injuries and illnesses should be treated in less intensive environments closer to their homes. "Research shows that as many as four out of five people who go to A and E departments could be treated in a more appropriate setting, often closer to home. "Diverting people to the most appropriate place for their needs should lead to better and swifter treatment for all. "The potential downside of these changes is that some existing services may be reduced in size as alternatives are developed and some services may be provided in different places to now. If we are to provide more care close to people's homes, this would mean that less activity will take place in hospitals. This will reduce the size and number of hospitals but mean that they can concentrate on providing the most specialised and complex care." South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt and Anne Milton, MP for Guildford, are to host a public meeting for people who wish to express their views on the potential closure of the accident and emergency department at the Royal Surrey, and also the possible closure of the maternity unit there. The meeting is scheduled to take place from 7 pm on July 13 in the School of Management lecture theatre at the University of Surrey. Mr Hunt said: "Its (Royal Surrey's) geographical location right in the middle of the county may make it particularly vulnerable to cuts, which could be devastating for people in Guildford and Waverley. "The crisis in the NHS is going from simply bad to being a total catastrophe. This meeting is a chance for people to voice their concerns and join our fight." A spokesman for The Royal Surrey told The Herald this week that there were no plans to close either the A and E unit or the maternity unit at the hospital.
l CONFUSION still surrounds the closure of Milford Hospital, with mixed messages emerging from health officials. South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt has written to Candy Morris, the chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority, to ask her to clarify urgently how the proposed closures are implemented. During the recent board meeting of the primary care trust, chairman Chris Grimes said the decision made on April 27 to close Milford Hospital was "binding". Mr Grimes made the comment in response to a question asked by parish councillor Betty Ames. However, in previous correspondence and discussions with Candy Morris, Mr Hunt has been told that the implementation of Option 1 was dependent on the outcome of the Surrey-wide review of health care. The suggestion from this was that if Option 1 conflicted with decisions made as a result of the Fit for the Future review, it may be reconsidered. Mr Hunt said: "For those of us fighting the mistaken decision to close Milford Hospital, it is vital to know whether it is a binding decision or not. Yet again with the NHS the left hand does not appear to know what the right hand is doing, with the PCT saying one thing and their bosses something else. "For the sake of the staff and patients at Milford, we need proper clarity instead of improper fudge."