Richard’s story:

If they close A&E at the Whittington, it will cost lives. My son had an allergic reaction to nuts in 2004, and if the A&E did not treat him, he could have died.

What else do you need to know?

Alice’s story:

Over the 16 years that I’ve lived in the area, I’ve had to use the A&E at Whittington Hospital on several occasions.  Having an A&E just a short bus ride away makes all the difference; when you’re in a situation that requires attention at an A&E, you don’t necessarily have the presence of mind to take everything you need with you.  I’ve had to take both my son and daughter to the A&E at Whittington Hospital and it is just a comfort to know that if we need to fetch anything from home for them like a teddy or pyjamas then we won’t be away from them for long.  I’ve also been grateful for an A&E being close by on the two occasions when I had miscarriages and while waiting in A&E is never a particularly pleasant experience, knowing that I wasn’t also miles away from home was reassuring.  I hate to think how much worse it would have been had I needed to travel many extra miles just to get to an A&E department.

Sarah’s story:

I am desperately worried that there is a possibility Whittington A&E could close. As the mother of one-and-a-half-year old twin boys, I suspect I will be needing to use it.

I have visited A&E twice in the last two years, once due to possible miscarriage and once due to illness of one of my babies. Both times I was treated well.

Since I don’t own a car, on these occasions I tried to get a taxi, but none were available for 30 mins and so I travelled to A&E by bus getting there door-to-door in 20 mins. If I were to have to travel to the Royal Free it would be impossible by public transport (taking perhaps an hour as it’s 2 or 3 buses) and by taxi would take a lot longer and it’s likely I wouldn’t have enough money in the house for much higher fare – stopping off at a cash machine would be another detour and more time wasted. Realistically, I can imagine having to call an ambulance as the only way to get to A&E even if the incident was not life-threatening. As for a life-threatening incident the extra travel time by ambulance or car is even more worrying.

Please remember that not everyone has a car or can afford long taxi journeys in the middle of the night.

I am also seriously worried about the implication that other services could be moved away. Getting to the Royal Free would be very difficult from where I live. I have already have to leave a course of treatment at St Anne’s Hospital in Tottenham because it takes 1 hour 15 mins each way and I have two young babies. Not being able to access other treatments currently available at the Whittington would be a big problem.

It would have been traumatic to take the tube to use UCH instead of the Whittington for maternity services , or example, as by the end of my pregnancy I could barely walk yet had to attend several times a week.

I’m no one important, just a mum, but I hope my opinion counts.

Dawn’s story:

My four year old son caught his finger in the door of some public toilets in Highgate last summer. It was a very bad cut and looked as if the bone had been crushed. Naturally, he was in agony and great distress and the finger was bleeding profusely. I was with our two other small children and we ran to the A and E at the Whittington and were soon reassured that no bone had been broken, there was no sign of likely infection and that the cut just needed gluing.  The thought of driving all three children to the Royal Free Hospital in the afternoon traffic (a journey that can easily take half an hour or more) makes me go cold.

I would probably have felt I had no choice but to call an ambulance. Such an action would put further strain on the ambulance/ emergency service surely?  I shudder to think of what could happen if any of my children (or indeed their mummy or daddy) needed prompt emergency attention to save their life….The Royal Free Hospital is too far; it is a disgrace for London residents to have to travel such a distance. We are living in a densely populated area, not in the Outer Hebrides….

I secured a 90 minute in Parliament today on the Future of London Hospitals – obviously about the Whittington A&E, maternity and paediatrics.

I wanted to use this opportunity to really put the case to the Minister that the sweeping changes being proposed have no clinical evidence base and no business case. I demonstrated (for about half an hour) how there is no evidence of where or how 45,000 A&E patients who could not be handled by an alternative means would be cared for, nor any existing services in the community to deal with the 38,000 shoved from the A&E to Primary Care. Out of hours GPs are already a worse service in Haringey than the rest of London and there is no statistical data on polyclinics or urgent care centres to show that they could cope. There has been no work on access and up until now – no proper extensive quantative consultation.

The Minister in his wind-up was pretty clear that he did not think the case for the Whittington A&E to close had been made. I think the fact that this is Labour policy that is driving this – together with the benefit of the pressure from the coming election – has helped the Minister into this position – at least for now!

As soon as Hansard is published – I will paste up or link to the actual debate – as many Members made very good and robust arguments from all sides of the political divide.

Adrian’s story:

I completely support the campaign to keep the A&E service going at the Whittington and have had three experiences:- 1. About 18 months ago I cut my foot badly at home (I live in Crouch End). My wife drove me to the Whittington, where I had a rapid first examination and assessment, before taking my place in the queue while more serious injuries were dealt with. Had the Whittington not been available, (and because of the amount of blood!), I would have had to call for an ambulance.
2. I have a stepbrother with Aspergers syndrome. About 2 1/2 years ago, at a time when he was self medicating, he became very concerned, and disturbed that he had taken too much medicine. He was able to take himself to the Whittington, who discussed the matter with him, to discover that in fact he had failed to take one particular set of medication. (When I went to pick him up, I was informed, tongue in cheek, that A&E was not the place for people who had underdosed!)

3. My 80 year old mother in law had a fall at home about 4 years ago, leaving her very bruised, shaken and distressed. We took her to the Whittington where she had a rapid first assessment, and was then kept for observation for about 4 hours. A more distant hospital would have need the services of an ambulance, and would have been considerably more distressing for her.

Michael’s story:

A couple of years ago, actually late in the evening walking home to Avenue Road N6 from the Annual Meeting of the local residents’ association CASCH, I tripped over a raised manhole cover in the pavement at the Coolhurst Road end of Avenue Road and fell flat on my face. Not a good thing to do at age (as I was then) nearly 70, and I split my chin open right to the bone and did various other forms of no good to my face. My wife drove me straight to A&E at the Whittington, where fortunately it seemed to be a fairly quiet night, and I was treated and patched up with much efficiency and goodwill within an hour of the mishap. It would have been much less convenient to have to go further afield, and as we get older it is actually a comfort that the A&E is so close.

Incidentally, I have had various treatments at the Whittington over nearly four decades, and I have been thoroughly satisfied with them all.

Naomi’s story:

Many, many times have I been grateful for the quick and safe reactions of the staff of the Whittington A&E.

Just one story?

I run a group for mothers and babies nearby. One afternoon, a toddler knocked over a mug of very hot tea. His mother tried to comfort him, but he was obviously in pain. I suggested she hurry to the Whittington A&E, and said I’d come and meet her there after the meeting. When I got there, she was in a separate room with her son. A doctor arrived and dealt with the burn with an excellent cream and bandage. The toddler relaxed immediately she started to treat him. Small though he was, he could tell he was in good hands. The doctor explained exactly how the mother should dress the wound at home. She was efficient but human too. The mother is now applying to do voluntary work at the Whittington, and I have just been asked to give a reference for her.

Gillian’s story:

In 2005 I became unwell and developed a high temperature. I wasn’t well enough to go to the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics on a home visit from our local doctor on a Friday. Unfortunately I was extremely allergic to the drugs and was told on Saturday by Camidoc (phone call) to stop taking them if they were making me vomit. On Sunday I felt considerably worse and a Camidoc doctor visited and immediately called an ambulance. One of the side effects of my illness was that I remained rational and quite convincing that I was not as sick as I was. The ambulance arrived at A&E and they – without absolute proof but based on symptoms – began treating me for bacterial meningitis and pneumonia. Had they given me a lumbar puncture which is one way to prove the diagnosis, I would probably have died.

The pressure in my spinal column was dangerously high. Their swift action undoubtedly saved my life. I was in hospital for 2 months and all the specialists thought I was a walking miracle when I left. The credit was given by all the medical team to that first Doctor in A&E who saw me within 10 minutes of my arrival.

I would also write to say how critical the A&E has been to my elderly neighbour. Sheila W lived in Priory Gardens for over 50 years. Her husband was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, her son was epileptic and she herself had severe arthritis. During their lifetime, the Whittington were on hand for every emergency – and there were many. In recent years Sheila fell down a flight of stairs and broke her arm in three places. She phoned me for help and on arrival at A&E the staff were outstanding. She was fragile, old and very afraid. Her fear of painkillers was great because her stomach had been made vulnerable from other medications. They set up an intravenous drip of paracetamol for her which was wonderful – the salient point is that they did not need to resort to morphine or other high dependency drugs. The pain clinic work at the Whittington is outstanding and their policies are used in the A&E to enormous benefit.