Hospitals brilliant for urgent cases

As a recent patient in the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, I find it unfortunate the press continuously reports that the NHS is in crisis and patients are suffering (‘My Husband Died After Doctor Sent Him Home’/hassled Hospitals Divert Ambulances, Gazette, January 19).

My experience is entirely to the contrary. Those who are sick and need treatment receive it rapidly, efficiently and to a high standard. On Christmas Day I was in Norwich and went to the hospital with a pain in my arm. They agreed I could be treated and I was moved to urgent care.

When I was there, numerous people arriving after me were treated immediately and ahead of me because their needs were obviously more urgent.

I was one of those who were at risk of not being treated within four hours.

Two weeks ago, I became really ill. We called the 111 service. A paramedic arrived within 15 minutes and carried out a thorough examination. The following night, I again was taken ill and called the paramedic a second time.

They responded equally quickly and suggested I saw my GP the following day.

I got an appointment that morning with my GP who spent 50 minutes with me and referred me to the hospital immediately.

In less than two hours, I was admitted into the urgent care department.

My condition was monitored and I was assessed by a registrar and a consultant.

After two hours, I was transferred to the acute medical unit, and then on to the cardiac ward, where I have spent 12 days.

Throughout this experience, the quality of care I received was impeccable.

The ward was under pressure and there was rarely any spare bed space, but, staff always had time to deliver great care.

Many other patients all had nothing but praise. We have to recognise that the demands on the system are increasing and therefore non-urgent situations cannot always be treated immediately.

However, in an urgent case, all levels of the system respond brilliantly. This is not what I think a humanitarian disaster looks like! Dr Alan Holmes Wickham Lane, Ickham Brazier as he was then, in supporting the fight to save the K&C Hospital in the early 1990s (MP Was Helpful Over Closure Bid, Letters and Opinion, Gazette, January 19).

Julian supported Concern for Health in East Kent (CHEK) on a daily basis, and we spent many hours campaigning alongside each other, including visiting the House of Commons and taking a petition to no 10 Downing Street.

While on the subject I am sure that Sir Julian will again give his support, as it seems that we may again be fighting to retain services at the K&C. Ken Rogers Lower Road, Faversham

Bill Simpson is anxious to see me stand down as MP for Canterbury (Time For Sir Julian To Take Retirement, Gazette, January 12).

It will be local voters who will decide on who wins the election and becomes the MP, including him, after the parties have chosen their candidates.

It may, however, be helpful if I provide some context for his remarks on my role on local hospital services. It is true that I did not oppose investment in the hospital services in Margate.

Frankly I did not see, and do not see, it as my role to attack improved services for neighbouring constituencies.

When the East Kent Hospitals Authority suddenly announced its plans to close the Kent and Canterbury and leave just a day centre and one ward in 1998, I campaigned for several years to block it.

This included commissioning five debates on the subject in the House of Commons, leading a string of delegations to ministers, supporting several demonstrations by the splendid CHEK, large numbers of meetings and writing whole files of paperwork including replying to more than 3,000 letters from constituents.

Eventually we stopped most of it, although we were unable to save inpatient children services or trauma.

The battle did not stop there. No sooner than the outcome had been implemented to keep most of the hospital, than a series of fresh assaults began, first on cancer services then on others, including urology.

Again, I organised meetings, constructed written representations, supported petitions and spoke out in the House.

Working closely with CHEK, we managed to see off these subsequent attacks.

Today we face a serious issue again with health demand rising fast, money tight and surgery overstretched as generalists are replaced by specialists.

My colleagues and I continue to keep closely in touch with those responsible for working up the transformation plan, meeting them regularly.

Looking to the long game, I have also – with my colleague Helen Whately MP – been trying to help in getting a medical school to east Kent, lobbying Lord Heseltine, whose commission is influential, speaking in the Commons and working with Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent.

It is for others to judge who is working effectively but I hope that nobody measures usefulness by the number of appearances on Twitter and Facebook, as some today seem to do. Sir Julian Brazier House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA