High Tax Hartlepool . . . the other hartbeat  Letter from Reality I’m going to be a bit cheeky and reproduce a letter from the Hartlepool Mail which appeared recently because it was written by someone who should know the reality of the consequences of the A&E closure and so deserves a wider audience. TWO letters are worthy of note, both for opposite reasons (Mail, July 25).   A Sad Day for Town by Linda Rickerby for its common sense take on the current situation, and Centres of Excellence by Jim Allan for what surely has been written in an attempt to wind up people in the town. Mr Allan seems to be under the impression medical services in Hartlepool are being closed and withdrawn as a "bonus" for the town! The University Hospital of Hartlepool has been quietly downgraded over the past five years.  The A&E department has been, in effect, a minor injuries unit as it has not accepted trauma for several years. Once this situation came about August 2 was inevitable. Mr Allan goes on to maternity services being shifted to the University Hospital of North Tees, with a midwife-led birthing centre retained at Hartlepool. He also quotes a report recommending that dozens of maternity units should be merged or downgraded in order to concentrate obstetric care in specialised centres. Here is the news Jim. These changes are coming about not to improve services. The Royal College of Midwives has released a report stating there is a national shortage of at least 4,700 midwives. As for the birthing centre being "excellent", my colleagues and I in the town's Ambulance Service are sick and tired of emergency transfers of patients in protracted labour at all hours of the day and night. So much for "right place, first time" then. Jim states quite correctly that from August 2 there will be a minor injuries shoe box - sorry, unit - at Park Road instead of the A&E department. There are, unfortunately, several major problems with this situation. The general public, and especially the general public under the influence of drugs/alcohol, are not trained in triage. One man's bump on the head is another man's fractured skull. The two or three A&E nurses who will be staffing "the Alamo" will be able to lock the doors to keep out undesirables, who will doubtlessly lay siege to their door. This unit will be overwhelmed by everything an A&E department normally handles - which means it will constantly be phoning 999 to bale itself out of the sticky stuff.   The last time a treatment centre opened in the town a teenager tragically died and the same thing will probably occur again. Mr Allan informs us my colleagues and I will assess patients at accidents, and in many cases, I will be taking them to the Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) at Hartlepool. Jim, perhaps in your next letter you would be so kind as to tell me exactly which patients I can take there as they don't accept:  Trauma, bums, fractures, abdominal pain, obstetrics/gynaecological conditions, ear, nose or throat problems, children/babies, any patient not in an upright stable condition or overdoses with alcohol. It doesn't appear as though I will be taking anything there. The impression EAU is a substitute for A&E is wrong and has been devised to "fob off' people like Jim, and placate public anger and concern. The overall situation is dire. North Tees's A&E frequently has six-plus ambulances parked outside,and often gets by on a wing and a prayer. On the back of the worst winter for 30 years, which for hospitals and particularly the ambulance service was absolute hell, these changes will incur tragedy for the town and other areas. Hartlepool's Ambulance Service will be overwhelmed by a massive increase in demand. The two A&E paramedic vehicles are now thrown about all over the North-East of England. As a long-serving paramedic I can't remember the situation looking so bad. One last piece of advice Jim . Stay healthy and don't phone 999. Name and address supplied. the assura connection With all the fuss over the cynical closure of Hartlepool Hospital’s A&E Department, one aspect of the story seems to have been almost entirely missed in the debate. The One Life Centre, we are constantly told, is the £20m future of minor injuries in Hartlepool but the story is a little more com0plicated than that. The Minor Injuries Unit has been something of an after-thought for the OLC being added to the plans after the original design was put together. The rest of the building comprises several Doctor’s practices and other services such as podiatry, dentistry and diabetes. Although most people believe the OLC has been entirely funded by the local PCT, it is in fact, largely a commercial venture. The Doctor’s Practices within the OLC are in partnership with Assura, a private health and property company. The company specialises in making the most of the opportunities presented by changes in the way primary health care is delivered and sharing the profits made on a 50/50 basis with GPs. It’s hardly surprising then that GPs are claimed by the North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital Trust to be one of the groups supporting the closure of the A&E Department; the closure will guarantee a large number of patients being redirected to the OLC Assura Group is a British-based property business with headquarters in Warrington. It develops property for primary care and community hospitals, and operates community pharmacies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. and is is the largest such business in the United Kingdom. On March 3, 2010, Virgin Healthcare purchased a 75.1% stake in the medical unit of Assura Group. Assura Hartlepool Assura Medical By the Time I Get to Phoenix It's amazing just how many HBC Councillors are employed by organisations or have family/friends employed by organisations that are substantially dependent on HBC for funding. The latest ruse, however, is to set up Limited Companies which are then awarded contracts to supply services to HBC. The most recent of these is Who Cares North East Limited which, unless someone comes to their senses fairly soon, is about to be awarded the contract to roll out the Connected Care Service to the rest of the town. The men in suits have already pressed the alert button after realising that there is a serious lack of financial history to this company and that consequently there is a risk involved. However, apparently Mad Dog has come to the rescue pointing out that as the company is only relatively new it's not surprising that there is a shortage of financial history. Quite true, but isn't being relatively new also further reason for caution when sloshing large amounts of taxpayers money around? So why is Ms James being so supportive? Not for me to say, really. Perhaps you should ask fellow labour councillor Angie Wilcox who just happens to be a Director of Who Cares North East Limited. Yea, she might know. All that remains now is to see how much of a family affair any new contract will become - hell, if it’s good enough for Murdoch? Is that Glen Campbell's 'By the Time I get to Phoenix' I can hear in the background?