No More Care Cuts!

Kingston Primary Care Trust have decided to take a leaf out of Kingston Council’s book and are desperately axing care services after failing to manage their finances sufficiently. Kingston has already lost two tiers of eligibility care criteria and Hobkirk House Elderly Day Care centre this year alone and are now set to lose Fuchsias Ward; dedicated to caring full-time for those with severe dementia, and Springboard; a vocational service for people with mental and learning disabilities to learn skills, gain qualifications and sometimes achieve employment.

Cllr Mary Clark, who has vigorously tried to help those who are at risk of losing their mental health care services, has said:

“I am truly appalled at the utter disregard for the welfare of Kingston’s mental health patients. The PCT should stop seeing their patients as numbers and pound signs and start celebrating these unique and necessary services.”

Conservative Cllrs were the facilitators of a protest in Kingston Town Centre on Saturday morning against mental health care cuts at Tolworth Hospital. Users of the threatened services, their carers and families, along with Conservative Cllrs worked together to collect signatures for their petition to put an end to care cuts. Shoppers in Kingston were queuing up to support their campaign and, after just a few hours, over 700 signatures were collected.

When the petition was taken to New Malden High Street on Saturday 10th November, 440 signatures were collected in under two hours.

After another sucessful morning at Tolworth Broadway on Saturday 17th November, the petition had reached nearly 2,000 signatures.

Local Conservatives believe that Mental Health in KingstonHospital is a vital component of NHS care. It should not be considered optional, it should not be considered for cuts. Springboard is a unique service which we should be proud of and, with services like Fuchsias dementia care Ward being in increasing demand, the NHS should be providing more, not less care.

Relatives, users and Conservative Councillors demonstrated outside the Guildhall to call for a stop to any cuts to the Fuchsia ward, or any other cuts that may hit the mentally disabled in Kingston. A petition of over 2,000 names was handed into the Health Overview Panel by users and families.

Conservative Councillor Mary Clark said: "It was heart-warming to see so many relatives and clients of Springboard and Fuchsias Ward turnout to present the 2,000 signature petition to the Kingston Primary Care Trust, in their continuing stalwart efforts to keep open these services, which are paramount to the present and future health and wellbeing of the Borough's residents''