Whittington accident and emergency ward set to be axed

THE ACCIDENT and emergency department at the Whittington Hospital could be axed under proposals set out in an NHS consultation. A document leaked to the Ham&High by an insider sets out four potential options, all of which involve the Whittington being dow

THE ACCIDENT and emergency department at the Whittington Hospital could be axed under proposals set out in an NHS consultation.

A document leaked to the Ham&High by an insider sets out four potential options, all of which involve the Whittington being downgraded to a "local hospital" with no emergency department.

This would mean patients in Highgate, Crouch End and Muswell Hill would be forced to travel further afield in the case of emergencies to the likes of the Royal Free or University College London Hospital.

In a letter to NHS staff, Rachel Tyndall, the chief executive of North Central London NHS, said: "NHS London has questioned the need for three, as opposed to two, major acute hospitals in North Central London and they have suggested that we do more work on the clinical models of care and the clinical dependencies between services. Some progress has been made on this front."

For the full story read the Ham&High on Thursday, November 19.