38 Degrees are running an appeal to try to raise money (£20,000) to take the Health Secretary to court. Please read their article:-
Shutting A&E departments can cost lives. Recent reports showed that when an A&E in Newark closed, there was a 37% jump in patient deaths. [1] Yet across the country A&Es are being cut. Not because of clinical need, but to meet unrealistic financial demands made by the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. [2]
If we work together, we can stop this worrying trend. In Lewisham, South London, local campaigners want to take the government to court over plans to slash their A&E and maternity services. If they win their court case, it would be a huge boost for battles to protect A&E services up and down the country.
This is a court case that matters for all of us, not just the people of Lewisham. But for it to go ahead, the campaigners desperately need more funds. So far they've raised £5,000 on their own. If we can help them get to £20,000, they can hire in a top legal team and make the most of their chance to challenge the closure.
Please will you chip in now? If enough of us donate, the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign will be able to take Jeremy Hunt to court!
DONATE NOW
If Jeremy Hunt gets away with slashing services in Lewisham, he'll be far more likely to try it elsewhere. Lewisham hospital is well-performing. Crazily, it’s because Lewisham is a successful hospital that it has been targeted. Hunt wants to move money-making services away from Lewisham to bail out hospitals making losses in the area next door.
Expert lawyers say he isn’t allowed to do this. A judge has already agreed that there's a case to answer, and capped costs at £20,000. If we can raise that money and get the right legal team in place, we have a real chance of getting Jeremy Hunt's closure plan overturned.
The Save Lewisham Hospital campaign is an inspiring example of ordinary people working to protect the NHS. Many of them are 38 Degrees members. They are campaigning for the same thing as the rest of us - a decent NHS we can all rely on. And if they win, it will boost our chances of protecting A&E services everywhere. So let's show them our support and help them take Jeremy Hunt to court!
The court case is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks - please donate now so the legal team can start working as soon as possible:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/save-lewisham-hospital 
Comments
Go on...
http://www.lewishamkonp.org/irwinbrown
Ah, so the twat who has a opinion on most things and is always talking crap begins.
So, if you call the satistics of the very people trying to close it propaganda, then so be it. If you call the patients surveys propaganda, again so be it. What about patients out comes? What about public support? Do you think patients would cause this much protest if they tried to close down Stafford Hospital or QEM?
My god I hope you never have an accident and find yourself on a trolley in a corridor because they're to full! Please think before you post you eejit.
Dear Paul,
Great news - we’ve done it! Thanks to over six thousand donations by 38 Degrees members the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign can now pay for a team of expert lawyers to challenge Jeremy Hunt’s decision to slash services at Lewisham Hospital. If our day in court is successful, it could help stop the tide of hospital cuts taking place across the country.
Dr Louise Irvine, Chair of the Save Lewisham Hospital campaign, and 38 Degrees member, had this message for us:
“Thanks to the generosity of thousands of 38 Degrees members, and individual donations from Lewisham people and campaign supporters, we're now able to take Jeremy Hunt to court over his decision to slash Lewisham hospital - a decision he made against the advice of experts, local residents, and practitioners.
"It’s great that we can now focus with our legal team on bringing the best case possible - rather than worrying about whether we can afford the funds for our legal costs.
"Thank you all for your support - whether you marched on the streets of Lewisham, signed the petition, or donated money towards our legal fund.”
Once again we’ve shown that when it matters, we’re willing to stand together. Thousands of us chipped in to support the people of Lewisham as they fight against their local hospital cuts - in what has become a test case for the Government’s NHS agenda.
All our eyes will now be on the result of the court date on the 2nd July. Dr Irvine has promised to keep us all updated. In the meantime, to follow the campaign, please click here:
http://www.savelewishamhospital.com/
Thanks again for all you do,
Blanche, Ian, Travis & the 38 Degrees team
PS: Is a hospital near you closing? Are local health cuts affecting you? We’ve recently launched an exciting project with OpenDemocracy, who are featuring articles by 38 Degrees members about their experiences of the changes to the NHS. Email guddi.s@38degrees.org.uk to let the office team know your story, and soon - with your help - it could be a published article! To read more about the project click here: http://38d.gs/15Q1yye.
I'm willing to bet the fight thats been shown over this will mean any future decisions will be taken much more cautiously at the very least; but I'm hoping for more than that.
Wish we cda saved Queen Mary's ane and the specialist mid wife maternity unit. As for QE in will gladly donate to the blow it up fund
Our Millwall neighbours get a load of justified grief for many things but on Save the local Lewisham A+E, they have been supportive. Charlton could do better on this.
My divorce legal costs were significantly higher than that!
Next Sat 29 Lewisham's week of Justice begins. Peoples Commission Michael Mansfield QC the lies exposed BOOK NOW http://bit.ly/17O81uL
Sorry if that upsets you Covered End.