Last week we had a staff meeting at work, the first one I have attended since June. A combination of being off sick and burying my head in the sand means that I have only updates on our proposed closure from friends and hearsay.
Friday however we were told that the public consultation had finished and the findings had been published in a document that would be available for us to read (all 62 pages). The day before our manager had attended the public meeting where the document had been published and discussed. The findings were that the public had voted that they would like to keep the community hospitals but were also in favour for community based services as well as the beds with care. As it was made clear at the start of the consultation there isn’t the funding for all three and that it would ultimately be community hospitals versus community based services along with the beds with care available for patients who were unable to stay at home.
It seems to everyone that remains at my workplaces that we need to face the inevitable and it is only a matter of time before we are closed which could be before the official announcement of the proposed changes in November.
It feels strange knowing that we could receive that call at any time however at the same time we knew that this was a very big possibility.
With my maternity leave starting soon I’m hoping that I miss the day that the call comes through as it will be a very sad day. It’s hard to imagine closing the doors for the last time and knowing that no more patients will be looked after with such love and care that we have provided over the years.
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