Help Our Hospital!

For almost 80 years St Helier Hospital has stood strongly between the boroughs of Sutton and Merton and for years it's suspected to be closing. By closing three major wards: A&E, Maternity and Children's services would cause significant chaos for the hospital, its staff and most importantly patients and families.

The name of the Accident & Emergency department is pretty self- explanatory, it presents the desperate patients that will be needing the hospitals help - whether it be a broken limb or a near-death experience everyone needs the hospital's resources and care.

It has been well-documented that population rates are rising rapidly, on average in the UK 2000 babies are born every day that's around 14 within each hospital. Without the hospitals help, many babies could be potentially at  risk of ill health, if St.Helier's maternity ward was to close then possibly 14 mothers and babies will be requiring the medical resources each day.

The patients of St Helier's Children's ward are also requiring the services of the hospital. Without the ward many children will be desperate for care so it could lead to other hospitals becoming over-crowded, this would increase the amount of patients and lengthen their waiting time, it could possibly worsen illnesses like meningitis and overall reduce the availability of medical resources. Therefore is it okay to add the whole of St.Helier's ward into other hospitals? Should we be increasing pressure at the hospitals?

Without these wards, patients will need to travel to the closest surrounding hospitals: Croydon's Mayday, St.George's in Tooting, Kingston Hospital or perhaps East Surrey in Redhill. Not only does it mean that Sutton's usual patients will have to travel far distances but will it not also mean that St. Helier's patients will be clogging up the wards of other hospitals.  So will the closure of St.Helier benefit Sutton's community?

Isabel Murphy, St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls