Heatherwood Hospital 1978

Conference Urged Over Maternity Unit Deadlock

A blistering attack was launched on East Berkshire Community Health Council this week by Mrs Beverley Beech, chairman of the Association for the Improvement of Maternity Services, who lashed out at the CHC for failing to bring up health problems" when it last met with the Area Health Authority. She said the CHC should not be merely a self-congratulating collection of agreeable individuals," and reminded members that the CHC should" speak for the consumer."

A High-powered conference to break the deadlock over the controversial future of East Berkshire's maternity services is being urged for this month.
The plea for negotiations between consultants and regional, area and community health authorities follows fears that Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital could close through maternity service reorganisation.
The Community Health Council and Area Health Authority have already urged and accepted plans for two maternity units for East Berkshire one at Heatherwood and the other to be built at Wexham Park, Slough.
But members of the CHC this week accused the Oxford based Regional Health Authority of bowing to pressure from consultants and back-tracking" over plans for two maternity centres.
They claimed no progress had been made on the maternity issue in nearly two years.
Meeting
And they called for a joint meeting to make a final decision when they met in Windsor on Tuesday.
Four consultants in the East Berkshire area have consistently opposed plans for two units and have called for only one maternity centre to be based in Windsor.
This would mean that Bracknell patients would have to travel 12 miles to give birth instead of only four miles to Heatherwood.
Now the CHC is frightened that regional health officials will support the consultants, following a letter from them spelling out the virtues of one large obstetric unit.
Protest
The letter is in reply to a CHC letter putting the case for two maternity units in the county area. "Many eminent sources state that hospital maternity services should be provided alongside other acute specialities and most particularly on the same site as the children's unit," the CHC letter reads.
Other reasons included in the CHC protest against one maternity unit only are:
Risk of infection to infants, with no alternative hospital to cope in a crisis. High costs of creating one massive centre when Heatherwood is already equipped and a smaller unit at Wexham could be developed.
Limited capital available for the health service.
Possible closure of Heatherwood if paediatricians moved to a large site at Windsor too.
Draining of capital from the "Cinderella services," such as mental health provision.
Strong resistance by mothers of " baby factories."
Anxiety over travelling great distances, both to give birth and to visit.
"The Windsor option could be hideously expensive and would almost certainly involve demolition and replacement of some existing facilities," the CHC letter said.
"We query this use of the tax payer's money. We are convinced it would be unpopular." New vice-chairman of the CHC, Mr Geoffrey Havelock, blasted the lack of progress in the maternity debate.
"We are back to square one," he said, "that is a deplorable state of affairs."
By-passing
  He added: "We have got to get to the people who are at the moment the niggers in the woodpile."
Bracknell district councillor and a member of the CHC Coun Bill Wreglesworth suggested "by-passing" the consultants and said the council should "push for two units in every possible way."
The AHA and RHA are due to meet later this month to discuss the issue.
The CHC hopes to call the meeting of all bodies concerned after they meet.
Extract Bracknell Times 05/01/1978

 

New Year Joy

John Tracy Morris waited until New Year's Eve celebrations calmed down before arriving at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot at 5.55am on January 1.
His mother Mrs Jessie Morris of Howard Avenue, Manor Park, Slough, was this week resting comfortably in Ward 6 at Heatherwood with her special 8lb 2oz bundle of 1978 cheer.
Extract Bracknell Times 05/01/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo of the new born.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

The Christmas Blues

By Diana Hargreaves.
Skateboard gift lands Nicholas in hospital
Christmas turned sour for an 11 year old Crowthorne boy when a skateboard present landed him in Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital for three months.
Nicholas Yeatman, of Bracknell Road, fell off his skateboard a gift from his parents and fractured a thigh.
His leg had to be pinned under a general anaesthetic on December 29, the day after the accident, and his leg will be in traction in hospital for 12 weeks.
Two other youngsters were taken to Heatherwood on Christmas Day after accidents with their new boards, including Paul Elmes (13), of Anneforde Place, Bracknell, who was detained overnight after a wrist injury. Six more skateboarders were treated at the hospital over the next three days. Nicholas Yeatman was one of the six.
His mother, Mrs Maureen Yeatman said: "Even if we hadn't given him a skateboard, Nicholas would have ridden a friend's.
"I could throw it through the window now," she added, "but we won't stop Neil riding it again. He will make his own decision.
"I wouldn't want to see skateboarding banned, even struck though I think it is dangerous. "It is up to the individual to decide.
Everyone is aware that it is banned it will not stop it can be dangerous, but even if children using boards."
She is glad that her daughter, Caroline (14), has shown no interest in the sport She said that Neil was not moving on his skateboard at the time of the accident. "He was just standing on it in Morgan Recreation ground, talking to a friend and the board slipped away from under him.
" A casualty doctor at Heatherwood Hospital, Dr Harshae Patel, who has treated, many youngsters after skateboarding accidents, would like to see the sport banned.
There have been a great many accidents in the last few months from skateboarding.
It is obviously dangerous and I think it should be banned," he said.
17 skateboard accident cases Dr Patel said he has treated months, with over half of these in the last two and a half happening since Christmas.
Craig Stanning (15) of Sandhurst, broke his forearm on December 30. Dr Patel has also treated one youngster for a broken wrist, another for a head injury, two for broken forearms and one for a dislocated elbow in the last two months.
Tim Fleckney (15), of Winnersh, who is an experienced skateboarder, broke his wrist last Thursday, and was taken to Battle Hospital, Reading
He was riding a friend's board and ran into some grit which stopped the board short He fell forward onto his hands.
One unlucky victim of a skateboarding accident was Mrs Edith Bamfield, who is 72 years old.
Mrs Bamfield lives in Ongar, Essex, and was staying with her daughter, Mrs Olive Jones, in Wick Hill, Bracknell. She was shopping with her daughter in Bracknell last Thursday when skateboard ran into her ankle from the back.
Facilities
"It was a terrible shock. I did not hear anything and there was a sharp bang on my ankle," Mrs Bamfield said. "It was very painful indeed, as it must have been going quite fast. Luckily I was holding on to my daughter's arm or I could have fallen over."
She was taken to Heatherwood where she was given a tetanus injection and her ankle was X-rayed. "It came up like an egg," she said. Nicholas Yeatman takes life easy in Ward 5 at Heatherwood Hospital after breaking his leg in a skateboard accident.
Mrs Bamfield and her daughter felt that this accident could have been avoided if proper facilities for skateboarders were provided.
Extract Wokingham & Bracknell Times 05/01/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by two photos.
The first photo captioned Mrs Edith Bamfield... struck by a skateboard.
The second photo captioned Nicholas Yeatman takes life easy in Ward 5 at Heatherwood Hospital after breaking his leg in a skateboard accident.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

Fears for New Hospital

Fears that plans for a district hospital for Bracknell have been shelved were voiced by East Berkshire Community Health councillors last week.
Members of the "watchdog" committee which represents health service users commented on lack of information about the proposed scheme during recent discussions about the reorganisation of maternity services in East Berkshire.
Bracknell district councillor Bill Wreglesworth pointed out that no details of the plans had been forthcoming from the Oxford based Regional Health Authority or the Area Health Authority.
At present Bracknell people travel to Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot for maternity services, to London for psychiatric beds, and to Wexham Park hospital for other health problems.
After the latest chc meeting in Windsor, Coun Wreglesworth said: "I think there ought to be a district hospital in Bracknell because the population in Bracknell and its district is growing. "We are in such a position that we are nearly void of main hospitals in our small area but north of East Berkshire there is a mass of hospitals."
He called for a "spreading the load" policy to rationalise the health service in the area, rather than centralising it.
In the area plan, presented at the meeting, Coun Wreglesworth said there was no mention of a district hospital in Bracknell.
The plan, drawn up by the Regional Health Authority, is designed to cover the next four years.
Coun Wreglesworth said Bracknell representatives would have to "work hard to ensure an adequate service for the expanding area."
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 12/01/1978

 

Baby Factory Bid By Doctors Fail

Plans to build a 120-bed "baby factory" in East Berks have been rejected by health chiefs.
They have turned down a call by consultants for a new maternity unit to serve Maidenhead, Bracknell. Ascot, Windsor and Slough.
The consultants asked for a new unit at Windsor to replace existing maternity facilities in the area. They claimed that it would need less staff and make better use of expensive equipment.
Resistance
But Oxford Regional Health Authority decided it would be dangerous for mothers-to-be because there would be no standby beds if an infection forced the closure of the new single unit.
"Where are the 120 patients going to be sent if the new unit has to be closed?" asked East Berks Community Health Council.
We are aware of strong resistance by mothers to baby factories, and the community at large expresses great anxiety about travelling distances," said council chairman Mr Norman Nicholson.
The regional health authority is now planning to go ahead with its original scheme two baby units, at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot, and Wexham Park Hospital, Slough.
In a statement issued yesterday, medical officer Dr Rosemary Rue said an "urgent review" was carried out to examine all possibilities.
"This has now been completed, and it has been decided that all things considered, regional planning for a specialist obstetric unit at Wexham Park Hospital will be continued."
Extract Evening Post 17/01/1978

 

Fight To Save Baby Factory

Maternity consultants in East Berkshire have threatened to call in the Health Service ombudsman in a bid to save a 120-bed "baby factory" plan for East Berkshire. And at a meeting of the area health authority yesterday a doctor criticised health chiefs for disregarding the views of the consultants.
Dr Peter Reed told the meeting: "The views of the profession are consistently being trampled into the ground and disregarded. To say there's consultation is just nonsense.
Decisions are taken behind our backs."
The attacks followed the Regional Health Authority's decision to stick with its original plan for two maternity units at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot and Wexham Park Hospital, Slough. They turned down a call from consultants for a new Windsor based maternity unit to serve Maidenhead, Bracknell, Ascot.
Windsor and Slough.
The four consultant obstetricians with the East Berkshire District Stanley Simmons, Tim Anderson, John Hughes, and Nicholas Trickey said this was a "drastic mistake."
At a special press conference held after the announcement Mr Trickey, who works at Heatherwood Hospital, said: "We believe the area health authority made a basic mistake and they have gone too far along the lines of preparing this mistake to retrace their steps.
Dangerous
"They are struggling for existence at this time and it is quite possible that the Royal Commissioner of the Health Service, will find they are unnecessary," said Mr Trickey.
He said the consultants plan would need less staff, make better use of expensive equipment, be in the centre of the district, and although costing a lot to build would be cheaper in the long run.
But the regional chiefs decided it would be too dangerous for mothers to be because there would be no standby beds if an infection forced the closure of the new single unit.
It could also mean demolishing a nurses block at Windsor and possibly part of the post-graduate training centre.
The four consultants, however, stressed there need be no fears of" a baby-factory" for a single unit would provide better staffing and emergency cover and prevent expensive duplication of equipment.
The unit, they said, could cope with 4,000 births a year and would cost about £3 million.
The consultants said they have had a letter from the Oxford Regional Health Authority which hints that with the fall in the growth rate of Bracknell the Heatherwood maternity unit is likely to close anyway leaving only Wexham Park.
Despite their opposition to the two-unit plan, the consultants say they will not refuse to work there but, they will not help any plans for the unit.
They dismissed claims from the community health council that they are motivated by self-interest in asking for Windsor as the potential East Berks centre.
But the consultants admit if their plea to the health service commissioner fails, the only way the Wexham unit plan will be stopped is if public opinion is seen to be on their side.
Extract Evening Post 18/01/1978

 

Babies At Risk Warn Doctors

by Sue Hicks
The survival chances of new born babies in need of intensive care could be improved if East Berkshire gets the go-ahead for a 120-bed maternity unit at Windsor.
But plans to develop two smaller units in the area could leave struggling infants in danger for they would have to be taken outside the area for treatment because of lack of facilities.Those were the claims of maternity consultants at a special press conference this week, when they announced their decision to continue to fight for only one central unit to serve East Berkshire.
They are planning to press on with their campaign, despite the fact that their views were overturned last week when the Regional Health Authority announced its decision to keep Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital maternity unit open and develop plans for a new unit at Wexham Park, Slough.
Speaking out for the first time in public about the reasons behind their fight for one unit, the four consultants warned that babies could suffer if they did not get a better deal because there would be no medical advance in the proposed scheme.
Now the four-two based at Heatherwood and two at Royal Canadian, near Taplow are considering calling in the National Health Service Ombudsman to investigate their case.
And they are looking for public support for a maternity unit at Windsor and asking the RHA to reconsider its decision. The consultants - Dr Nicholas Trickey, Dr Stanley Simmons, Dr Tim Anderson and Dr John Hughes fear that standards of patient care could fall because of the difficulty of attracting staff.
Standards
In a press statement the four agreed unanimously that they would not support the building of a new unit which will be the wrong size and in the wrong place, manifestly wasting resources."
They added: "The interests of the patients are best served by a well staffed, well equipped, highly organised and efficient central unit, so that highest standards of care can be maintained."
At a press conference on Tuesday, the four spelled out the difficulties of running two smaller units each able to cope with up to 2,000 births a year. They said these included: Lack of recognition for training of both midwives and gynaecologists if there were too few births at one unit.
Patients opting to have their babies at High Wycombe or Reading rather than Wexham Park, and so leading to a lower birth rate, and no training recognition.
Difficulty in staffing.
Standards lower than in a central unit with full back up from staff and modern equipment.
More costly to run two services than one, with other health services possibly suffering as a result.
No advance in medical techniques now available for mothers to be, but not found in East Berkshire.
Transport difficulties for patients and visitors.
The consultants say they will not black the new Wexham unit if they fail in their mission. They have been involved in confidential talks with the RHA about maternity reorganisation and now say they will refuse to advise on planning the unit.
They criticised lack of consultation with them at both Area Health Authority and Community Health Council levels and claim the decision was made for "political expediency" and not with the patients in mind.
Spokesman for the four, Dr Trickey, dismissed claims that the single unit would become a "baby factory". He said this was "emotive nonsense". Instead, the doctors claim, such a unit would be large enough to offer intensive care for the new born, not at present found in the area.
It would also allow for medical advancement in techniques and equipment and possibly attract doctors, from throughout the world.
Windsor, the doctors argued,was:
Central, with good transport. An easy place to recruit staff. Would be able to deal with emergencies.
Dr Trickey said: "We believe that the AHA made a basic mistake and they feel they have gone too far along the lines of perpetrating this mistake to retrace their steps."
All four men rejected the reasoning of the RHA that plans for two units were "too advanced" to be changed.
Extract Bracknell Times 19/01/1978

 

The Great Birth Debate

by Sue Hicks Women's Page editor Sue Hicks tackles the thorny problem of women and their babies.
She delves into the views behind the official bodies, and finds out what the experts really think about the subject, that is so close to every woman's heart.
Not only does Sue get the facts, she gets the fears and feelings of the women who have already, or who have yet to face the health service's maternity units.
Find out what everyone is saying and doing about our hospitals, and whether you have anything to fear.

The Baby Business
is predicted to boom in the next few years in Berkshire.
But while the forecasters predict a steady rise in the number of births in the country as a whole and the early 60's baby bulge is expected to start producing its own children, controversy surrounds the future of maternity beds in East Berkshire.
Bracknell's population is still expanding. The birth rate there is bound to increase.
But people in the area cannot be sure where they will go to have their babies.
Last year maternity beds were closed at both Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot, and Canadian Hospital, Taplow.
This year, only one week after Christmas, fears that Bracknell would lose its planned district hospital and Heatherwood maternity unit would close were voiced at East Berkshire Community Health Council. Future hospital services could be centralised on one large Windsor hospital in a reorganisation of maternity services.
Bracknell people would have to travel further, and some mothers fear giving birth in large hospitals would lead to the development of an impersonal "baby factory".
But the consultants are consistently demanding one large maternity centre, and the Regional Health Authority is reconsidering its earlier decision to have two maternity centres at Heatherwood and Wexham Park.
The debate about where maternity units should be in East Berkshire has been raging for more than two years. As the sides gather, preparing to do battle in a round the table conference, Sue Hicks looks at the arguments put forward by the sparring parties.
But two questions remain unanswered so far: Should East Berkshire have two or one maternity units? Which gives the best service to the mother and her new-born child?
Is one hospital enough for your new babies?
  What do you think?
It is your district, your babies, your delivery that is the topic of such bitter, prolonged battle in the health services in East Berkshire at the moment.
Should you have a choice on where, if you and your baby are healthy, your infant's first days should be spent?
Women of the Times will make space for your views on the subject next week.
Do you think home deliveries. are better than hospital deliveries? Would a Bracknell district hospital solve the problem? If Heatherwood maternity unit closed and mother had to travel to Windsor would it be too far?
Are, in your opinion, large, well-staffed and equipped hospitals safer for giving birth or do you prefer small GP units and personal attention there?
Write to Babies Battle, Women of the Times, 54 Peach Street, Wokingham or 84 The Broadway, Bracknell. The more views, the merrier.
What Mums Say
  Giving birth is the most dramatic experience in most women's lives. So it is extremely important that the mother feels confident in the surroundings where her child is born and relaxed with the staff there to help her.
Criticism of induction, drips, lack of facilities for home confinements and the growth of "baby factory" size maternity units has grown through the last decade, as the baby business has become more organised.
Bracknell women I spoke to in a "Times" street poll were horrified at the thought of travelling to Windsor to have their children.
They cited visiting problems, cost of transport, and waste of existing facilities at Heatherwood among their reasons for preferring two maternity units in the East Berkshire district.
Fear of infection spreading through one large unit with no alternative hospital in the district for transfer also put them off the idea of one centralised maternity unit.
Here is what they say:
Mrs Marion Rose of Charters Close, Sunninghill, had her
babies in Old Windsor, but said she objected to the idea of Heatherwood's maternity unit closing,with the possible long-term result of the Ascot hospital losing paediatric sections too, and eventually closing completely. "Quite honestly, I think we need two maternity units in the district," she said. "I think it's terrible to even think of closing Heatherwood. One giant maternity unit could become an impersonal baby factory."
Housewife and secretary,
Mrs Ann Cooper (36) of Harmans Water, Bracknell
had her third child at home and said: "I preferred that to anything else, to be perfectly honest."
She added: "I think Windsor is too far away for visiting, but then the bus Mrs Ann Cooper services to Heatherwood are deplorable and unreliable."
Mrs Cooper, who gave birth to her youngsters, in London, said delivering in a "great big unit" did not appeal to her.
Heatherwood, Mrs Cooper said, should be kept open at all costs. She said it would be "ludicrous and diabolical" to close it, especially as it had been purpose-built.
Mother of one
Mrs Ann Dyer (23) of Priestwood, Bracknell, had her daughter in Heatherwood and said she was "happy" with the attention she received there.
"It would be wrong to close it," she added. "It is the nearest hospital in this area and it is bad enough as it is trying to get buses to Ascot for ante-natal checks and so on."
Mrs Wendy Ball (21) of Home Farm, Bracknell,
a mother of three young children, wants to see Heatherwood remain open for local women, although she was sure she did not want any more children herself.
And
Mrs Janet Morrison (22) of Hanworth,
  pregnant with her first child, said she hated the thought of Heatherwood closing and having to make trips to Windsor for check-ups and the birth.
Extract Bracknell Times 19/01/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by six photo's. The first picture Sue Hicks,the second an unnamed baby picture,the third was Mrs Wendy Ball,the fourth Mrs Janice Morrison,the fifth Mrs Ann Cooper,and the sixth Mrs Ann Dyer.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

The Doctors Speak Out

The four consultants involved in gynaecology and obstetrics in East Berkshire have kept silent over their reasons for fighting for one large maternity unit in the district.
This week, after a press conference in Windsor on Tuesday, their news has been made public for the first time. (See the news pages for the story).
Consultant Dr Nicholas Tricky, involved in the planning of the Heatherwood unit in the 1960's, said last week: "We have not previously been involved in public debate in the midst of confidential discussions with the Regional Health Authority about this problem.
"Now that the RHA has made its views about it public, it makes our task slightly easier. We have prepared a statement, which will be available to the press. "We regard this as a very serious problem. And I promise you we have no other reason to call for a single maternity unit than to provide the best obstetric and gynaecology unit in this district. That is our aim."
Slanging match
Dr Tricky stressed that he did not want, "a slanging match with the Community Health Council or anyone else."
He added: "If the CHC believe that they should tell the public or the consultants where the hospital should be, that is their prerogative.
"But my bet is that if you asked the public who they would prefer to choose for them, the CHC or the consultants, they would say the consultants know the job."
Extract Bracknell Times 19/01/1978

 

'Do you want baby factories?

What are the reasons for and against losing one small maternity unit in favour of a larger new unit so far?
The reasons against one unit, as expressed by the CHC are: Demolition of existing and purpose built units when money is tight wastage of taxpayer's money. Fears that Heatherwood would eventually close, if all gynaecology and children's units were also moved to Windsor.
Risk of infection to infants, with no alternative hospital to cope in a crisis.
Limited capital available for the health service.
Draining of capital from the "Cinderella services," such as mental health provision.
Strong resistance by mothers of "baby factories." Anxiety over travelling great distances, both to give birth and to visit.
In favour
Reasons in favour of a single unit, as presented to the CHC in a letter from the RHA, are: It makes the best use of expensive facilities. Requires less staff, so costing less and deploying scarce trained staff most efficiently. Makes more economic use of sophisticated and expensive equipment, such as foetal monitoring equipment and ultra sound apparatus.
Is most easily supported by the anaesthetic department, particularly in the development of an epidural service.
Demand at short notice of senior medical staff for, e.g. a caesarean section.
Extract Bracknell Times 19/01/1978

 

Sue Hicks Says

Last week women of the Times took a look at various sides in the controversial debate about the future of maternity services in East Berkshire. Since then a decision has been made to keep Heatherwood open and build a new unit at Wexham Park. The consultants are still fighting for one unit at Windsor.
This week we look at the independent view of a Berkshire midwife (see Open Space) and an organisation formed specially with mums and mothers-to-be in mind.
The Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS for short) is a national group which does just what it says.
National chairman of the group, Mrs Beverley Beech, lives in Slough and is a member of East Berkshire Community Health Council, one of the groups which fought to keep two maternity units in the area- at Heatherwood in Ascot and a new unit at Wexham Park Hospital.
Members come from Bracknell, Wokingham and district, as well as from other parts of Britain. Read on for the aims, objectives and details of how to join AIMS as expressed by the group's national committee.

Aiming for better health

Reorganisation of the Health Services is now taking place and severe cuts are being made in the Maternity Services. Members of AIMS are anxious that, in spite of this, standards in maternity care should not fall.
AIMS objectives are:
To make the NHS Administrators conscious of the needs of women using the Maternity Services.
That more midwives be recruited, and the reinstatements of the role of the mid-wife ensuring continuity of care.
Better communication between those who give and those who receive maternity care.
That no mother be subjected to routine procedures (like induction, routine anaesthesia and episiotomies) without her being made aware of the implications.
That there should be a greater awareness of the problems arising in the post-natal period, particularly depression.
To end loneliness in labour. Get more money for the maternity services.
To do research into pain relief and the training of medical staff in the understanding of the psychological effects of childbearing.
The treatment of women throughout pregnancy and confinement as human beings, not as objects to be processed.
Founded in 1960 as a voluntary organisation AIMS was established with the object of bringing about improvements in the maternity services and offers membership to anyone concerned with the physical, mental and social welfare of women and their babies during pregnancy, in labour and in the early post-natal period. Members say the most important objective of AIMS is to become happily redundant! That day has not yet been reached!
Early in its existence AIMS was recognised by what was then the Ministry of Health as representing the consumer; through meetings at the Ministry (now the Department of Health and Social Security) and through written comments on relevant DHSS reports we have since our foundation worked to put forward the views of our members at the highest possible level.
A local AIMS group has prepared another national survey on mothers' experiences of "daylight delivery".
To achieve these objectives, AIMS must continue to make its voice heard, in order to alert the medical and social services to the needs of everyone concerned in the events surrounding childbirth; to draw attention to deficiencies where they exist; to suggest improvements and ways in which they may be made; and to influence future developments, for the ultimate benefit of society as a whole.
What you can do. First, you can make your views as an individual known by joining AIMS, and through your subscription help us to continue our work: we are a voluntary organisation (not a charity) and so our income is derived entirely from subscriptions.
If you are interested in the objectives of AIMS, and would like to join the battle for better maternity provision, contact local group secretary Ann Southam on Slough 39713.

A Midwifes View

A Berkshire midwife and mother with years of experience has decided to speak out on the issue of future maternity provision in East Berkshire.
She has remained anonymous for obvious reasons, although her identity is known to Women of the Times.
The midwife takes a look at alternatives in provision for mothers about to give birth, from both her professional and maternal points of view. And she calls for upgrading of home delivery services.
"Having had. two children, one very recently and both delivered in different conditions, it is very difficult to say which was best. My first child was born in a big, high technology unit and the birth was full of uncertainty for me.
The second was a more enjoyable experience, in a small GP hospital.
Dress rehearsal
"It is a dilemma to say which is best because, although they say childbirth has never been safer and back-up services have improved, in fact the mortality rate has not been improved in high technology units. But doctors say it is much safer for you and your baby to go there.
"The GP units are not as up to date so there is more stringent selection of patients for home delivery and GP delivery.
"With my first baby I had problems towards the last few weeks so I was quite happy to be induced and deliver in a high technology unit.
"My child developed distress in delivery, but you never know if that was because of the induction or whether it would have happened anyway.
But there might have been problems in a GP unit the trouble is that there is no trial run, no dress rehearsal.
"Mothers in Berkshire are deprived of choice.
There is no GP unit in East Berkshire so a mother cannot be looked after in hospital by her own district midwife and GP, who she has got to know and trust in ante-natal care.
"And in Wokingham the GP unit is about eight miles from Royal Berkshire Hospital, which is a long dash with an ambulance, registrars, mother and baby if anything does go wrong in a dire emergency.
"But, on the other hand, when I delivered in the consultant, high technology unit, there was a twin delivery and a forceps delivery going on at the same time, so if something had gone wrong with mine, I would have had to wait.
"Mothers tend to get more help with breast feeding in a GP unit, but that should not be the case.
Any unit is only as good as the people working in it. But GP units tend to be staffed by midwives who have already had a child themselves, so can give more practical help.
"As a midwife rather than as a mother, I am torn between the two because I can see only too well the problems involved in trying to persuade mothers to have their babies where they should have them, for their health and safety.
"Because I am a mother and a midwife, I know I enjoyed having my babies in the GP unit very much better, but at the same time you have to take safety as one of the important factors.
"If a large hospital is planned and there are problems with visiting because of the distance, for example from Bracknell to Windsor or Wexham, you may very well get mothers wanting to go home after 48 hours.
They will push to go home and sometimes that is not in her and her baby's best interests.
Birth rate
"If a central unit were built at Windsor, I cannot honestly believe they would get enough staff to cater for their needs. Windsor has no rising birth rate, Bracknell and area has. Shift hours and bus problems for nurses and midwives and other staff currently working at Heatherwood would make it very difficult.
"Medical staff say it would be more economical to have one big unit and complain that registrars and housemen have to spread themselves around.
But there are an awful lot more midwives and nurses manning the place than doctors.
Doctors usually manage to have cars, nurses do not, usually.
"A central unit could put a strain on the ambulance service, and in cases of infection in the nurseries it would leave no alternative hospital for the babies and their mothers and new admissions.
"If it had to be closed they would either have to deliver at home, or go to an hospital outside the area.
Personally, I would like to see a much greater upgrading of home services.
"Having been community based, I am more in favour of community services.
The hospital plays its part but with good backup community services we minimise the risks. "I think East Berkshire should have two units from the mother's point of view."
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 26/01/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo of Sue Hicks.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

What Happens Now Suspended Nurse

By Times reporter
Sharon Warwick, the Bracknell nurse suspended from entering any property owned by Berkshire Area Health Authority, is worried that she could have difficulty going into hospital for a serious operation.
Ms Warwick is due to undergo a tonsillectomy in the near future, but she claims that her ban includes the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where the operation would take place.
Regular
"I cannot take my son Neil into the hospital either without written permission from the AHA. In fact I cannot do anything without their permission first." said Ms Warwick. Neil, aged eight, has a hip injury and is a regular visitor to Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot.
Ms Warwick, who is chairman of the Berkshire branch of the National Union of Public Employees, was suspended with branch union secretary. Mr Tony Onyewu, from all work at Church Hill House Hospital in December.
They claim that they have been given no proper reasons" for their suspension.
Their cases have been taken up by Mr Alan Furley, prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Wokingham Constituency, and Mr Terry Pearce of the Bracknell and Wokingham Trades Council. Both men are concerned about the lack of clarification from the AHA on the suspensions and are looking into the cases.
They are to take the matter up with senior AHA officials. Ms Warwick has also contacted Mr Roderick MacFarquhar, MP, who has agreed to look into the suspensions and is believed to be concerned about Ms Warwick not being able to enter a hospital without written permission.
My own GP works in the Health Centre at Great Hollands and this is owned by the AHA.
Does that mean that every time I have to see my doctor I have to get written permission? said Ms Warwick.
"I also have a peptic ulcer which erupted last year.
This could happen again do I have to get written permission before I can go into hospital," she asked.
A spokesman for the AHA was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
Extract Bracknell Times 02/02/1978

 

Health chiefs defend baby unit plans

by Sue Hicks
Health chiefs in Berkshire have come to the defence of controversial plans for the future of maternity services in the county, announced last month.
Statements from both the Regional and Area Health Authorities were issued last week following consultants' concern over the decision to build a new unit at Wexham Park and keep Heatherwood open.
The consultants wanted a purpose-built, 120-bed maternity unit at Windsor to serve all of East Berkshire.
After the announcement to build at Wexham Park, they expressed fears that Heatherwood would still close and babies would suffer because of lack of facilities.
And the four consultants were worried that the decision, taken by Regional Health boss Mr David Woodrow after consultation with Area Health Authority chairman Sir John Hedges, was made without full consultation with RHA board.
At a press conference the consultants pointed out that the two men were partners in the same firm of consultants.
Now a statement from the RHA says: "It should be emphasised that the process of planning and subsequent review of the many issues involved were at no time influenced by considerations other than the facts and a desire to reach, in the interests of the patients, the best practical solution that resources allowed." These, the letter continued, included the best use of capital funds and assessment of current and future needs.
Wexham Park, the RHA 'believed, could not be ignored because it offered "modern facilities and potential for development".
The alternative of siting a new unit at Windsor was "objectively and exhaustively examined", the letter continued. "The outcome was a decision to continue regional planning at Wexham Park Hospital."
The consultants fear that Heatherwood will still close and Wexham, to the north of East Berkshire, would be developed as a sole maternity unit for the district.
But a statement from the AHA now says Wexham Park is "designed to complement the existing modern maternity unit at Heatherwood Hospital". There is no mention of replacing it.
And, stressed the AHA, "every effort was made to consult any interested organisation" before a decision was made.
The statement added: "No constructive advice or opinion was ignored and the final decision was made on purely objective grounds."
Factors including existing resources, the needs of patients, potential for expansion and siting of the unit, population trends, costs and time were among those weighed before a decision was reached.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 02/02/1978

 

Ready For The Rush

Bargain hunters flocked to Coopers Hill Youth and Community Centre in Bracknell on Saturday to buy jumble, books, toys, plants, shoes and homemade cakes and jams. The sale held by the Bracknell and District National Childbirth Trust, raised over £40.
The money will go towards funds for training ante-natal teachers. Some money will also go to the maternity units at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot, and Wokingham Hospital.
In the past money raised at the trust's annual sale has paid for wedges for the labour beds in the hospitals.
The trust also runs a post-natal support group which helps new mothers with any mental or physical problems.
Extract Bracknell Times 02/02/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo entitled Ready for Crowds... helpers at the National Childbirth Trust jumble sale held at Coopers Hill Youth and Community Centre Bargains for all at Cooper's Hill.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

Good Will & Hope At Town Volunteer Centre

Fireman, farmer, preacher, potter - we all know what their jobs involve or do we?
In a new Times feature series, reporter Elaine Cavanagh will be taking a behind-the-scenes look at some of the common (and not so common) professions and jobs which surround us.
"Inside Story" shows that many of the jobs we go into involve a lot more than we are ever told at the careers office.
In the first of this series, Elaine visited a group of people who have created a fresh vocation by devoting just a few hours each week to helping others.
Members of the Bracknell Volunteer Centre may be few in number, but their services are vast and varied.
Need a babysitter or someone to walk your dog? Need a bolt tightened or a door painted? Need an emergency lift to hospital or a regular lift to a day centre?
Bracknell's Volunteer Centre is a hive of activity where all these ser- vices, and more, are available.
A tiny room at Coopers Hill Youth and Community Centre is the humble headquarters of this worthwhile organisation, which can provide" life line " help.
For two-and-a-half hours each weekday, group members are on hand to provide furniture movers, baby sitters, "doggy" walkers, hospital drivers and face shavers.
Elderly
The elderly are their main clientele and it is with them they score their greatest hit.
Volunteer drivers provide various visits which might otherwise be impossible, and painting, decorating and electrical maintainance from the town's "good samaritans" help the homes tick over smoothly.
The present head of the dedicated team who run the organisation is Mr John Waddleton, former head of Charters School.
He is there to co-ordinate the work of both the committee who run the office and the force of outside volunteers who make the whole thing possible.
Concern
He explained the organisation had been in existence since 1974, growing out of concern for the various voluntary organisations which seemed to have little contact in the town They function largely as a clearing house for requests for help, which come mostly through the social services and sometimes from the people themselves.
The problem is then referred on to either one of several people who regularly work voluntarily or to a caring group, such as a community organisation.
They also interview potential volunteers, who want to offer their services.
Who are these people?
Like those who set up the Centre they are people with a social conscience. They are the town's housewives, who miraculously have time on their hands. They are the retired who still want to offer something to society and they are youngsters who already have jobs but want something more.
Technician
In the last category comes a young man who works as a technician at the Road Research Laboratory. He is on the group's "books" and whenever there is a call for an electrical job he is the man they call on.
Office helper and mother of two, Mrs Margaret Harman, said: "People can be very kind. For example if a person requires a visit to somewhere for several weeks someone will volunteer to help."
She said the only time they found problems was when some form of help was needed very quickly, such as baby sitting in only a few hours time.
The group also makes a modest claim towards reducing duplication of the town's services.
Galling
"We would like to see less "overlap" of services," said Mr Waddleton, "It is a bit galling to drive someone to Heatherwood hospital and see two other vehicles, with the names of Bracknell organisations on the side, doing the same task." Strong links with "overlap" groups is their best answer to solving the problem.
"Infinite variety" is the way to describe the calls for help which come to the Centre.
There can be few organisations from where people can get an early morning shave or assistance to get on a horse from the same office.
Priorities
Group members receive calls from schools, asking for volunteers to walk alongside when children are having riding lessons.
The Volunteer Centre also farms members out to the same schools to put the grounds into shape. In fact, gardening requests come high on the list of priorities.
A close shave rates among the more unusual calls. One volunteer attends an elderly gentleman once a week to give him that all important "lather up" and whisk away the whiskers.
Now what would you do with your old cooker if you were moving house? Bury it in the garden of course. That was clearly one family's answer to the problem, because members of the Volunteer Centre found themselves dig. ging a lot more than weeds from the garden when the new owners called them in to remove the offending article.
In demand
Drivers are the people most in demand by the community, particularly its more elderly members, who can be virtually "cut off" in the New Town's scattered estates. "Although the district council mini-bus service is a very good one, we have had a lot more calls for transport since the bus concessions were reduced last year," explained Mr Waddleton.
Volunteer drivers can, in fact, find themselves ferrying folk from Bracknell and district to anywhere between Land's End and John o' Groat's.
Last year, one old person was taken to Worthing Regular visits include those to hospitals in Windsor and London.
Parents with children in hospitals, who cannot reach them for visits also have good cause for being more than grateful to the band of charitable taxi drivers.
Among the notable otters of help are those which come from the town's firms, who are always willing to rally round in cases of help.
One example quoted by Mr Waddleton was the case of an elderly person who was deaf and needed a signal system to show when the front door bell was ringing. A mere mention of the need to a local electrical firm and it was no sooner said than done, free of course.
And there was the pensioner who needed an immersion heater. A local plumber got to work and promptly installed the system, free of course.
The Volunteer Centre is not short of jobs. What they lack is publicity. Despite quite extensive distribution of leaflets in doctors surgeries and community centres, talks and contacts with other voluntary organisations the group members still feel they are a little in the shadows.
Secretary
Mrs Margaret Dart, who is also secretary of the National Childbirth Trust in Bracknell, said: "People do not know enough about us. There must be lots of people behind closed doors who need help and just do not know about us." Members felt a more central position would be one answer to the problem and were hopeful they might be given a town centre office sometime within two years. "It is obvious," said Mr Waddleton, "if you come out of Bentalls you immediately see the Citizens Advice Bureau and go in there if you need help.
If people saw the Volunteer Centre they might be encouraged to come in and find out more about us." If you would like to help the Volunteer Centre to help others they would be more than pleased to hear from you.
Join them
Join them and you will find yourself part of an enthusiastic and dedicated team.
Choose between visiting the elderly, befriending the housebound, helping in hospitals or with families, fund raising, serving on committees or off-loading some of that wearisome clerical work.
You can make it your part-time, full-time or even new vocation in life.
A little "do-gooding" from this small group of people would certainly seem to be doing Bracknell some good and it is indeed a case of the more the merrier too many cooks cannot spoil this social recipe.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 09/02/1978

 

Dozens of Icy Roads Casualties

By Susan Whitehead
Heatherwood Hospital staff treated more than 50 casualties on Tuesday morning after a series of accidents on treacherous icy roads and pavements.
Overnight rain froze as Berkshire was gripped by the worst wintry weather for many years.
The freeze hit traffic on road and rail, while pedestrians struggled along lethal footpaths.
Between 7.20am and 1.30pm, Heatherwood staff coped with 51 cases of broken bones and bruising from falls and motorbike spills.
Rush hour roads were turned into skating rinks and Southern Region had its worst day of the winter with morning commuters having to contend with cancellations and up to one hour delays as BR staff frantically tried to get their trains moving.
Extract Wokingham Times 23/02/1978

 

Baby Unit faces Delay

The new maternity unit for Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, is to be delayed two years.
It is now expected to open by mid-1983. Work is due to start on the site in September 1980.
It was originally hoped the wards, which will include obstetric and gynaecology beds and a special baby unit, would open by 1981.
The planning and design stage was originally to be reduced from 42 months to 24. But the plan has now been enlarged and will cost £3 million instead of the original £1.3 million.
It will also include a major extension to the pathology department and urgently needed staff accommodation This means a two-year setback
Controversy
The planning and design is now expected to take 30 months.
On top of that plans of this size have to go before the Department of Health and Social Security this will add to the delays.
The baby unit plan has recently been in the middle of a controversy.
East Berkshire consultants favoured a plan for one large baby factory" at King Edward VII Hospital at Windsor to serve Berkshire's east district.
But health chiefs decided to stick with their original decision to have two units-one at Wexham Park Hospital and the other at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot.
Extract Evening Post 22/03/1978

 

A Job to Get Your Teeth Into At Heatherwood

Inside story.
Times reporter Elaine Cavanagh takes a behind the scenes look at the workings of the kitchens at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot.
It'S A Sunday lunch every day at Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital and there's food for thought.
Providing breakfasts, lunches and teas for 278 patients and 600 staff every day is indeed a job to get your teeth into and the man with the responsibility for providing the "daily bread" is catering manager, Mr Tony Atkinson.
He prides himself on the consistently good standard of cuisine which he and his staff of 30 cooks, dining room and kitchen maids, and storemen work hard to achieve.
"We have a good standard here and as proof we have a bookfull of complimentary letters from patients and members of staff," explained Mr Atkinson, who has worked at Heatherwood for nine years.
He has responsibility for everything that happens to the hospital's food. From the moment it is delivered to the door as carcasses of lamb or crates of fresh fish to the time it appears on the plates as chops or cod in batter, the catering manager must be on hand to see that everything goes smoothly.
He must have a keen eye for quality. Mr Atkinson explained he had to be difficult about the quality of food sometimes to keep the standards high.
If a batch of peas or delivery of beef is not up to scratch they go back even if it leads to chaos in the kitchen and the next day's menu being changed!
His day is full and starts with an extensive tour of the fridges to ensure there is nothing in them which should not be there.
Next is a conference with the dining supervisor to discuss the day's work and during this she submits a book containing demands for specific foods which he has to authorise.
Mr Atkinson explained he had to organise orders from the various wholesalers, but the hospital was not free to pick and choose the people it bought from. He said they were under strict control from the Health Department.
Some days there are fresh deliveries of meat and he is the man who personally supervises its arrival, labelling and storage Another regular duty is to visit the wards and see if any special requests for foods are being made.
Lunchtime is between 12 noon and 1.30pm and while meals are being taken to the patients bedsides the staff are taking a well-earned break for a meal in the hospital dining room
And one of the more distinct features of the hospital's meal service is the sight of Mr Atkinson himself busy at the end of the counter carving away at a leg of lamb, or shoulder of pork "We always carve meat in front of the customers," he explained. "You won't find that in every hospital."
His afternoons are spent dealing with administration - writing letters, interviewing staff and ensuring the evening meal is under way.
Hospital food has an unfortunate reputation with many people, but at Heatherwood the dedication and personal service of the catering staff soon removes any worries of plain meals and monotonous sweets.
Roast dinners, fish and chips, spaghetti bolognaise, ploughman's lunches, trifles and rhubarb tart are all familiar features on the menu.
"It's Sunday lunch every day at Heatherwood," said Mr Atkinson.
Money of course does place restrictions, and the catering department has to run under a financial budget. "To avoid spending your money as a taxpayer unnecessarily there are three things needed - good planning, good purchasing and first class production," explained Mr Atkinson. If you don't have those you can incur a terrific amount of waste which can put you in debt."
Not all the patients at the hospital can eat the same foods so special attention has to be given to those needing individual diets Foods for diabetics are of particular importance for without the correct calory level patients may go into a coma
The diets are distinguished by coloured markings and appropriately the diabetic menu is given "warning" red as a coding.
Religion can cause a bit of a headache as well. Mr Atkinson said increasing numbers of Asian people coming to the hospital meant they had to give more thought to those who could not eat meat.
Fortunately the problem arises mainly in the maternity departments where stays are short term Christmas or Easter are not the sort of times when you want to be lying in a hospital bed but at Heatherwood a concentrated attempt is always made to bring in the spirit of the occasion.
A lavish menu is always prepared for both Christmas and Boxing Day Mr Atkinson takes a specially printed menu sheet to every patient on Christmas Eve so they know what delicacies they can expect.
Easter again marks a day of carefully planned dishes, with the added treat of hot cross buns and butter.
And birthdays are not to be forgotten either. "If we know in time that someone is about to have a birthday we endeavour to acknowledge it with a small sponge cake with their name on it," said Mr Atkinson. "The food here is marvellous," commented nurse Evelyn Crowther of the maternity ward, and she was right.
It surprises me some patients ever want to leave!
Extract Wokingham Times 13/04/1978

 

Ladies' Circle

Bracknell Ladies' Circle will be concentrating its efforts this year on raising money to help children with breathing problems.
The group has just decided on its "mission" and many of its forthcoming events will help Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot, to buy an Oxymist tent and stand.
The group's press officer, Mrs Jenny Mew, said as well as raising money for this special purpose they would also be holding a few events to boost their general funds
Extract Bracknell Times 01/06/1978

 

Bank Holiday fun at Ascot

The sun shone on Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale carnival on Bank Holiday Money assuring a successful day.
The carnival procession left Ascot High Street at 1.15pm on a stately tour of the villages led by the British Airways Pipe Band.
Splendid floats elaborately decorated were flanked by clowns.
The carnival queen was driven through the streets in a vintage car.
The carnival was held at Broomhall Recreation Ground, where tombola's, raffles, hot-dog stalls, and countless other stalls did a hectic trade.
Six-a-side football, a karate display, maypole and country dancing and a pubs tug-of-war provided excellent entertainment.
Other competitions included children's fancy dress, decorated bicycles, best bonnet, knobbly knees and the prettiest guinea pig.
Several local charities such as the Sunningdale Ladies' Club, had their own stalls to raise money.
The central carnival fund is to be turned over to an Ascot vicar after costs have been taken out to be distributed among local youth projects.
Heatherwood Hospital enter's an elaborate float with a message in the carnival procession. Posters on the float and sandwich-board holders exhorted the public not to leave litter around.
Extract Bracknell Times 01/06/1978

 

Ascot

Ascot Ladies' Circle members will be living up to the motto of their international organisation Friendship and Service today when they entertain women from Stratford and Birmingham circles to a garden party lunch.
Their 53 guests are coming to Ascot for Ladies' Day at the Races. The local group are laying on a cold buffet of gorgeous food and sparkling wine in the Sunninghill garden of their chairman, Mrs Diane Barnett.
Lunch is planned for 12 noon in order to give the visitors a long day at the races.
Service is not to be sacrificed to friendship, though. The visitors will be charged a small fee for their feast and profits will go towards the Ladies' Circle local project supporting their adopted ward at Heatherwood Hospital.
Extract Bracknell Times 22/06/1978

 

Walking Up a Thirst

Lions step out to help hospital
A five mile walk is full of adventure when it includes stops at 12 Ascot and Winkfield pubs.
That's what Bracknell Lions discovered on their fourth annual pub. crawl.
More than 100 people took part in the crawl, which began at Bracknell Rugby Club.
The sponsorship money they raised is expected to reach £1,350, which will be put towards a heart machine for Heatherwood Hospital at Ascot.
Extract Wokingham Times 13/07/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by two photos.
The first photo captioned showed Time for a pint and a knees-up.
The second photo captioned or perhaps a lift-up for the weary as they go on their way.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photos here.

 

Bracknell Ladies Circle

Bracknell Ladies Circle has begun its year of fund raising with two successful events.
The group is collecting money to help provide an Oxymist Tent, for youngsters with breathing problems, which will be given to Heatherwood Hospital
On June 28 the group held a charity luncheon which was held outside and made £55.
On Royal visit day - July 14 many were in need of a cup of tea and the wives' group occupied the Tea House all day providing refreshments and home-made cakes.
The day brought in a further £50.
Their next fund raising activity is planned for August 28 when they will hold a "Dice and Pomagne" stand at the Bracknell Fair.
Extract Bracknell Times 22/07/1978

 

Hospital show paid for £350 machine

The staff of Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital raised enough money at a concert earlier in the year to be able to buy a machine that enables sufferers from bronchitis and asthma to improve their breathing.
The machine, called a Minibird Respirator, cost around £350 and was the product of a variety show held in January at the hospital in which some 40 members of staff took part.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 03/08/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo Pictured from-left to right are Adrienne Hughes, senior physiotherapist from the Canadian Red Cross in Taplow, Roberta' Jarvis, superintendent physiotherapist, Maurice Looker, a patient, and Dr J. Hare, physiotherapist at Heatherwood.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photo here.

 

Travel is Not Good for Health

As the local district councillors have written in the Times recently that there is a need for a general District Hospital in the Wokingham area "in case of emergencies,,' I would like to say that I fully agree with them.
Heatherwood and Battle hospitals are both too far away in the case of an emergency, for the people who live in the Finchampstead area.
Mr Ian Islip, Administrator of Berkshire Area Health Authority, says that there is no need for a District Hospital in Wokingham.
I suggest that Mr Islip should consult the local GPs in Bracknell, Wokingham, Crowthorne and Finchhampstead, and then make a statement.
For several months I had to travel to Battle Hospital, Reading, for treatment.
This is some 14 miles away from where I live. I have now been referred to a consultant surgeon at Battle Hospital. My wife will have to travel 28 miles to visit me there although the congested Reading traffic is time-wasting, especially at weekends.
1 appeal to Mr W. R. van Straubenzee, MP for Wokingham and Bracknell, and also to Dr Gerry Vaughan, MP for Reading South to do something about it.
Why has the former Pinewood Chest Hospital been allowed to rot away and not been rebuilt and improved to be used as a District General Hospital as Councillor Mr John Trimming suggested? Mr Islip should have thought about it years ago.
The hospital has beautiful gardens and grounds and during the Second World War the Canadian army and air force used it.
Why can it not be restored and used for emergencies now? Dr Vaughan, please do something about it. You are a medical man yourself. Z. Salnais, Riga, Grove Lane, Wokingham.
Extract Wokingham Times 03/08/1978

 

More Help For The Elderly

Hospital care for the elderly and the mentally ill will be stepped up in East Berkshire if proposals in Berkshire's annual plan are adopted by the county's Area Health Authority.
More beds could be created at Windsor Hospital for the elderly and a major scheme for care of the mentally ill at Heatherwood Hospital would be given the green light if the plan goes through, AHA members heard on Tuesday.
The report states that the poor services for the elderly in East Berkshire had prompted a concrete start on developing and expanding the services.
More beds are being made available at Upton Hospital and Finlaison Ward at Old Windsor Hospital would be reopened during 1978/79 to provide a further 19 beds for the elderly and elderly mentally infirm patients.
The plan which at this stage is only in draft form, also recommends that a day centre be provided for the mentally ill at Heatherwood Hospital during 1979/1980.
It also urges a greater emphasis on community care services for the chronically ill, the elderly and the mentally handicapped.
Now the plan will go before East and West Berkshire Health District representatives who will comment on the recommendations.
Extract Bracknell Times 24/08/1978

 

Ascot Day Centre

The Ascot district's brand new day centre has proved an immediate hit with local pensioners, who are planning to make full use of the hall.
A number of setbacks did not delay the opening of the new building, although when the first visitors arrived last week it was to find the electricity not connected and the telephone not installed.
But these problems did not worry the old people, who declared the new building a wonderful amenity.
Parties
When all systems are go, there will be regular lunch parties at the centre two days a week and snacks and hot drinks available on other weekdays. With the help of Heatherwood Hospital, the pensioners were still able to enjoy hot lunches last Wednesday and Friday.
The centre boasts a pleasant sunny dining area connected with a well-equipped kitchen by a serving-hatch.
Next door is a quiet room where visitors will be able to relax with a book or chat to their friends. A bookcase stocked with reading material, cards and games gives the new hall a homely touch already.
Hairdressing
The building, next to the Gas Works Field, Sunninghill, has been thoughtfully designed for its purpose. The supervisor, Mrs S. McEwan, showed me the low basin where it is hoped hairdressing sessions will be I held for those who are unable to get to a commercial hairdressers.
There is a specially designed lavatory for disabled old people and wide doors to take a wheelchair comfortably. "It is beautifully fitted out," said Mrs McEwan. "The volunteers who give us help are absolutely marvellous."
Pensioners who visited the centre for the Friday lunch party echoed her view. Mrs Kathleen Wadey spoke for her friends when she said: "I think it is a fine place. Everybody is having a wonderful time here."
Mr Arthur Hind, of Trinity Crescent, Sunningdale, added: "I certainly approve of day centres like this one." He was one of the founder members of the Friday lunch club when it used to meet at the council offices in Kingswick Drive. Then, with no kitchen, the meeting's washing-up had to be done in a baby's bath or taken to member's homes. Now, the elderly enjoy pristine premises with the promise of all mod-cons.
Bridge
They plan to make the most of their new centre. A bridge afternoon is already in the offing and there is talk of a dance sometime soon. The hall is already open from 10.30am to 4pm each weekday a the organisers point out the most important aim is to get people together.
A day centre has been needed for many years in the area, where public transport is difficult and many old pensioners are confined to their own community.
The new building filled a gap and the pensioners who will use it was certainly worth the waiting.
Extract Bracknell Times 14/09/1978

 

Emergencies only, say the hospitals

by Vicki Elcoate
Admissions to hospital in East Berkshire were cut to emergencies only today as a result of the dispute by maintenance supervisors.
Breakdowns at the district's main laundry at Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot have meant a 20 per cent decrease in clean laundry supplied to hospitals.
And the area health authority fears services could be even more seriously affected if the action is stepped up on October 2, as the unions have threatened.
Talks are due to be held in London tomorrow between the management and staff side of the Whitley Council, the maintenance men's negotiating body.
But if stalemate in the four year old dispute over pay structures is reached again, union members in Berkshire have already said they will escalate the action.
The action has affected hospitals throughout the Thames Valley but East Berkshire is the first district to cut admissions to emergencies only. Mr Ray Gosney, the district's general administrator, said today: "The district management team has had to request the suspension of all 'cold' admissions."
He said decisions on specific cases would be left to consultants but in general this meant no non-urgent cases would be admitted.
"The district management team regrets the inconvenience being caused to patients due to circumstances beyond its control," he said.
He said every possible step was being taken to conserve laundry supplies but the output from the Heatherwood laundry had been "considerably reduced."
The authority has been notified by the union involved which had 30 members in Berkshire that if no agreement is reached they will extend their action to sterilising departments on October 2.
Extract Evening Post 25/09/1978

 

Emergencies Only At Heatherwood

A ban on all but emergency admissions to Heatherwood and other East Berkshire hospitals came this week as industrial action by hospital engineers and building officers began to bite.
And the Area Health Authority fears services could be even more seriously affected if the unions carry out their threat to suspend maintenance of sterilisers from October 2.
The local maintenance workers, who belong to NALGO have suspended services to ambulance stations, clinics, and transport in support of a long standing pay claim.
Ambulance
Laundry services have been the first to suffer from the maintenance workers' selective action.
Output of clean linen from Heatherwood's laundry has fallen by an estimated half since the suspension of repair and maintenance services on September 18 and the decision to take only emergency cases was made to conserve linen.
The union has agreed to keep ambulance communications going and also to maintain laundry services if they fall below the level needed to supply emergency services.
But they are discussing a further escalation of the action.
The maintenance workers have been fighting for a new pay structure for the past four years.
In 1974 industrial action secured a pay structure for the senior posts.
Enough
"Now the other men have said 'enough's enough'," said union spokesman Mr David Bennet.
"We have seen more ministerial activity in the last two weeks with this dispute than has ever been known.
We are hoping the Government will bring pressure to bear on management.
"But Tuesday's talks ended in deadlock."
Miss Cathleen Excell, hospital administrator at Heatherwood, told the Times: "At the moment we are just about managing to hold up our end as far as emergencies are concerned.
"But we have had to close the hospital to all routine admissions.
If the men stop maintaining sterilisers, things will get much worse."
Extract Bracknell Times 28/09/1978

 

Pay Row Hits Surgery

By Jackie Corbidge
Hospitals in the Thames Valley area are having to postpone operations because of the maintenance supervisors' dispute.
Many hospitals are dealing only with emergency cases as they turn away patients on their operation waiting lists.
Patients due for operations are being told not to even report to hospitals until the three-week-old dispute ends.
This means that hospital consultants are being faced with the unpleasant task of deciding whether a patient can wait for an operation which has meant that hundreds needing treatments for varicose veins, hernias and gall bladders are now facing further delays.
At Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital which serves the Wokingham, Bracknell, Ascot and Crowthorne areas the dispute has meant that the establishment is only treating emergency admissions.
"People needing replacement hips and varicose vein operations, for example, are. haying to wait because of the dispute," said press officer Miss Kathleen Excell.
The hospital usually has a non-urgent operation list of around 60 a week but by the end of this week it will have postponed about 180 operations.
There are also problems with bed linen and laundry-when machines break down maintenance supervisors will not mend them, unless there is a special need.
"But this is not affecting us at Heatherwood too badly," said Miss Excell. "We are managing to cope.
The staff are having their linen changed once a fortnight instead of weekly to help the problem." In West Berkshire, which includes Battle Hospital and the Royal Berks in Reading, about 40 per cent of the operating list has been suspended.
But again emergency cases are being dealt with as normal. Admissions have been cut to save hospital linen and sterilised supplies which have been hit by the action, which is in support of a long-standing grievance over pay structure.
Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, which admits patients from East Berkshire is postponing up to 50 operations a week Wokingham Hospital is also similarly affected by the industrial action as all linen there is laundered at nearby Battle Hospital.
To help cope with the present crisis maximum use is already being made of disposable sheets and all reserve stocks of bed linen have been brought into action.
But asking patients to bring in their own bed sheets and pillow cases have been rejected in the area.
Mr David Bennet, chairman of the emergency committee in Berkshire where most men involved in the dispute are members of NALGO, the white collar union, said that hospital managements had claimed they had not had enough warning of the dispute.
But he maintained that the union members had given at least one month's warning nationally.
Many union members are saying that hospital management in Berkshire are "overreacting" in some areas and the Government is making things worse by delaying negotiations.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 12/10/1978

 

New Unit For Heatherwood

East Berkshire psychiatric patients who now have to travel to London for a day care facilities will have a much shorter journey if plans for a day care unit at Heatherwood are approved.
The nearest day centre in operation is at St Bernard's Hospital, Southall.
The Heatherwood scheme, which has been submitted to Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council for planning approval is for a new building in the hospital grounds.
It will include several consulting rooms for psychiatrists and occupational therapists, a creche and lounge room, a hobbies workshop staffed by occupational therapists, and record and staffrooms There will be a dining facility where midday meals and snacks will be served, with a small rehabilitation kitchen.
The project is the first scheme financed jointly by the area health authority and, Berkshire social services to get off the ground.
If the plans are approved, the social services hope the building will be completed some time next summer.
Hopeful
The project co-ordinator Mr Dermot Daly, of Reading social services, said he hoped the unit would be open five days a week.
"Opening times may well extend into the evening, depending on whether people want to use it then," he said. "We are all hoping the project will be allowed to proceed. There is pressure from everywhere to get it in use."
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 12/10/1978

 

Whooping Cough in the 1980's Predicted

A major outbreak of whooping cough in the early 1980s is among predictions in Berkshire Area Health Authority's planning blueprint for the next 10 years.
The area's strategic plan also includes proposals to put fluoride in drinking water and provide more hospital beds for old people.
The report, drawn up by area medical officer Dr Peter Dixon, says that so many mothers are not having their children immunised against whooping cough that an outbreak worse than any in the 60s is expected in 1981 or 82. He calls for adequate information on the benefits of vaccination to be given out and for more women to be immunised against German measles.
Dr Dixon says equipment to put fluoride in drinking water. costing £100,000, should be installed in the next 10 years.
Improve
Some of the money is expected to be provided by the Department of Health. The report calls for better staffing levels in the health service. "Most, if not all, present staffing levels fall below desirable and recommended standards," it says.
Dr Dixon wants the health authority to improve the "unsatisfactory ratio of untrained to trained staff. He feels more money should be used to take on more staff than to provide extra facilities. Priorities in the West Berk shire district should include replacing or improving all hospital wards that are below standard, says Dr Dixon.
In East Berkshire facilities will have to be improved at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot, or new ones provided in Bracknell to take the place of the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital, which it is planned to close down.
Better facilities for the growing number of elderly people should be provided, says the report.
Dr Dixon points out that Berkshire is nearly 400 day care places for the mentally ill short of Government guide- lines. He calls for this shortage to be corrected. He is also critical of the service provided for the elderly mentally ill, saying it is "low and unevenly distributed".
"This is one of the most pressing needs and the priority given to the development of this service in the current financial year supports this." he says.
Up to 150 beds should be provided in community hospitals for old people and more day hospital facilities should be opened.
The report will be considered by community health councils, local authorities, various organisations and the public before any decisions are made.
Extract Evening Post 18/10/1978

 

Casualty Services Cuts Under Fire

Technicians at hospital casualty departments can make an extra £3,000 a year in emergency call out pay, local councillors have been told.
Because accident and emergency departments are not continually manned, it means calling in the technicians to operate X-rays and other equipment out of hours, Dr Samuel McClatchey, East Berks Community Physician told Windsor and Maidenhead Council's health and housing committee.
Dr McClatchey used the technicians as an example of the expense incurred by running a 24-hour casualty service at every hospital in the area.
Although the overtime pay was perfectly legitimate, he said it highlighted the problems of running casualty services on the money available.
This was one of the reasons behind the decision to shut down the casualty departments in Windsor and Maidenhead outside office hours.
Councillors said they were concerned at the decision, particularly as the two nearest hospitals with a round the clock service Wexham Park, Slough, and Heatherwood hospital, Ascot were difficult to reach for people in the borough without their own transport.
The committee was being asked for their views on the Berks Area Health Authority operational plan, including the siting of a new district general hospital for East Berks.
Councillors said they would prefer a new hospital to be incorporated with Heatherwood rather than the alternative suggestion of Wokingham. They have also lodged objections at the decision to reduce the casualty service, have reiterated their belief for better hospital facilities in the Maidenhead area and expressed their disappointment at the decision to close the Canadian Red Cross Maternity Hospital when the lease runs out in 1988.
Extract Evening Post 25/10/1978

 

No Room at Hospital for Some Expectant Mums

Heatherwood hospital doctors say there is no room for many of the expectant mothers who are due to have their babies there in the next few months.
A crucial shortage of midwives at the Ascot hospital has led obstetricians to say they cannot increase maternity admissions beyond 170 a month way below anticipated levels.
And arrangements to cope with Heatherwood's overflow of maternity patients at other hospitals in the county have collapsed, according to area medical officer Dr Peter Dixon.
Heatherwood doctors have told the Berkshire Area Health Authority they will not lower their standard of maternity care because of the midwife shortage.
Maximum
Hospital administrator Mr Derek Fairman told the Times this week that mothers were not getting the attention they should receive. He added: "I would think 170 is the very maximum we could admit."
The hospital has been referring expectant mothers to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, and the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital at Taplow.
But Dr Dixon says: "Both those hospitals have found difficulty in accommodating the overflow and so those arrangements are falling apart too.
"Canadian Red Cross say they can keep up with their part of the demand so maternity patients from the Slough and Maidenhead end of the district will end be able to go there.
"Some people from the Bracknell end of the health district will still be able to go to Royal Berkshire, but there will still be some overflow to be accommodated.
"But there will probably be eight, 10 or 12 patients a month for whom there is no room."
Outside
The health authorities are investigating the possibility of referring mothers to be to other hospitals outside the area, like Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey.
The two maternity units in East Berkshire, Heatherwood and the Canadian Red Cross, decided to put upper limits on maternity admissions when the national shortage of midwives first hit services.
The 170 patient limit at Heatherwood is 12 or 15 below the number of expected babies.
School
The authorities hope the national dearth of midwives will improve after Christmas when a re established training school starts to produce more qualified people.
Almost all Berkshire babies are now delivered in hospital, and 25 per cent of expectant mothers are admitted for pre-natal care.
Obstetricians stress the importance of pre-natal and ante-natal care for healthier babies, and they do not want to see a conveyor belt system with mothers rushed in and out of hospital.
Dr Dixon says home confinements would not provide a solution to the problem because the main reason for the limit on admissions is the lack of midwives.
Many GPs, he added, feel they have not been able to keep up the skills required for home deliveries because most women now have their babies in hospital. They say they cannot provide the necessary medical backup.
The hospitals are doing all they can to take the load of work off the midwives in order to help ease the situation.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 26/10/1978

 

Alice retires

Miss Alice Stanley, who has been a midwife in Crowthorne for the last 17 years, retired last week. Miss Stanley was presented with a number of gifts by her colleagues at a special presentation held at Heatherwood Hospital's maternity unit last week.
Her work during the last 17 years was praised, and I am left wondering how many babies she helped bring into the world during those 17 years. It must run into thousands!
Extract Bracknell Times 26/10/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo the picture shows Miss Stanley (left) with her presents. Next to her is Miss Solive Millar, senior nursing officer; Mr Derek Fairman, hospital administrator; Miss Dorothy Howard, nursing officer, and 10 year old Tina Andrews who is one of the many youngsters Alice delivered during her 17 years of service.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photo here.

 

Hospitals Face New Strike Threat

By Susan Whitehead
A New threat of disruption faces Berkshire hospitals as they begin to recover from the six weeks of industrial action by maintenance supervisors which effectively blocked admission of non-emergency cases.
Now ancillary workers members of the NUPE and COHSE say they have drawn up detailed plans for industrial action to back their decision to fight the Government's five per cent pay guideline. If the ancillary workers come out against their health service bosses, local hospitals could be forced to close their doors completely.
Officials of NUPE and COHSE say action will be taken if their claim for a basic rate of £60 a week is not met. Ancillary workers at Heatherwood Hospital, which serves the Bracknell and Ascot areas of East Berkshire, are represented by the General and Municipal Workers' Union.
Miss Cathleen Excell, Heatherwood administrator told me: "We have not heard that the ancillary workers here have appealed for a pay rise, but I expect they will do.
"If they all decided to come out we would close for sure. We may just be able to run a service with the help of people who are not in the union. We just cannot tell " Ancillary workers from the hospital's catering, laundry and domestic staffs as well as the porters and other workers.
The new threat to the county's hospital services comes as staff count the cost of the maintenance supervisor's withdrawal of work on vital equipment like sterilisers and laundry machines. Health authorities in Berkshire spent many thousands of pounds on disposable linen to enable them to continue with an emergency service.
In the West district, which includes Wokingham, a waiting list of 3,270 patients went up by nearly 700 during the dispute.
The authorities say things should get back to normal during this week and people whose operations were delayed because of the industrial action receive notice of a new date within a few days.
Extract Bracknell Times 02/11/1978

 

Award for Good Food hospital

By Susan Whitehead
The gourmet cooking enjoyed by Heatherwood Hospital patients has made the 1979 edition of Egon Ronay's highly respected food guide and with honours.
Heatherwood's catering is singled out for special praise in an introduction to the chapter on hospital food, and under its main entry meals are described as "uniformly good."
Catering manager Mr Tony Atkinson, MBE, who joined the hospital 10 years ago after a career in the Army and as banqueting manager at the House of Commons, is acknowledged as the man behind the excellent cuisine enjoyed by patients and staff alike.
"Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital enjoys but only till his retirement in April the flair and enthusiasm of a catering manager who had a distinguished career behind him," says the guide.
"He has created a pleasing dining room from an institutional hall, has trained a fine team of local young women in the kitchen, makes a modest profit for the hospital from surplus supplies by selling home cooked cakes, flans, etc, to local staff and provides meals on wheels."
None of the kitchen staff knew Egon Ronay's researcher was visiting the hospital. In fact, when Mr Atkinson was introduced to the man he unwittingly joked: "You don't want to eat here the food's terrible."
Carefully
But the anonymous visitor reported: "Roast beef, home cooked ham and a pork chop were offered for our lunch time choice of main courses, the roast beef being generously portioned and very carefully cooked, even if not quite of prime quality. "Accompanying it were crisp cauliflower, firm and well coloured, sliced beans and roast potatoes that looked and tasted very well."
"Baked jam roll followed, beyond reproach for its texture, and the quality and quantity of jam with well made, smooth custard."
High praise like this is the cooks' every day response from the patients, and all this is managed on a tight budget of £6 a week per patient.
Mr Atkinson treasures a pile of appreciative letters from patients which he says he would not change for gold, and he sees the Egon Ronay entry as a good retirement present after a lifetime's work in catering.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 09/11/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by three photo's
1st picture shows Miss Bella Austin, head of the Heatherwood kitchens, checks the roasts,
seconds picture Experienced cake-maker Iris Williams shows 16-year-old trainee Janet Smith how to finish off a gateau,
final picture Tony Atkinson with the catering staff.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photo here.

 

Church notes

There is an invitation for anyone interested in the work of the Ascot and District Christian Council to attend the annual general meeting of the group later this month.
The meeting will take place on November 16 at the All Souls' Hall, South Ascot, beginning at 8pm.
The parochial representatives on the council should certainly be present and anyone else interested in the work of the group is invited to be present
The arrangements for Remembrance Sunday throughout Ascot are as follows: 8am, Holy Communion; 9am, Holy Communion with hymns and address at the Church Hall, King Edward's Road; 9.30am, requiem for the Fallen and all the departed (said with hymns); 10.30am, prayers and wreath laying at Ascot Memorial Hall.
At 10.45am there will be the Remembrance Day Parade Service.
This will be attended by the Ascot Royal British Legion men's and women's sections. Ascot St John's Ambulance Brigade, All Saints' Scouts, Rangers and the British Red Cross.
Finally at at 6.30pm there will be Evensong and Address at Heatherwood Hospital.
The collection at the Parade Service will be given, as always, to The Earl Haig's" Fund for Ex-Servicemen.
Extract Bracknell Times 09/11/1978

 

Groups Invited To discuss Hospital Plans

Bracknell residents and welfare groups are to get a chance to air their views on a major blueprint for future hospital services in East Berkshire.
A meeting will be held on December 7 to discuss a draft discussion paper, prepared by the Berkshire Area Health Authority.
The meeting has been called by the East Berks Community Health Council, which says it wants to seek grass roots opinion, before submitting formal comments on the hospital blue print to the AHA
Among the groups invited to send representatives are Bracknell Voluntary Action Centre. Age Concern, The Red Cross. St John Ambulance Brigade, Bracknell's community associations, parish councils and local political parties.
The AHA report could prove crucial for the future of hospital services in the area.
The discussion paper puts forward several options for siting hospitals in the Bracknell and Ascot districts.
It recommends developing a community hospital at Bracknell and finding a site for a large general hospital to serve the whole of South East Berks. The report favours expanding Ascot's Heatherwood hospital as a cheaper alternative to setting up a big new hospital from scratch.
It says Heatherwood already provides several services and that the site is large enough to take major expansion to meet future needs.
The meeting will be held in the new Skimped Hill Health Centre, next to the 3M headquarters in the town centre, and will start at 8pm. Local groups unable to attend have been invited to submit written comments.
Extract Evening Post 21/11/1978

 

Music hall evening

Ascot Ladies' Circle are holding a music hall evening on Saturday as the main fundraising event for Heatherwood Hospital's Ward 8 the ward they have adopted as their project this year.
The old-time evening is at Garth Hill School Brace from 8pm.
Extract Bracknell & Wokingham Times 23/11/1978

 

Ascot

A fair will be held in the social hall of Ascot's Heatherwood Hospital on Saturday.
It will begin at 2.00pm and there will be a large variety of stalls to select goods from. "The fair is being organised by the League of Friends of Heatherwood and all proceeds will go towards the complete redecorating and refurnishing of the Nurses Home.
Extract Bracknell Times 23/11/1978

 

Extra Care

The planned new day care unit for Heatherwood Hospital's psychiatric department has been approved by Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council's planning committee.
The new unit, a one-storey building, will be attached to the psychiatric department and will provide a much needed service in Berkshire.
Extract Wokingham Times 23/11/1978

 

TRRL Toys Presentation

The annual Transport and Bad Research Laboratory presentation of toys, dolls and cash to local children's charities was made by Alec Silverleaf (right), director of the laboratory.
More than 170 dolls and toys, purchased, dressed or made by laboratory staff, were handed over in addition to a donation of £100 collected in TRRL.
A new feature of this annual event was the presentation of a number of renovated tricycles and bicycles to the Larchwood short stay home for mentally handicapped children. Prime mover in this new venture was Maurice Chapman.
Local organisations receiving presents include Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot; Harts Leap Cheshire Home, Sandhurst; and Berkshire County Council In-Care Homes, Bracknell.
Extract Bracknell Times 30/11/1978 & Aldershot News 19/12/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by a photo
The gifts were accepted by Robert Jones, Chief Welfare Officer of the Departments of Environment and Transport.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photo here.

 

£300 BOOST FOR HOSPITAL

An autumn fair held at Heatherwood Hospital by the hospital's League of Friends last Saturday raised £300. Jimmy Savile was present and gave an additional boost to the fair. He also made a broadcast to Heatherwood patients.
Extract Bracknell Times 30/11/1978

 

Hospital Views Are Invited

The people of Bracknell and the surrounding districts get their chance next month to comment on the future siting of a hospital for Bracknell.
The Community Health Council has been invited by the Berkshire Area Health Authority to comment on the discussion paper "Future Hospital Services in East Berkshire" But, before the CHC replies, it would like to hear views from people all over Bracknell. And a meeting has been called for December 7 at 8pm in the Skimped Hill Health Centre, in the centre of Bracknell.
All the local parish and town councils, plus community associations, women's institutes, political parties, and voluntary bodies such as Age Concern have been invited to make their comments, either in person or in writing.
The discussion paper outlines plans, particularly relevant for East Berkshire.
At a recent meeting of Bracknell District Council's environment committee, community physician Dr Jeremy Cobb discussed the plans with Bracknell councillors.
Any community hospital for the area, he said, should be "slap bang in the middle of Bracknell", and currently the favourite site is Old Bracknell House on Crowthorne Road, Bracknell.
Dr Cobb also told councillors he thought Heatherwood Hospital at Ascot was suitable for developing as an acute district general type of hospital.
Extract Bracknell Times 30/11/1978

 

Maternity Gossip Nonsense CHC

Conflicting stories and rumour about hospital services for expectant mothers have come under attack by Mr Nor- man Nicholson, chairman of the East Berkshire Community Health Council.
Mr Nicholson, speaking at the December meeting of the council, said he was "sick to death of the nonsense" talked about maternity in the area and the "callous indifference in some quarters" to the feelings of women about to give birth. He told the meeting:
"It is not true that women won't know where they are going to give birth until they go into labour.
We know why some apparently believe this is the case clinic gossip and we have asked the district management team to put that right Mothers have always been asked to ring in to the maternity unit where they are booked and they always will be.
There will be as stinking row from us if we find any member of staff is pretending otherwise, "Let me remind those who are interested in the truth that in July 1975 we were told that one of the three maternity units had to close so the district could comply with the new training requirements for midwives.
"We have seen what happens when you lose the training school. If nothing else, the Community Health Council acceptance of the need to close one unit has been vindicated ten times over.
Let me remind people that there was a petition of 23,000 to keep the Canadian Red Cross Hospital maternity unit at Taplow many of them Slough signatures.
"That was in the early days when there was no money to put maternity in a general hospital alongside paediatrics where it should be.
"What happened when that money turned up? The medics said go for a single unit in Windsor, Do any of the Slough politicians think that is the answer what would their Bracknell colleagues say? We rejected the single unit but we have had to fight tooth and nail to make sure that decision was honoured.
"What were the medics then saying about the closure of one unit, to deal with the training problem? I quote:
As an interim measure and until the new obstetric unit can be activated closure of the Upton maternity unit at Slough and transfer to Canadian should be implemented urgently.
Why urgently? Because midwifery training was going for a burton and because they were having difficulty in filling anaesthetic posts at Upton There was also the not inconsequential matter of the capital required to create a decent Special Care Baby Unit and bring the ghastly sanitary arrangements up to standard.
"That document dated July 12, 1976, was signed Peter Reed, chairman of East Berks Hospital Medical Executive Committee and it was the result of two extraordinary meetings of the HMEC
Stopped
"It took another year before a unit closed and in that time midwifery training stopped.
Let nobody forget that the consultant obstetricians had told us that it did not matter which unit closed.
"While we did our damnedest to retain a maternity presence in Slough we had to accept that pouring millions into Wexham where maternity will be correctly located with the other specialties, precluded expenditure for that speciality at Upton.
"The retention of Upton instead of Canadian would not have prevented the shortage of midwives. Those who believe that maternity could go back into Upton should search their consciences about the 28 elderly patients now in residence.
"We don't like the fact that some mothers have had to go outside the district to have their babies but Canadian has lifted its 170 limit and hopefully Heatherwood is also going to:
"Let me conclude by reminding those who are interested in the truth that some mothers choose to go outside the District.
One of our own members did just that.
Her first child was born in Upton and her second in London.
Upton was open when she had her second baby."
Extract Wokingham Times 14/12/1978

 

Berks Decisions on Hospitals

Momentous decisions are to be made soon about the future of East Berkshire hospital services, says Juliet Mattinson, secretary of the East Berks Community Health Council.
And she is asking for views before Christmas. The area health authority will want to consider these views and others in February.
The decisions are on the location of hospital services for Bracknell. Ascot. Sunninghill. Sunningdale, Crowthorne, Sandhurst and possibly Wokingham.
The main issue is whether to build on the existing provision at Heatherwood Hospital and make good the deficiencies in the acute services there or to start on a new site in Bracknell on to which the existing services at Heatherwood would eventually be placed.
Either course of action. will carry problems, says Miss Mattinson
Think tank
The Area Health Authority has set out the advantages and disadvantages in a consultative document which is being considered by the local authorities, the staff associations and the East Berks Community Health Council, which is the consumer voice in the health service.
The health council held a "think tank" meeting in Bracknell with representatives of grass roots organisations to discuss the dilemma. says Miss Mattinson.
The meeting generally agreed that a new site answer would be obvious if Heatherwood did not already exist but a totally new hospital would cost more money and it would probably be quicker to provide such facilities as mental illness beds by grafting on to Heatherwood.
It was agreed that if Heatherwood remained as the centre of acute highly specialised medical services which generally involve very short stays for patients, a community hospital in Bracknell would help to solve some of the problems Community hospitals beds are provided for GPs to admit patients directly and for other patients who do not need the high technology services of acute hospitals Patients generally have longer stays in community hospitals.
The Community Health Council will formulate its views before Christmas, she says, these will be considered with those of all other organisations consulted by the health authority in February Any member of the public wishing to put views to the Community Health Council should write to the CHC Office at 30 Windsor Road. Slough, or telephone Slough 20357
The Area Health Authority proposed the development of community hospital provision at Maidenhead (where a start has been made), Bracknell. Slough and Windsor.

Extract Evening Post 15/12/1978

 

Problem To extend Heatherwood or to start a new site in Bracknell

Your Hospitals Decision Soon
The future location of hospital services for Bracknell, Ascot, Sunninghill, Sunning- dale, Crowthorne, Sandhurst and possibly Wokingham is shortly to be decided.
The main question for the Berkshire Area Health Authority is whether to build on the existing provision at Heatherwood Hospital and make good the deficiencies in the acute services there, or to start on a new site in Bracknell on to which the existing services at Heatherwood would eventually be placed.
Either course of action will carry problems, says Miss Juliet Mattinson, secretary of the East Berks Community Health Council.
The advantages and disadvantages have been set out in an AHA consultative document which is being considered by local authorities, staff associations and the CHC, which is the consumer voice in the health service.
The CHC has held a "think tank" meeting in Bracknell with representatives of grass roots organisations to discuss the dilemma.
The meeting generally agreed that a new site answer would be obvious if Heatherwood did not already exist, but a totally new hospital would cost more money and it would probably be quicker to provide such facilities as mental illness beds by grafting on to Heatherwood.
It was agreed that if Heatherwood remained as the centre of acute, highly-specialised medical services which generally involve very short stays for patients, a community hospital in Bracknell would help to meet some of the problems.
Community hospital beds are provided for GPs to admit patients directly and for other patients who do not need the high technology services of acute hospitals.
Patients generally have longer stays in community hospitals.
The CHC will formulate its views before Christmas. These will be considered with those of all other organisations consulted by the Area Health Authority in February.
Any member of the public wishing to put views to the Community Health Council should phone the CHC office at Slough 20357.
Modern acute specialist medicine has become highly technological and hospitals providing acute, services require highly trained staff and sophisticated equipment says the CHC in a summary of the discussion draft on hospitals.
Both are expensive and the specialities are heavily interdependent.
NHS policy is to concentrate these resources into a limited number of hospitals so that maximum use, i.e. an enhanced ability to treat in-patients, is made of them.
Unless high technology is abandoned, it is inevitable that acute hospitals will have large catchments, numerically and physically, but exactly how large is likely to be a matter for continuing debate.
More local provision can be made for patients who do not need high technology and from this the concept of community hospitals serving much smaller populations has developed.
The AHA proposed the development of community hospital provision at Maidenhead (where a start has been made), Bracknell, Slough and Windsor.
These are the five options under consideration for the future location of acute hospital services for East Berks Health District, which comprises Bracknell,Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough and part of south Bucks, with a current population of 340,000 and a projected population of 363,000 by 1991.
Option 1 Serving the north from Wexham King Edward VII and the south from Heatherwood.
This represents least change to major centres and therefore least capital cost, estimated at £12.80 million but this figure takes no account of expenditure required for growth in West District.
It would serve the south of the District with most acute specialities (350 beds approx from present 280), where north looks to KE VII/Wexham Park (1.070 beds).
There would be no improvement in accessibility or staff recruitment, and Bracknell and Wokingham would continue to look to different centres for acute services. In the event of very long-term growth, old problems would not have been resolved.
Option 2 Serving the north from Wexham King Edward VII (1,070) and the south from a new hospital at Bracknell (510 beds).
It would bring acute services to location able to serve Bracknell and Wokingham, and relieve pressure on Reading. It would need substantial capital development, estimated at £24.67 million.
The estimated population population to be served by a new hospital would be 140- 153,000.
It would have access to Bracknell and Wokingham labour pools, and would cope with further growth in very long term.
Option 3Ceasing to use Heatherwood for acute services and serving the south from extended facilities at Reading, Frimley and Wexham King Edward VII (1,160 beds plus 260 elsewhere).
This centralises on two sites in north of district, has heavy capital investment concentrated only in north of district, and includes requirements out of District capital costs estimated at £17.92 million.
It would mean withdrawal of acute services from south of district, the extra workload going to Reading and Frimley.
Cost advantages would come from concentration of services. There would be potential staff recruitment problems, and no certainty that problems concerning Bracknell would not be raised again.
Option 4 Serving the north from Wexham only and the south from Heatherwood. This would operate as in Option 1 with additional capital investments split between Heatherwood (440 beds) and Wexham (960 beds) to replace KE VII, estimated £16.5 million.
It would mean withdrawal of acute services from Windsor. There would be revenue cost advantages of concentration of services, but heavier staff demand at Heatherwood could bring difficulties in recruitment.
Option 5 Serving the north from Wexham only and the south from Bracknell. This would operate as in Option 2 with additional capital investment split between Bracknell (610 beds) and Wexham (950 beds) to replace KE VII, estimated £28.01 million. It would involve withdrawal of acute services from Windsor, but offer revenue cost advantages of concentration of services. Heavier staff demand at Bracknell would come from extended labour pool.
Extract Bracknell Times 21/12/1978

 

Bracknell Lions Club

Held their 10th Charter anniversary dinner at Wellington College, Crowthorne.
The club was formed in 1968 and on this occasion all 10 past presidents were able to attend.
President Tom Jones is seen making a presentation to Heatherwood Hospital of a Heart Monitoring machine.
This machine was particularly requested by the hospital. It cost £500.
The money for the Heart Monitor was part of the fundraising Pub Crawl organised by the Lions.
Extract Bracknell Times 28/12/1978

Comment:- The above article was accompanied by two photo's
first picture showed left to right, back row: David James, Dick Kemp, Bill Pomphrey, President Tom Jones, Harry Webb, Norman Bolitho and Jim Gray. Sitting: John Hammant, Phil Cousins, Gordon Stansbury and Bob Whitehead.
Second picture President Tom Jones is seen making a presentation to Heatherwood Hospital of a Heart Monitoring machine.
Copyright prevents us from displaying the photo here.

 

Just One Man's Gratitude

May I through your newspaper thank all friends, neighbours, and tradesmen who rallied round to help my wife and children during my stay at Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot after a sudden heart attack.
May I also thank the Staff of Ward 3 at Heatherwood and all the doctors and nurses for their kind and most meticulous care of all patients under their control. Without them many of us would not be here today.
Lastly, but by no means least, all the staff of Clifford's Dairies of Western Road, Bracknell, and all my workmates who have given up their time to bring my wife up to the hospital every evening.
I thought that the world these days consisted of people concerned only for themselves and their families, but this has certainly proved me to be wrong so many times of late by people I had not previously spoken to.
Reginald Hope, 60 Underwood, Great Hollands, Bracknell.
Extract Bracknell Times 28/12/1978