London A&E closures decision due

19 February 2013 Last updated at 04:19 ET

A decision on plans to close four Accident and Emergency (A&E) units in north-west London will be made later.

Under the plans the units in Charing Cross, Central Middlesex, Hammersmith and Ealing Hospitals could be downgraded to urgent care centres.

Patients would instead use A&E services at Hillingdon, Northwick Park, West Middlesex, the Chelsea and Westminster or St Mary's in Paddington.

NHS North West London say the changes will save money and improve care.

A joint committee of Primary Care Trusts will make the final decision.

Campaign groups opposed to the changes say A&E facilities should not be taken away from local communities.

'Nightmare' for people

Those hospitals losing the A&E units will become "local hospitals" providing 24/7 urgent care centres, outpatient and diagnostic services while the five other hospitals will provide A&E services and become "major hospitals" providing specialist care.

Dr Mark Spencer, medical director of North West London NHS, said: "What we are recommending across north-west London is that we develop five bigger, better hospitals than we have at the moment.

"We can have consistently large teams of consultants making sure people get the very best care and in return for that we need to make some of our hospitals smaller designed around the services they need for their local community."

Bridget Ogden, campaigner at Ealing, said: "I am not saying the NHS shouldn't change.

"I am a great believer that you should deliver services as close to people as possible and when something can be done safely in the community, lets do it in the community, but you have got to have those facilities in place first.

"Many of their ideas are based on their vision, I have a real fear that their vision is going to turn out to be a nightmare for the health of the people of Ealing".

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