SaveTheDGH - Eastbourne District General Hospital!
PLEASE READ AND ALSO READ ATTACHED LINKS WHICH ARE DOWNLOADED......
dgh FAQ Sep12 word.doc (26 kB)
DGH FAQs.pdf (214,5 kB)
dgh Flyer (flash) Sep12.pdf (1,1 MB)
dgh MarchPoster2012.pdf (43,4 kB)
Save the DGH March 
If thousands march the local NHS will have to listen, so we need to get the message across to as many people as possible, so please tell others and make every effort to join us.
The local NHS are holding a public consultation on ‘Shaping our Future’ and considering whether to remove General Surgery (including emergency surgery), Stroke, Trauma & Orthopaedics from Eastbourne DGH or the Conquest hospital at Hastings. These are essential services which must remain at both hospitals – they are not negotiable.
Please read the Friends of the DGH response to what is proposed on our website at https://www.savethedgh.org.uk/Friends.asp. They agree with us!
If we lose these services, then there is a domino effect on others eg. if General Surgery goes then we cannot keep Maternity! If the Trauma unit and General Surgery at the DGH are taken away, A&E as we know it effectively will be downgraded. It’s absolute nonsense for the local NHS to say that A&E won’t be affected by the downgrading of departments such as Trauma & Orthopaedics and General Surgery. Of course it will have a huge effect. The Trust have said that they only want to have one Trauma Unit which means either Eastbourne DGH or the Conquest will be downgraded. Who are they trying to deceive? If Eastbourne loses its Trauma status then many people will be re-directed to Hastings or Brighton. That is downgrading A&E, surely!
Centres of excellence? It will be the same staff who will be treating the same patients but having to travel much further for those services!
The local NHS management have already downgraded a core service such as stroke at the DGH as it is no longer a 24/7 service. They then have the audacity to say that the service will be better if it is single-sited! If you have a stroke at the weekend under their plans, a 45+ minute journey to Hastings is better than waiting until Monday morning!! Delay in treating a stroke condition causes greater harm and can only impair recovery as every minute brain cells are lost – time really does matter.
Please keep an eye on our website www.savethedgh.org.uk where we’ll keep you up to date with details.
If you are able to help, please let me know.
We are determined to fight on, but we can only do this if we have the mandate from thousands of supporters who will march with us on the 15th September. Please be there.
Many thanks and best wishes
Liz Walke
Chair - Save the DGH Campaign