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The rally was a good idea and a fair turnout. It showed that there is a great depth of feeling in Dover for the need for a hospital in the town and that people are prepared to go out and demonstrate this feeling.
All the facts show the need. One of the busiest ferry ports in Europe with huge problems on the roads, often causing horrendous delays, and yet we have no functioning A & E. Even by road it can take hours to get to and from Ashford and by public transport it can easily take over three hours each way, depending on the time of day. A growing population with plans in place to increase the numbers. With the numbers passing through the port and the chaos inclement weather can cause on the roads in and out of the town the consequences of a major accident or incident in bad weather do not bear thinking about.
However the PCT or Health Trust wish to put all services into Ashford and Margate leaving us with little more than a clinic. All the speakers at the rally, who spoke well and passionately, walked right into their plans. It was clearly stated at the trust presentation that they liked the Buckland site because they could build their new clinic and sell-off the rest of the site for development. It was also clearly implied that they wanted to save even more on the site by not including Maternity Services. All this is public knowledge and yet all the speakers were demanding that they begin building NOW. What a gift to the Health Trust. This is exactly what they want, build their clinic, sell off the land and leave nowhere to expand. All of this they can do and turn around and say it was a public demand and we gave the people what they asked for.
There is space for a proper hospital, with beds, on the Buckland site and with careful planning it can be done without disrupting what services we have left. By temporarily moving the physio department to the present health centre new facilities could be built on and then the existing hospital can be refurbished. Best of all this could be started sooner rather than later as the site is already there.
If the Health Trust get their way and respond to public demand to build now by building their glorified poly-clinic, how long before they decide that two 'health centres' are not required and sell off the one in Maison Dieu Road?
I whole-heartedly support the call for a new hospital in Dover, it is long overdue and very much needed, but with the current plans in place calling for an immediate start in building could see any hope of ever getting one vanish forever.