Week long hospital protests

A Department of Health spokesperson said:

Hospital consultant, Jenny Vaughan, warns that A&E closures will seriously affect the standard of service across the board.

The chair of 'Save Our Hospitals' told ITV London that losing A&Es in north west London would be a disaster.

Demonstrations against the closure of A&E departments in at West London are due to take place this lunchtime.

The protest is the culmination of a week of action against the plan to close the accident and emergency departments at Hammersmith, Charing Cross, Ealing and Central Middlesex hospitals.

There'll be a rally in Lyric Square in Hammersmith, while in Kingston protestors will march from Kingston Hospital to the Kingston Guildhall.

Both events start at midday.

The NHS's North West London trust has recommended that four of its A&E units will be closed and Charing Cross Hospital will longer remain a 'major hospitl'

Below is a list of the key decisions expected to be pushed through by the NHS next week.

• Charing Cross will be a‘local hospital’ with no A&E, surgery, Intensive Care or Stroke Unit.
• The majority of the CharingCross site will be sold off at a profit for development.
• Hammersmith, Central Middlesex and Ealing Hospitals will lose their A&Es.

The NHS's North West London trust has recommended four A&E departments be closed.

The units in Ealing, Central Middlesex, Charing Cross and Hammersmith could be downgraded to 24/7 urgent care centres.

The new proposed plans would see other major hospitals take A&E patients, peforming both emergency and elective operations, as well as running tensive care units, psychiatric liaison, inpatient paediatrics and a maternity unit.

The hospitals tasked with taking on the extra burden are Chelsea and Westminster, Hillingdon, Northwick Park, St Mary's and West Middlesex.

Labour Party politician for Lewisham Heidi Alexander told ITV London why groups protests as the ones taking place this week can be so powerful.

A week of campaigns by the medical profession start today. They are protesting against proposed NHS cuts. Dr Louise Irvine from the Lewisham Hospital Campaign says by doing this they are taking the NHS down a one way road to privatisation.

A week of protests against hospital reform plans starts today. Defend London's NHS week will see a coalition of doctors, patients and health workers against plans to downgrade A&Es and other vital hospital services in the capital.

The campaign kicks ogg with a press conference at the House of Commons bringing together representatives of the Lewisham, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kingston and Islington hospitals campaigns.