It transpires that Hunt has lied to parliament! From today's Standard

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt pressed ahead with plans to downgrade Lewisham Hospital despite the “critical” concerns of the NHS’s medical director, it can be revealed.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh warned him that cutting the accident and emergency and maternity departments could lead to major problems at neighbouring hospitals required to treat patients diverted from Lewisham.

It comes as Mr Hunt was today under fire for claiming in Parliament that the NHS chief told him the proposals “could save up to 100 lives every year” — a claim never made in his report. Sir Bruce, who was asked by Mr Hunt to review the proposed axing of Lewisham’s casualty and maternity wards prior to a final decision last week, backed the changes but told the Health Secretary that their timing “will be critical”.

patients are expected to divert to King’s College or to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. This will result in both handling more than 8,000 births a year and having to “double-staff” the units.

Campaigners and MPs had already complained that hospitals including King’s College, in Denmark Hill, had been forced to turn away expectant mothers on 37 occasions in 18 months because their maternity wards were full.

Sir Bruce said there was a need to “ensure there is no risk to patients by inadvertent underprovision at hospitals receiving displaced Lewisham activity”, particularly “acute medical emergencies”.

Sir Bruce told Mr Hunt that it was “illogical” to transfer all A&E patients elsewhere — prompting the Health Secretary to retain a downgraded casualty unit at the hospital able to deal with about 80,000 of the less serious cases Lewisham handles each year.

Sir Bruce added: “We will need reassurance that there are sufficient critical care services for the receipt of acutely ill medical and surgical patients in receiving hospitals.”

Labour MP Dame Tessa Jowell said there has been a fourfold increase in cancelled operations at King’s College since 2009/10 as a result of existing pressures.

She added: “I am alarmed by the degree of risk that Sir Bruce Keogh identifies.”

Lewisham Hospital consultant and campaigner John O’Donohue said medics were writing to Sir Bruce to ask how Mr Hunt could “make the baseless claim that 100 lives will be saved”.

“What was said in Parliament by Jeremy Hunt is based on very false evidence,” he said. “It’s going to be used time and time again to justify local hospital closures.

“What they will do is play the ‘local safety’ card, but there is no evidence for it. The whole thing is a bit like a house of cards. It’s built on no concrete evidence.”

The Department of Health did not respond to requests for a comment.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/nh...79824.html