CAMPAIGNERS will gather to demonstrate outside Shire Hall on Wednesday before a debate on the future of Stroud General Hospital’s Minor Injuries and Illness Unit (MIIU).
The cross-party group will also present a 5,000 strong petition to Gloucestershire County Council in a bid to keep the unit open overnight.
The rally will be held at 9.15am – 45 minutes before county councillors meet to debate the proposed reduction in opening hours at the county’s MIIUs.
The petition, started by Stroud Constituency Labour Party and supported by Stroud Against The Cuts, the Green Party and Liberal Democrats in Cirencester, gathered 5,345 signatures in a month – triggering the debate.
The event will see speakers from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Unite The Union.
Cllr Lesley Williams MBE, leader of Labour Group on GCC will be joined by Cllr Steve Lydon, leader of Stroud District Council (Labour/Dursley).
They will be accompanied by county councillor Brian Oosthuysen, (Labour, Rodborough), Cllr Joe Harris (Lib Dem/Cirencester Park) and Jo Galazka from Unite The Union.
Cllr Williams said: “The amount of people who signed this petition shows the strength of feeling in Stroud about keeping the MIU open overnight.
“We are concerned the proposal to truncate the MIIU hours is 'the thin end of the wedge salami slicing away the range of NHS services.”
While Shire Hall cannot effect the decision of NHS bosses in Gloucestershire, campaigners are hoping that greater scrutiny, debate and discussion will help draw more attention to the issue and demonstrate the opposition from thousands around the county.
Tim Lezzard, vice chair of the Stroud Constituency Labour Party (SCLP), said: “The response we’ve seen from both communities has been astonishing.
“Hopefully this council debate will help raise many the concerns people are feeling about these changes to opening hours.
“We want to start asking real questions and send a message that our communities are not going to just lie down an accept this.”
Debbie Hicks, the other vice chair of the SCLP, said: “We hope to highlight wider cuts to the NHS and the dangers and risks for the public and send a message to county councillors, Gloucestershire Care Services and the Clinical Commissioning Group that they must listen to and represent their voters and communities.”
The petition is being presented at Shire Hall at 10am on Wednesday, September 14.
NHS bosses say the changes are necessary as the current model of overnight care is regularly underused and economically unsustainable.
It argues the changes will allow for easier nurse recruitment and provide value for money – while stressing the changes are “not about cost-cutting”.
A final decision will be made by the NHS Trust at its board meeting on September 20.
GCS say that feedback received will be compiled into an outcome report and used to inform a new operating model for MIIUs that will begin on October 1, 2016.
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