Rallying call (From Witney Gazette)

Rallying call

8:28am Wednesday 26th July 2006 in Witney By Samantha Simpson

PEOPLE are being urged to attend a meeting in Witney tonight to discuss major cuts planned for Oxfordshire hospitals.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust is holding the meeting in the Gallery Room, at the Corn Exchange in Market Square, from 6.30pm.

The trust is facing a £33m deficit and has announced plans to cut 600 jobs, including 225 nursing and midwifery staff.

It is also proposing to close a special care baby unit, out-of-hours surgery and 24-hour children's services at the Horton Hospital, Banbury.

Tonight's meeting is being held as part of six consultation meetings across the county to discuss the trust's plans.

Witney mayor Chrissie Curry, who was among a party of Oxfordshire mayors and MPs who travelled to Downing Street to hand over petitions signed by 50,000 people, said: "It is important that everyone has the chance to have their say.

"I would urge people to go to this meeting and do just that.

"We need to show the strength of feeling against these plans."

The trust said it would only discuss issues affecting its hospitals and not community hospitals, such as Witney's, because these are run separately by Primary Care Trusts.

Last week, the Gazette reported that Windrush Health Centre, in Welch Way, was unlikely to be able to move to larger, better premises despite a long-running campaign, because of a lack of PCT funding.

Last month, Witney's Moorview Hospital for elderly people with mental health problems was shut by Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust to try to plug a projected £7.2m gap in its budget.