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Hospital saved by 'people power'
Anna Davis9 Mar 2009
An important commuter-belt hospital is to survive after 10 years of uncertainty over its future.
Health chiefs have announced that Epsom General Hospital is safe and its casualty and maternity units will remain open.
Campaigners had fought a long battle to prevent the departments, which serve a large swathe of Surrey, from being axed. The hospital, which is part of the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, will also get a £100million cash injection to revamp services.
The news will boost campaigners fighting to save a string of other hospitals which are under threat of losing vital services, including Chase Farm and Queen Mary's in Sidcup.
Geoff Martin of campaign group London Health Emergency, who was born in Epsom's maternity unit, said: "This is a major victory for public pressure in the Epsom area. There is no doubt there was an intention to downgrade Epsom.
"We have an angry population who would not tolerate this - 5,000 people marched in protest against the plans. My message to other campaigners across London is 'do not give up'."
A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier said details of the deal still needed to be ironed out.
He added: "The hospital is definitely not shutting. It will become a local hospital, with all the services local people would expect."
Fears for the future of Epsom General Hospital escalated after Surrey primary care trust, which decides what services it wants it to provide, failed to clarify whether it would need a full maternity unit in the future.
Campaigners feared vital services would be moved to St Helier Hospital, near Sutton instead, effectively turning Epsom into a cottage hospital.
Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell, said: "This is a huge breakthrough for the future of Epsom Hospital, and is the best news we have had for a long time. This decision should mean that Epsom is able to retain its maternity and paediatric services for the foreseeable future."
Samantha Jones, chief executive of Epsom and St Helier, said: "We are really pleased the board of Surrey primary care trust has declared its desire to commission maternity services from Epsom Hospital."
