Thousands of signatures gathered in support of saving local Minor Injuries Units, including that at the Princess of Wales Hospital Ely, were presented to Lucy Frazer QC, MP for South East Cambs, last Friday, 16th December.
The signatures were collected on Ely’s Market Place and through distribution of petition sheets to schools and public facilities throughout the district. Included were 700 signatures collected in Haddenham by Olive Phelps and the late Geraldine Smith. Every signature represented the strength of feeling in total support of retaining the MIUs – many had used the Ely MIU recently. Some, with young families, had used it frequently. ‘Will I really have to go to Addenbrookes, with all the pressure on that hospital already?’, was a frequent question.
A petition was begun by local resident Emma Watson as soon as she heard the leaked news of the possible threat to the MIU. This petition, aimed at pressing the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG to rethink, was handed to them at a public meeting in August.
Emma, speaking after the meeting with Lucy Frazer, said, ‘Ely’s MIU provides a critical service to the residents of our local rural community, which takes some of the pressure away from A&E departments at Addenbrookes and the Queen Elizabeth hospitals. I’m pleased that discussions about the future of Ely’s MIU appear to be moving in a positive direction; meanwhile it’s imperative that our local community continue to make appropriate use of the MIU.’
Lucy Frazer MP, who has also been working to ensure the services at the Princess of Wales are retained, said on receipt of the signatures, “The strength of feeling to keep Ely’s MIU is clear. I have had many discussions with the CCG and others about its future over the past months. I am pleased that the CCG are making steps in the right direction and I will continue to fight to ensure that services continue at the Princess of Wales.”
An electronic petition, started by Carol Harley-Griffith, on the Parliamentary Petition website in support of the MIUs at Ely, Doddington and Wisbech, remains open until 2 Feb 2017 as per the conditions of the website. Currently there are 3,655 signatures registered. The existence of this petition was clarified to Ms Frazer. If you have not yet signed this petition please do so as the future of MIUs at the Princess of Wales hospital Ely, in Doddington and Wisbech is by no means fully secured yet. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions?q=ely+minor+injuries&state=open
