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Mother’s Day Rally @ Alexandra Park
Mothers Day dawned bright and sunny. We assembled down by the bandstand in Alexandra Park and put up the banners etc., Arrow fm arrived and installed their equipment, and just before the start BBC South came. They were only staying for the start, but remained for the whole event.
Very many thanks have to go to Hastings Council for the use of the Bandstand and electric and Arrow fm for their Roadshow.
People started to gather and just after 3pm Margaret Williams (Secretary of the Friends of the Conquest & Chair of the Hands Off The Conquest Campaign) took the microphone. She explained to the crowd of around 3-400 that the joint PCT Boards had agreed 4 options. In fact there are only 2. The first two reverse with no Maternity Unit at one hospital and the second two reverse with a Consultant led Unit at one hospital and a Midwife led Unit at the other. She showed the crowd Option 5 - Saving Lives. This is the Option that both the campaign groups have jointly put together which keeps all emergency core services including Consultant led Maternity at both hospitals. She then asked Cllr. Jeremy Birch (a non executive director of the Hastings & Rother PCT) to accept a bound copy of Option 5 on behalf of the PCT, and for it to be incorporated in the Consultation Process. He accepted and made a short speech saying that if Option 5 met the criteria it would be included. Our MP Michael Foster then spoke to congratulate the campaigners on the fact that the PCT had agreed to keep robust A & E departments at both Hospitals, however he felt that we must fight on to keep both Maternity Units Consultant led.
The most poignant part of the occasion started next when Suzie, a Nursery Nurse at the Conquest spoke saying that it was essential that both Hospitals kept Consultant Led Units otherwise the one that didn't would lose the Special Care Baby Unit, and that lives would be lost if this happened.
Then one after another Margaret introduced Mothers with their babies and in fact 2 fathers also came onto the Bandstand and each one in turn told their own story of how without the Conquest Maternity Unit their lives would have been very different with the likelyhood of their babies not being here today and in some cases the mothers themselves.
It was a bitterly cold day and thanks are due to everyone who supported this rally.
- Margaret Williams
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