Documents obtained by the Recorder suggest that Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT) now has a date for neighbouring hospitals to be adequately prepared for “acute reconfiguration” – the overnight closure of the emergency department at the hospital in Barley Lane, Goodmayes.
As has long been reported, the closure will take place in two phases, the ceasing of night-time emergency services – which could happen as early as September 2017 – followed by the permanent closure of the A&E, to be replaced by an Urgent Care Centre.
The document reads: “Further to the completion of detailed impact analysis in early summer 2016, Barts Health confirmed plans that would create the necessary capacity at Whipps Cross and Newham hospitals by September 2017 to accommodate phase one.”
However, BHRUT chief executive Matthew Hopkins insisted no final timeline for the closure of the emergency department had been determined.
Full story in The Ilford Recorder 3 November 2016