HAMMERSMITH and Fulham council leader Stephen Cowan is defiantly refusing to buckle against a move by health chiefs to try to get him into trouble with the minister of local government – for allegedly breaking a council code of practice by sending a Save Charing Cross Hospital leaflet out to residents with council-tax updates.
The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has made a formal complaint against Cllr Cowan to the minister, claiming that the leaflet protesting against the hospital closure is “incorrect and misleading”.
The trust is demanding a retraction from Cllr Cowan. In a letter of protest to Cllr Cowan and copied to Marcus Jones, minister for local government, the trust’s chief executive, Dr Tracey Batten, says claims made in the council leaflet about the future of the hospital are “likely to cause significant, unnecessary distress to patients and staff”.