Protesters march over A&E plans.
Thousands of demonstrators today marched in protest against plans to scrap Lewisham hospital's A&E department and downgrade its maternity ward.
Protest for Lewisham A&E
Thousands of protesters from around the country will march today against proposals to scrap "high performing" Lewisham hospital's A&E department and downgrade its maternity ward.
Protesters march over A&E plans at Lewisham Hospital
Thousands of protesters marched to demand that plans to scrap Lewisham Hospital's A&E department and downgrade its maternity ward be rejected.
I have been and I have marched and the line of people still marching is amazing. I think half of Lewisham are there. #savelewishamae
From @Chocmumof2 on Twitter:Solidarity with thousands marching to Save Lewisham Hospital today! A big boost to the campaign to tell the Tories "Hands off our NHS"
From @alankennyswp on Twitter:I can't get over how many kids are on this demo! Lots have the date they were delivered at Lewisham on t-shirts & placards. It's wonderful!
From @MissEllieMae on Twitter:Advertisement
Thousands march for Lewisham Hospital
Thousands of protesters marched around Lewisham Hospital this afternoon to demand that the Government withdraw plans to to scrap the hospital's A&E department, and downgrade its maternity ward.
Important to get 'best outcomes for money available'
Mike Farrar, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said "the importance of changing services is to get the best outcomes for the money we have got available".
GP: Government's NHS trust policy is 'failure regime'
A GP has branded the government's policy on NHS trusts as a "failure regime."
Helen Tattersfield, a GP in Lewisham, where the Accident and Emergency department at Lewisham hospital is under threat of closure, said:
– Helen TattersfieldThis is the first time the Government has put in place its 'failure regime' for an NHS trust - and the proposed solution is to destroy services at a successful and high performing neighbouring trust.
The 'failure regime' is set to be used many more times across the UK, so if the Government can close down Lewisham Hospital then no successful hospital in the country is safe.
March over hospital A&E closure plan
Thousands of protesters from around the country will march today against proposals to scrap a "high performing" hospital's A&E department and downgrade its maternity ward.
Under government plans, Lewisham Hospital, south east London, will see its emergency department replaced with an "urgent care" ward and its maternity services turned into a midwife-led unit.
It is part of a radical overhaul proposed by special administrator Matthew Kershaw in response to nearby South London Healthcare NHS Trust (SLHT) going into administration after it started losing approximately £1.3 million a week.