Complaints over ‘disgraceful’ hospitals consultation questionnaire

Ambitious plans were unveiled last month to upgrade facilities and relocate others in a major programme of works which would also include the closure of Melton’s baby unit as part of a drive to centralise main maternity services in Leicester.

Residents have until December 21 to comment on the plans via the questionnaire or a series of ongoing online engagement events.

But Councillor Alan Pearson, who represents Melton on both the borough and county councils, said he had fielded a number of calls from local people who are angry that the process is too complex.

He agrees with them that the questionnaire, which can be filled in online or as a physical form, should be much easier to complete than it is to ensure the feedback received is consistent with the true feelings of local people.

He told the Melton Times: “The form is absolutely disgraceful, to be honest, it’s too complex.

“Some people have been telling me that it’s taken them two hours to complete, which can’t be right.

“People have been going berserk over this because the questionnaire is just not user-friendly.”

The form contains 41 questions on various aspects of the hospitals scheme, including space for respondents to go into greater detail on certain issues.

The clinical commissioning groups for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said the questionnaire had been designed to be user-friendly for the general public although there were plans to simplify the layout.

A spokesperson told the Melton Times: “We have been pleased with the number of people responding to the questionnaire and we would like to thank everyone that has taken part so far.

“The purpose of the consultation is so we can understand how people will be impacted by the proposals as well as whether they agree or disagree.

“The questionnaire has been designed to be as flexible as possible so people can comment on the parts of the consultation that interest them and in as much detail as they would like.

“We are in the process of simplifying the layout of the survey to make this even easier.”

An easy read version of the form is also available, the health authority points out.

Residents can visit www.betterhospitalsleicester.nhs.uk to complete the questionnaire online or they can call 0116 295 0750 or email [email protected] to get a paper copy posted to them or to get further help in filling it in.

If adopted, the plans will see Melton’s St Mary’s Birth Centre relocated to a new midwifery-led service at the Leicester General Hospital

The significantly reconfigured hospital services would also include a new maternity hospital and the first single-site dedicated children’s hospital in the East Midlands at Leicester Royal Infirmary and the expanding of Glenfield Hospital by a third to create a planned care treatment centre for operations and emergency procedures.

The online consultation events are designed to help people find out more and ask questions about proposals.

They are taking place using Microsoft Teams, due to the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To ensure people who aren’t online are still able to participate, there is an option to listen in by telephone and submit questions in advance.

There are online question and answer panel sessions able to host 1,000-plus attendees, with people able to ask questions during the event or submit them up to two hours in advance.

These sessions will be on October 29 (10-11.30am) and December 7 (7-8.30pm).

A series of online public events will host up to 250 people with people able to ask questions in exactly the same way as they would have done in a face-to-face public meeting, using Microsoft Teams.

These are on October 31 (10-11.30am), November 12 (7-8.30pm), November 21 (2-3.30pm), November 27 (10-11.30am), December 2 (7-8.30pm), December 12 (2-3.30pm) and December 13 (2-3.30pm).

In addition, a number of workshops will be held on specific topics so people can get into a discussion with others and give more detailed insights and views. These will be limited to a pre-registered audience of up to 15 people.

Workshops where Melton’s baby unit is likely to be discussed with be on November 9 (11am-12.30pm) and November 18 (6-7.30pm).

A campaign has started to save the town birth centre with thousands of people having already added their signatures to petitions.

Go to www.change.org/p/university-hospitals-of-leicester-nhs-trust-save-st-mary-s-birthing-centre and to www.change.org/p/andrew-furlong-save-our-birthing-unit-from-closure to see these petitions.