Protest to save Hastings walk-in centre

Campaigners fighting to keep the Station Plaza Walk-in Health Centre in the town centre are holding another protest on Saturday (October 13).
Protestors outside the walk-in centre. SUS-180810-155452001Protestors outside the walk-in centre. SUS-180810-155452001
Protestors outside the walk-in centre. SUS-180810-155452001

They will be outisde the centre from 1pm.

This will be the third such get-together held to protest against the Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) proposal to relocate the services to the Conquest Hospital.

Lead petitioner, Erica Smith, said: “We are pleased that the CCG has acknowledged residents’ deep concerns about moving this valuable town centre facility to the Conquest where it will no longer be accessible to the people who currently use it.

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“But it has not yet confirmed the service will stay in the town centre.

“The walk-in service is open from 8am to 8pm and because it’s right next to Hastings station, it is easy to reach by public transport.

“On Saturday morning, we will have a stall outside the Co-op in Ore, and a group of Ore residents plan to travel to the walk-in centre on the Number 20 bus to join the protest.”

The ‘get-together’ will run from 1pm to 1.30pm, and everyone who attends is welcome to share reasons why they think the walk-in centre needs to stay in the town centre. Musicians, including singer Lily Kim, whose infected foot was saved by the walk-in centre medical staff, will also be performing to show their support for the service.

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Tomorrow (Thursday, October 11), Cllr Peter Chowney, the borough council’s leader, is handing over the walk-in centre petition to Dr David Warden, chairman of Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group.

The petition currently has more than 3,200 online signatures and nearly 1,000 signatures on paper.

Hastings MP, Amber Rudd, has also set up a petition which currently has more than 200 signatures.

She recently called an urgent meeting to discuss the proposals put forward by the CCG. At the meeting, the public quizzed CCG delegates about the new proposals. The CCG’s plans include a new urgent treatment centre (UTC) at each hospital, combining A&E departments, out-of-hours GP visits, urgent care walk-ins and also the opportunity to book appointments.

The CCG has stressed no decisions have been made around the future of the walk-in centre.

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