In 2008/9 Diane Whittingham was getting £180,000 as Chief Executive of the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

Since then this busy little bee has taken on another “interim” job as Chief Executive of the underperforming East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust after the forced departure last year of Marie Burnham.

In May it was reported that Diane Whittingham would be doing both jobs “for the foreseeable future”.

If this is the case, maybe she could find time to reply to a letter I wrote to her on 13 April with two follow up e mails concerning the proposed closure of the Deerplay Children’s Ward at Burnley General Hospital.

Under the plan, overnight stays would be transferred to Blackburn with Burnley providing day care only.

Concerns had been expressed by the then Lib Dem run Pendle Borough Council, insisting the ward should not close.

I am not an expert on these things any more than the Lib Dem motormouths on Pendle Council.

However, I was aware that at least one local GP, a certain Dr Ions, had gone public, saying it was right that children staying overnight in hospital should go to Blackburn.

Was this a lone voice or a widespread view amongst clinicians? That’s what I wanted to know.

During the general election the future of the ward became a bit of a hot potato with the ludicrous Lib Dem candidate for Pendle, Afzal Anwar, chaining himself to the hospital railings for ten hours in protest.

He insisted he would not allow the closure to happen. He would either chain himself indefinitely or starve to death. I can’t recall which.

Anyway, this stunt got a lot of publicity as did 67 year old Gordon “candlelight vigil” Birtwistle, now Burnley’s new MP, who was at the scene.

Here they are, joined in protest.

Now I read that Deerplay will indeed close its doors in December.

And in the absence of any letter from Diane Whittingham or her side-kick Mark Walkinshaw (who was drafting a reply at the end of May) I must assume clinicians have no reservations.

In the meantime, I wait to see what Gordon Birtwistle, Andrew Stephenson and Afzal Anwar (if he is still about) have to say about the future of the Deerplay Ward having made such a song and dance about it before 6 May.

Not much, I suspect.

Postscript: In my experience, people on huge salaries are generally red hot at replying to letters so the Whittingham case comes as a disappointment.

I can’t recall Ged Fitzgerald, Lancashire County Council’s Chief Executive, ever forgetting to reply to a letter from me.

Mind you, he is on £194,655 basic.

And with bits and pieces and add-ons, £254,000.

Attachments:

Gordon Prentice letter page 1.JPG	[ ]	307 Kb
gordon prentice letter page 2.JPG	[ ]	451 Kb