‘My family relies on local services’

A local family that relies on award-winning Charing Cross Hospital claims the shake-up there will cost lives.

Mother-of-five Gemma Blackie, 44, said family members across the generations need services close to home.

Her mother Pauline, 72, was in the hospital last week for a hip operation when her father, Brian, 74, had a suspected heart attack at her bedside.

“They immediately took him down to A&E,” said Mrs Blackie. “Luckily it was just stress-related. When my nan had a stroke we were able to get there in five minutes. It meant the whole family was there when she died.”

Ms Blackie’s daughter Daisy, 12, is treated for liver disease at the hospital but will have to go to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital under the plans.

Mrs Blackie said: “It’s going to have a devastating effect on the health of the community. There will be deaths.”