New Hospital a Done Deal?

Graham Seager, Director of Facilities has just been appointed Director of the New Hospital Project according to an e-mail sent to Trust staff on Friday 9th February 2007.

In anticipation of the large workload involved in the new role, many of his current responsibilities have been taken over by Pauline Werhun, the Director of Nursing.

Graham Seager's new role is particularly interesting, given that the consultation regarding the new hospital Towards 2010, does not finish until this Friday (16th February 2007), and a "decision" will not be taken until May.

John Adler has previously said that the Towards 2010 proposals are not as controversial as Shaping Hospital Services for the Future, the interim proposals that the City Hospital Supporters Group has concentrated its campaign on. This simply is not true. Many people in Sandwell are very angry at losing a hospital to what they consider to be a new hospital just around the corner from the City site, as was apparent on the Ed Doolan show John Adler was on. Just because they have not got an organised campaign, they are being ignored.

Is this what they mean by consultation?