After revelation that only 42 responses received on UTC closure Brent residents are told, 'The Green Party will never cease speaking up in defence of NHS patients in the face of austerity and disdain from the current authorities'

When London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust issued a press release the day AFTER they reduced the hours of the Central Middlesex Hospital  Urgent Treatment Centre they said:

We gave local people an opportunity to share their views on the new opening hours through online and in-person public events and an online questionnaire. These did not result in any substantial or widespread objections. 

Therefore, to optimise the service the opening times have now changed from 8am to midnight, to 8am to 9pm

The highlighted claim without any detail interested me, after all 570 Brent residents has signed a petition calling for Brent Scrutiny Committee to examine the proposal - a scrutiny that had never taken place except for an item tagged onto the end of a meeting without any public notice on the agenda or any papers attached - just a chat by the Trust CEO. When the petition was presented Cllr Ketan Sheth, Chair of the Committee, merely said the hours reduction was 'on their radar'. 

The reduction in hours was then implemented.

Give the claim above. I submitted an FOI asking for more details of the result of the consultation. Such consultations are normally published with tables of results, publication of comments received and an anaylsis.

The FOI revealed the following:

1. Only 42 responses were received

2.  70% of responses came from Brent (other boroughs were Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow)

3.  41%  of respondents said the reduction in hours would have a significant impact on them

4.  Only two people turned up to the in-person events. 

5. The Chair of Scrutiny had been informed of the proposal. 

I am sure it will be claimed that the low response rate meant that people were not bothered by the proposal, but that is challenged by the number of people (570 against 42) who signed the online petition on the Brent Council website. Unlike a paper petition there is a several stage process to sign on-line - you HAVE to be concerned to bother to sign.

Such a low response rate on a proposal that will affect hundreds of people, now and in the future, must mean that the consultation itself was inadequate. The petition was advertised on Wembley Matters, Next Door and social media and appears to have reached more than 10 times the number that the Trust engaged.

You will notice below that the response does not fully answer the request. Were there really no comments from NW London ICB or Brent Healthwatch?

 

THE TRUST'S FOI RESPONSE 

1. Please supply full results from the consultation on the reduction in hours of the Urgent Treatment Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital. This to include reports, statistics and comments made by organisations or individuals (latter names redacted) - https://www.lnwh.nhs.uk/news/new-opening-hours-at-urgent-treatment-centre-12430 

A structured public engagement exercise was carried out to gather views on the proposed change to the opening hours of the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Central Middlesex Hospital. As part of this process, a questionnaire was utilised to obtain public opinion, alongside opportunities for involvement through online events and stakeholder communications. 

 

Questionnaire responses

 

The questionnaire received 42 responses

 

Respondents’ borough	Brent	Ealing	Harrow	Hillingdon	Hounslow
Percentage	70%	20%	3%	2%	3%

 

Understanding the impact of proposed change: If the UTC  were to close earlier at 9pm, how would this affect you or those you care for?
	No impact	Minor impact	Significant impact	Unsure
Percentage	15%	21%	41%	23%

 

For those who felt it would have a significant impact on them, the reason given in most cases was the perceived lack of nearby alternative provision or the time it would take to travel to another site. However, most of these respondents had attended the UTC in the previous six months for a minor illness or infection that would have been more appropriately seen by a pharmacist or GP. This aligns with a recent review of the Trust’s urgent care services that found that many patients who visit our urgent treatment centres out of hours would be more appropriately seen in a primary care or pharmacy setting.

Several respondents noted that the lack of radiology services after 8pm meant that they had not been able to access care at the UTC after this time. This reflects the case for change and optimising the service to match the provision of X-ray services at Central Middlesex Hospital.

Nearly all respondents said clear information and direction to alternative services, such as pharmacies and out-of-hours services, would help them access the right care.

Public involvement events

Despite extensive promotion* our involvement events only attracted two people, who asked several questions but did not express any particular views on the proposal.

* Promotional activity

• Trust website and social media channels
• Trust’s stakeholder bulletin (350 recipients)
• Posters at the UTC.
• Press release generated coverage in My London, EALING.NEWS and Wembley Matters blog
• The North West London ICB and Brent Healthwatch also promoted opportunities to be involved.
• Letters to key stakeholders (MPs, scrutiny leads, Healthwatches)

Amandine Alexandre, a Green Party candidate for the Harlesden and Kensal ward whose resident are likely to be impacted by the earlier  closure, said:

 

The London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust probably knew right from the start that closing the Urgent Treatment Centre at 9pm rather than midnight every day was unlikely to be a decision approved by patients and deliberately failed to engage a large number of them in the consultation. However, trying to bypass patients is not an acceptable way to treat people. 

 

The fact that Brent Scrutiny Committee appeared intensely relaxed about residents getting reduced access to the Urgent Care Treatment is also a serious cause of concern for anyone living in Brent. I would like to reassure fellow residents : the Green Party will never cease speaking up in defence of NHS patients in the face of austerity and disdain from the current authorities.

Green candidate's powerful speech on NHS cuts in Brent as she presents 570 signature petition

 

 

Zengha Wellings Longmore has presented the 570 signature petition calling on Brent Council's Scutiny Committee to examine proposals to reduce the hours of the Urgent Tratment Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital. 

You can listen to her speech on the video above. This is what she said:

      

Chair, councillors, and members of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee,

 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.

 

I am here not just as a concerned resident, but as someone whose life is deeply rooted in this borough. I have lived in Harlesden for over forty years. My mother lived in Kensal Green. My grandchildren now live in Harlesden. Three generations of my family have depended on the services in this area — especially our NHS services. So when I speak today, I am speaking from lived experience, from memory, and from a deep sense of responsibility to the future.

 

We are here because of proposals to reduce the opening hours of the Urgent Treatment Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital by three hours a day — twenty-one hours a week. That may sound like a technical adjustment on paper, but on the ground it means real people being turned away, longer journeys late at night, and more pressure on already overstretched services elsewhere.

 

We have been here before:

In 2014, the A&E department at Central Middlesex Hospital was closed following a decision by the then Conservative Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. At the time, residents were told not to worry. We were told that an Urgent Care Centre would mitigate the loss of A&E. We were told this was a safe alternative.

 

Then in 2019, that reassurance was weakened when the overnight service was withdrawn and the opening hours were reduced. Many of us accepted that change reluctantly, but we were assured that the service would still meet local need.

 

Now, six years later, we are being asked to accept yet another reduction. The Urgent Treatment Centre currently closes at midnight. Under the new proposals, it would close at 9pm. That is not a small change. That is a fundamental erosion of access to urgent healthcare.

Let us be clear about what this means in practice.

People do not stop becoming ill or injured at 9pm. Children still fall, older people still become unwell, workers still come home hurt or exhausted after long shifts. A late-evening urgent care service is not a luxury — it is a necessity, especially in an area like Brent.

 

What makes these proposals even more difficult to understand is that they come at a time when Brent’s population is growing, not shrinking. Between 2011 and 2021, Brent’s population increased by 9.2%. That is significantly higher than the national average and higher than London as a whole. We also know that our population is ageing, with more people living longer and often with complex health needs.

 

On top of that, major developments are coming on stream across the borough — in Grand Union, Alperton, Wembley Central, and around Neasden stations. Thousands more residents will be moving into Brent. Yet instead of planning for increased demand, we are being told to accept reduced access to urgent care.

 

The question must be asked: how is Brent’s growing and ageing population supposed to cope?

 

We already know the answer. When services are cut at Central Middlesex, the pressure does not disappear — it simply moves elsewhere. Northwick Park Hospital A&E and its Urgent Treatment Centre are already under enormous strain. Reducing hours at Central Middlesex will inevitably push more people there, increasing waiting times and reducing the chances of people being seen quickly when they need it most.

 

And there is another, quieter consequence. When access becomes harder, some people simply don’t go. They wait. They hope it will pass. Conditions worsen. What could have been treated early becomes an emergency later. That is bad for patients, bad for staff, and bad for the NHS as a whole.

 

This is why we are firmly opposed to any further reduction in services at Central Middlesex Hospital.

What we are asking for today is not unreasonable. We are asking for transparency, accountability, and democratic oversight. We are calling on Brent Council to convene an urgent meeting of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee so that these proposals can be properly examined, questioned, and debated.

 

There is precedent for this. The 2019 changes to the service were considered by this very committee on 9 July 2019. That process allowed councillors and residents to scrutinise the impact and to ensure local voices were heard. That same opportunity must be afforded now.

 

This is not about politics. It is about people. It is about fairness. It is about recognising that communities like Harlesden, Kensal Green, and the wider Brent area deserve accessible, reliable urgent healthcare — not a slow erosion of services that have already been cut back too far.

 

I have lived here long enough to see what happens when services disappear quietly, bit by bit. Once they are gone, they are incredibly hard to get back. That is why this moment matters.

 

For my neighbours.

For my children and grandchildren.

For the people who work late, who care for others, who are vulnerable, who rely on public healthcare.

 

I urge this council to act now. Convene the scrutiny committee. Put these proposals on the agenda. Stand up for the residents you represent.

 

Thank you.

 

Cllrr Ketan Sheth responding said that the issue remains abasolutely on the Committee's radar and that it would be brought back at an appropriate time. 

Unfotunately the response is not as urgent as we would want it to be. The danger is that the cuts will be implemented before the Committee properly examines them. 

Zengha is a Green Party candidate for the 2026 council election in the Harlesden and Kensal Green ward. 

Please sign the petition urging Brent Council to do its job and consider the impact on residents of the NHS proposed slashing of Urgent Treatment Centre hours

 

Brent Green Party member Zengha Wellings-Longmore has followed up  the party's appeal to Brent Council to scrutinise the NHS proposal to reduce hours at the Central Middlesex Urgent Treatment Centre with a public petition.  It calls on  Brent Council's Scrutiny Committee to consider the impact on local people of the proposal. 

Sign the e-petition here: 

https://tinyurl.com/protect-urgent-care

The move comes as the Care Quality Commission reports waits of up to 12 hours at Northwick Park A&E amd UTC. 

Do please sign the position as it is important that Brent Council properky represents its residents' interests in health as in all other matters affecting their quality of life. 

Brent Council Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee must consider proposals to reduce the opening hours of Central Middlesex Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre

We the undersigned petition Brent Council’s Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to convene an urgent meeting of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to consider NHS proposals to cut the opening hours of the Urgent Treatment Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital by 3 hours a day, 21 hours a week.

In 2014, Central Middlesex Hospital A&E Department closed following a decision from the then Conservative Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt. At the time, we were told that the opening of an Urgent Care Centre at Central Middlesex hospital would mitigate the loss of the A&E department. However, in 2019, the hours of the Urgent Care Centre were reduced when the overnight Service Centre was withdrawn. Six years down the line, we are faced with yet another reduction of the renamed Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC). The Centre currently closes at midnight but, if London NW University Healthcare Trust go ahead with their proposal, it will close at 9pm.

We the undersigned are therefore firmly opposed to a further reduction of NHS services that will undoubtedly put more pressure on Northwick Park Hospital A&E and UTC and will lead to fewer people getting the required medical attention as quickly as necessary and call on the current plans to reduce the UTC hours by 3 hours each evening to form the agenda of a specially convened Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee to be held as soon as possible.

We note that the 2019 proposals were considered by that Committee in July 2019 setting a precedent for the views of the Council and residents to be represented.

 Peoplewho live, work or study in Brent can sign the petition here: 

https://tinyurl.com/protect-urgent-care