Dear Editor,

As we all know, Britain is in the midst of an epidemic which is placing great pressure on our NHS.

Up and down the country surgeries have been cancelled and doctors are being moved to high-pressure areas such as A&E to work on Covid-19 treatments. Patients requiring ventilation have increased in number and many hospital wards have now been turned over to intensive care purposes.

With hospital space in great demand, the army has built a new hospital in London’s Docklands – in just nine days – complete with capacity for eighty wards able to cope with upwards of 4000 patients.

The picture in our town is equally concerning. Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital is – due to NHS reorganisation – now serving a population five times greater than originally envisaged and pressure on space and resources there is immense.

Space, clearly being an issue could be found elsewhere in the town. I have learnt that Sydenham House Surgery has two vacant floors, designed to accommodate 56 beds. Importantly, it appears that the NHS has been renting these floors for the past four years although they have remained empty during that time. Using this most valuable space would relieve some of the stress on services at Princess Alexandra Hospital.

At a time when our incredible NHS staff are engaged in the monumental task of caring for so many sick people, all resources available to the service should be utilised – especially those which have already been paid for by the taxpayer but remain unused.

Laura McAlpine

Previously Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for Harlow & the Villages

Editor’s Note

The use or non-use of Sydenham House has come up over the last decade. Here is a piece, we wrote over five years ago.

Sydenham House is on Monkswick Road near the Heart and Clubs.

https://www.yourharlow.com/2015/01/20/white-elephant-sydenham-house-to-be-used-for-extra-a-and-e-beds-in-harlow/