Cartoon by John Sadler

• THE Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead’s takeover of the new £200million Chase Farm with its ultra-modern elective surgery facilities is more likely to offer earlier appointments for knee and hip operations and less likely to disappoint patients by cancelling planned operations, as Kate Slemeck, the Royal Free chief executive, says, (Patients are still able to choose which of our hospitals they attend, November 29).

But the answer to Mick Farrant’s letter (The Royal Free seems impervious to concern over the transfer of services, November 29) is surely that we all need to turn our fire on Transport for London which is getting off scot-free from its social responsibility to ensure the best public transport service to all NHS hospitals.

They will readily tell you of all the different routes to Chase Farm Hospital from north west London, but they ignore the pain of patients with walking difficulties in getting to Enfield.

TfL could make life a little easier for elderly and less mobile patients by replanning the 2.6-mile journey from Oakwood’s Piccadilly line tube station to Chase Farm Hospital, which currently involves patients taking two buses and a walk – adding at least another 30 minutes at the end of a long train journey from, say, Belsize Park or Gospel Oak.

I think it is high time London mayor Sadiq Kahn, who is chairman of TfL, stepped in and listened to the protests of patients and public representatives such as the Royal Free’s chief executive, Sir David Sloman; Natalie Forrest, Chase Farm’ chief executive; the leader of Enfield Council, Cllr Nesil Caliskan; the MP for Enfield Southgate, Bambos Charalambous; John Wardell, the chief officer of Enfield NHS Clinical Commissioning Group; and the London Assembly member for Enfield and Haringey, Joanne McCartney.

The Enfield Over 50s Forum has been urging TfL to provide a direct bus from Oakwood station, taking just 10 minutes to the hospital. We think the new Chase Farm Hospital with its innovative technology warrants some fresh thinking to make patient access just a little easier.

What we now need is similar pressure on TfL by councillors, MPs and GLA members from the Royal Free catchment area. We are not asking for a new bus route, just a 10-minute diversion. Is this really too much to ask to ease the life of elderly patients?

MONTY METH MBE
President
Enfield Over 50s Forum