Fate of Homerton’s threatened pathology lab to be decided without public consultation

‘Save our path lab!’: Campaigners protest outside last Thursday’s Scrutiny Commission meeting

The fate of pathology services at Homerton Hospital will be decided without any public consultation, councillors have been told.

The decision by health bosses early next year could involve slashing as much as 70 per cent of the hospital’s existing pathology department.

Screening of patients’ blood, urine, stool and tissue samples to detect potentially fatal conditions would still be carried out, but this would be done mainly from afar at another NHS facility elsewhere in London or in a private lab.

Concerned pathology lab workers have warned samples could go missing in transit or become contaminated. Fears have also been raised that any cost benefits reaped from the changes could be marginal while entailing disruption and complication for staff and patients.

But Tracey Fletcher, chief executive of Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, insisted the quality of the service would be “at the forefront of the board’s mind” and said costings were still being sought.

At a meeting of the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission on Thursday night she faced questions about whether her organisation had any legal duty to consult patients and other stakeholders about the plans.

“We have sought legal advice and we have sought NHS providers’ advice,” she replied, “and the advice we’ve had back is that they don’t think we do need to.”

Cllr Ben Hayhurst wondered aloud about whether “next steps” would involve the Homerton’s bosses summarily making a decision in the new year before announcing the results to local politicians.

“Is that what we’ve got coming down the line?” he asked.

Fletcher replied: “It is overall the director’s decision. It has to be, overall, the director’s decision.”

But she insisted: “Having a good pathology service obviously makes our organisation work. It is imperative to making the organisation work, and the board understand that.”

Outside the Town Hall campaigners rallied and chanted “Save our path lab!”

According to an online petition, which was launched earlier this year and gained more than 3,500 signatures, patients and residents are “deeply concerned” about the prospect of the “excellent” pathology service at the Homerton being privatised or moved outside Hackney.

Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had originally planned to construct a new pathology lab on a site nestled between the existing facility and the hospital’s boiler house.

This scheme ran into trouble, however, after contractors Longcross Construction Ltd went into administration in June 2015 after being paid £2 million by hospital chiefs.

Earlier this year, when the Hackney Citizen revealed details of the debacle, Fletcher insisted no money had been lost because of this.