Editorial Comment
LISTEN HERE
 Jessica Goyder is the latest musician to put her singles on our site. Listen here
| THE INSIDER
 Get the lowdown inside the corridors of power in Oxfordshire here.
| SEND AN OBITUARY
Send us a tribute to someone who has passed away
| ON YER BIKE
 Get the view from the gutter with cycling group Cyclox in Oxfordshire
|
|
|
|
Positive signs for hospital
The future of The Horton Hospital at Banbury is back in the news.
But this time, it appears that the Primary Care Trust is adopting a much more positive approach to the problems the hospital faces.
Earlier, the trust had taken the easy way out by planning to downgrade paediatric, gynaecological and obstetric services.
But these proposals were rejected by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, which said they would lead to an inferior service to patients over a wide area.
The decision was a momentous victory for campaigners who had fought long and hard to keep the hospital's services intact.
It was always known that this wasn't the end - the trust would look at the issue again.
Its first decision is to safeguard maternity and children's services at The Horton for two years, giving plenty of time for wide-ranging talks to be held.
And this time, instead of simply reducing and axing services, the trust is talking of, in its own words, a "fresh approach".
The feeling we get is that the trust is anxious to be positive rather than negative.
We suggest that campaigners stay on their guard and get fully involved in the consultation process. But, dare we say it, the future is looking slightly more hopeful.
Oxfordshire didn't exactly go overboard in honour of St George.
A few flags and celebrations here and there, and he's forgotten for another year.
The Scots, Welsh and Irish mark their saints' days in style, but not the English.
To most people, April 23 is just another day. Poor old St George is Mr Nobody.
7:40pm Wednesday 23rd April 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
