St Charles – first class local health care
New local health care facilities at St. Charles Hospital were officially opened in November 2010 by Kensington MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind.Attending the opening, Golborne Forum Chair Susie Parsons congratulated NHS Kensington & Chelsea on the good design and high quality of Phase One of the redevelopment of St. Charles. ‘These buildings really do North Kensington proud’ she said. ‘They provide a great setting for the delivery of the first class health care which local people both expect and deserve’.
From its opening in 1881, St Charles Hospital has a long and proud history of providing health care to people in North Kensington. The community may have lost the battles in the 1970s and 1980s to keep it as an acute hospital, and in particular to save the Peter Pan Children’s Ward, but St Charles today is a well-used local health care centre with lots of good services. These include mental health, palliative care, a large renal unit, contraception, cervical screening, general practitioners and an urgent care centre which has replaced the excellent minor injuries unit.
In the Winter 2010 issue of its Golborne Life newsletter, the Golborne Forum reflected local concern about some aspects of ideas for Phase Two of the St. Charles redevelopment, drawn up by consultants from America and New Zealand.
According to the Forum, some of the consultants’ ideas are interesting and useful. For example, they suggest using some of the outdoor space on the St Charles site for growing fruit and vegetables, which would build on the already popular community gardening and allotment projects. Some of the site could be used for housing, work, play and performance space and the whole area would be car-free.
Other ideas, however, such as a fine dining restaurant, farmers market and duplication of services already provided by community centres, would have posed a real threat to local organisations and businesses.
People from the Golborne Forum were relieved to hear, at a meeting in December 2010 with the Chair and other representatives of NHS Kensington & Chelsea, that it is unlikely that these suggestions will be adopted and that there will be public consultation on Phase Two.
‘We were reassured that NHS Kensington & Chelsea will work with community organisations such as the Golborne Forum and with voluntary sector health care providers to secure a great future for St. Charles’ said Susie Parsons.
NHS Kensington & Chelsea