Blackburn Royal
 

This week sees the end of an era for the Health Service in this area with the closure of Blackburn Royal, all services being transfered to Queens Park. I wonder what the thoughts are of members of Accy Web on the end of this building being part of health care in this region.

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

Progress is progress. There is no room for Victorian relics such as this old pile in the modern day NHS. However, I do hope that before the building is converted into Yuppie flats, the people of Church & Ossy get back their stained glass windows which they so generously benefacted to the hospital over a hundred years ago.

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My last visit was not a happy one so in a way I will be glad to see the back of it. The only question I have is; "does centralising services really benifit the community and hospital clients?"

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I don't have good memory's of it and have hated it when I have had to go to or even walk past the intensive care unit so I won't miss it just for that reason alone. Is the parking gonna be any better at the new one!!

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I too have mixed emotions about the old building, the fact that my Father died there two and a half years ago is the down side, but I have also been treated on many occasions including ICU, but the fact that over 15,000 transfares to QP in a year will improve things and more modern facilities for the patient will be better all round.

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It is always sad to see the demise of an institution that has served the community so well over the years. But it makes sense to centre the whole hospital service in one place. It will also be more cost effective too or at least it should be.

It will also help the residents around the area in that they won’t come home from work or shopping or something to find someone parked in front of their house.

The only problem with a large hospital spread over a huge area like Queens Park or Preston Royal is that people like me, who cannot walk any sort of a distance without suffering but we are not that bad that we need a wheel chair, are going to have problems in getting to where we want go.

On balance though I welcome the closure.

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I did most of my training at BRI, but funnily enough always felt more at home at QPH. It isn't always best to centralise services..........the bigger a place is the more daunting it is...well, that is my opinion. And the bigger places aren't always more economical to maintain.
The Government was talking about bringing back some satellite services......small community hospitals.

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

Not sure yet;I had my daughter at QPH some 10 years ago ansd it seemed modern then! Since then she has been treated recently at BRI and the staff have been brilliant though the amenities left a lot to be desired,! Apparently the new building is huge with some corridors over a mile in length. I hope it's a good move for us all.

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I'm very glad I am not involved in the move. I was involved when the gynae ward at BRI moved up to QPH and believe me that was bad enough.
I'm sure that the staff will be working like crazy to make sure that the move is as seamless as possible. I will be thinking about them.

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i think it sounds ok to me and i look forward becoming ill lol

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Whats going to happen to the old building?

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It served it's service and it's community well, but it will be better to have a one centre hospital that is modern and well equiped.

As for it's future weren't plans passed to turn some of it into apartments and some land used for building?

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Maybe they will knock it all down and build some more of those quality houses like further up the hill.

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I hope not, Thats what they did to several big houses here. luckily a lot of ours are now listed.

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I have very good memories of BRI and my nurse training although, like Margaret, I always felt more at home at QPH.

I took myself on a tour of the new building yesterday whilst at work. This was purely so that I could find important places which I will need to go whilst working. I managed to find pathology dept, GUM clinic, ICU, HDU and A&E. This new unit is massive. There's a main entrance with lots of shops and a big cafe on the mezzanine above the entrance. There are plenty of lifts, wide corridors and lots of new equipment. Clinics were closed at BRI yesterday and today and the move has started ready for clinics on monday. There were staff everywhere in their own clothes shifting furniture, unpacking boxes and arranging their new workplaces....it was chaos. I feel sorry for Grego who has to go to BRI tomorrow to help to move pharmacy. ICU has already moved up and some of the laboratory staff and equipment have moved up too.

There will be plenty of parking, far more than at BRI now. Staff parking areas will be barriered and not available to visitors (about time too). Although the staff do get parking charges deducted from their wages and the barrier swipe cards are not ready just yet, I think the barrier parking will be coming online next week. I have visions of going into work on monday and being unable to get onto the car park.

I don't envy BRI staff having to move this weekend. I remember moving to the new maternity unit, just over 10 years ago now. It seemed so chaotic at the time but within a few weeks it was like we'd always been there.

This new unit is bright, modern and airy, and I very much look forward to having us all on one site.......it will make my job a whole lot easier and I may even be able to catch up with old friends from my nursing days.

The one thing that does make me laugh though is that we have an ambulance 'departure lounge' honestly....If I am sat in a 'departure lounge' I expect a bar..:D

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Now now Lettie you're talking bout the NHS (a bar!!!!)

Glad you have been able to go in I have yet to enter the new grounds and guess what!!!






I dont know where A&E is!!! and am due to work on Saturday guess I'll have to be a quick learner

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Lol!!!! Ber999t, it is supposedly easy to find from the outside of the hospital but it took me 20 minutes to find A&E from the inside as it is not yet signposted. It would have been quicker for me to exit the building and walk round..:D

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Sounds like a form of heaven Lettie compared to BRI but still dont want to visit unless absolutely nessesery. ;)

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It's just a move from one building in a neighbouring town to another building in a neighbouring town, in my opinion. Far more concerned about the way Accy Vic has been run down over the years. I suppose that's the price of "progress".

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I'm glad this thread was posted or I would have been heading down to the Infirmary still for any casualty and because I have two small children this happens on at least a regular six months basis.

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will be interesting i have a referall on tuesday so will give it the once over, i have mixed feelings with BRI when i have been in i have had nothing but praise for the staff @ my treatment, but nothing but anger over my late dad when he was in.

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I have to agree with Wynonie on this, the way that Accrington Victoria Hospital has been run down over the last few years is a disgrace and should be the cause of a lot more public disquiet than it appears to be. I have many positive memories of Accrington Victoria and I would be more likley to support charitable giving for a local hospital than I would for the vast bureocratic behemoth that QPH has become.

Blackburn Royal Infirmary, by contrast, is a place which has always left me fealing slightly fearful, maybe it's just me but, everyone who I know who has been in there has come out again significantly worse off.... or dead!

In short I favour small and local over vast, expensive and unaccountable. I see no reason why, with all the money that goes into the NHS, every service should not be available at a local level. It is better for patients and for families who visit and is more likley to result in a better standard of general healthcare.

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I just hope they have a better bus service to the hospital ,
it was very hard to get to QPH on the bus ,but so easy to get to BRI.

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Only ever been up by car never by bus but then its size might be profitable for a bus company to run a service.

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I believe the buses are actually coming into the grounds and dropping off near the main entrance rather than on Haslingden Rd.

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Can I take this opportunity to whine about my stomach being painfull and me being sick/feeling sick since January? I had a camera down my throat in May, and I have to wait till august to see the consultant again :(

Perhaps I just demand too much from the NHS, although im sure someone should know what is wrong with me by now, over what, 7months.. :(

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Yes but is there a direct bus from accy like there was to BRI

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i'd whine cyfr if i was a tory.:D seriously though 7 months is nothing (should be) i think mick would say that also.usually though i think when they do tests etc, in my experiance they tend to let you know P.D.Q. if theres owt serious.

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Cyfr if your worried contact your gp who should be able to get your results of the computer system that sholud be on the NHS network from ALL gp's (at least that is what they hope is happening)

new A&E is large and airy and hopefully big enough to cope with all the changes but time will tell

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

Yes, Mick, there is.
The express bus, The Lancashire Way, that returns from Manchester, passing through Accrington goes to Blackburn, turning left at Intack traffic lights, travelling up to Queens Park Hospital, (oops, sorry, Blackburn Royal), then down to Blackburn centre.
You can obtain a timetable from the public information office in the town Hall, Mick. :)

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

its incredibly hard to get a bus going past QP. once i had to get a bus around 9ish and there was none - yet there's loads goin past RI. fair enough RI happens to be on a major bus route but they need more regular bus service than the current one which i think from blackburn bus station is about every 45 mins.

but the actual hosp i think looks and will eventually be fantastic once all the creases are ironed out and they manage to get it all going. naturally there's gonna b some difficulties etc but have hope!!

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I have the results of the camera test, nothing...
So i still have the problem and I just think that it should be quicker, given that we have all these extra nurses/doctors or so Blair tells us near on every Prime Ministers Questions ;) (perhaps he just confused them with admin staff :p)

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Ho thanks for that i will do that tomorrow

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Sorry to disappoint you, but the Lancashire Way service doesn't go to Blackburn anymore. All the buses from Manchester go straight through to either Whalley (X40) or Harwood (X41).

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

:engsmil:Have you not heard? The Hospital will be known as..'' Royal Blackburn Hospital.'' Not Queen's Park or Blackburn Royal Infirmary. But Royal Blackburn. Humph!!
:engsmil:.............

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

I know that's what they say it will be called but I reckon most people will always refer to it as Queen's Park.

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

Well i've only been to blackburn royal infirmary only 4 times - first time i went they kept me for 4 days! The rest of the time i went with my mum in an ambulance to A & E. They were always brilliant with me and mum. Mainly end up at Burnley because of living in rossendale but Blackburn is easier and nearer to get to from my house especially if you go over the tops!

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That's very strange because I saw the X42 outside QPH last thursday. I think it was the X42 (I can't remember the number) but it was definitely a Lancashire Way service...:confused:

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

yeh im sure the buses go past the hospital on the way to blackburn, then go to whalley?

anyway, i bet the operating theaters arent the size of a small toilet like they were in infirmary

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The only services which Lancashire United run from Manchester under their Lancashire Way operation are the X40 and X41, neither of which go to Blackburn. I was told by one of the drivers that they discontinued the service to Blackburn because not enough people were using it.

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See for yourself...

www.thelancashireway.co.uk

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I don't think they would have a problem with not having enough people using it now with it being the only hospital so maybe they will reconsider :)

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Maybe...as long as they keep running at least some of them up Whalley Road past you-know-where, I don't mind! :D

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Either that or a dedicated service from the bus station up there and as stated earlier could be profitable for them. Up here the main hospital services are at Stirling (11 miles) and there is a bus that runs there every day as well as the fact the Edinburgh-Stirling passes right past the main enterance.

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I've heard that M&M Coaches are running a service to the new RBH.

It's service number 91.

Mon-Sat departs Accrington at 9.35, 11.35, 13.15, 14.25 and 15.45. This service goes via Oswaldtwistle.

Mon-Sat departs RBH at 10.14, 12.14, 13.54, 15.03 and 16.24. Again via Ossy

Hope this helps..:D

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Fantastic. I'm sure the 15.45 from Accy will have alot of takers....get on the bus at Accy, go through Ossy, arrive at RBH 20 minutes later...10 minutes to find the ward.....1 minute to find your friend/relative...30 seconds to say "Howdo...here is your lucozade, choco's and flowers...got to dash...the last bus leaves in 8 1/2 minutes"...then run like the clappers back to the bus stop.

Brilliant.

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Actually that's the kind of visiting that appeals to me........I can't stand hospitals.:D

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With the greatest respect Wynonie.......I think you know nothing about what a move like this constituted. It is nothing like moving house.
Remember that all the services have to be maintained in full function. If you have tried to move hospitals then I would respect your views......but I don't think you have. I have.......and believe me it is no cake walk.

As for the running down of Accrington Victoria, that is a totally different subject.

To all the staff of both hospitals who worked their socks off to effect the move to the new hospital............Well Done, you all deserve a medal!

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The original question was what were our thoughts on the end of this building's use as part of the healthcare operation in our region - not on what was involved in the move and how well we think it has been handled.

I was simply expressing the view that it meant very little to me because I have no attachment to the Infirmary or the town it is situated in. Others who have been treated there or who have had relatives in there may feel differently. What's more, I do know a little about the vast amount of work involved in large-scale hospital site moves, because my wife works at Hope Hospital where there have been quite a number of moves over recent years due to the massive redevelopment there. I would certainly never belittle the efforts of staff involved in this but, as I say, that was not my intention.

And, as an Accringtonian, I STILL say that the persistent downgrading of the Vic is of far more concern to me.

Re: Blackburn Royal
 

VERDICT. left 65mins early for my appointment today,to have a good look around,(6/7min journey) arrived in reception 15mins before my appointment,due to around 30min wait in aline for a FULL carpark.asked at reception where is vascular please. the lass looked at the map and said sorry its not on here i dont know where it is! now i am really happy. after wandering aimlessly i find the place i want, FACILITIES = 10/10, the STAFF are great 10/10 the PLANNERS are cretins 2/10 cos they had not the foresight to build a 2/3 story carpark which would have alleviated the problem. could not knock up an accurate hospital map,i ask myself who will get the crap from many disgruntled visitors? it wont be the FACELESS SUITS i think eh? the staff have done great in this transfer theres still workers/builders tramping about,marching over floors as their being mopped,etc, and the staff were all happy souls and very helpful. you all have my deepest sympathy being employed by dummies like them,and me being a cynical sod i hope its worth it.:cool:

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I think the questions should be - Do we need Accrington Victoria at all any more? What services are provided and would we be better of closing it and using the 'new' RBH?

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i think some of the older people might disagree neil as they helped PAY for accy vic.;)

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I am sure it served it's purpose when it was first built. Was that not before people had cars and taxi's when Blackburn was 'a long way away'?

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Don't forget, Neil, not everybody has a car and not everybody can afford taxis. As for the question of what services are still provided at Accy Vic, I honestly don't know - it's more a gut feeling on my part that this is just part of the way services are being run down in this town, until we just become a suburb of Blackburn. I've been told that the police station shuts at nights these days, the railway station is a shadow of its former self, the bus fleet and garage was sold off...where will it end?

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To some very old people I guess it will always be known as the 'Blackburn workhouse.'

My great grandmother was so upset when a stay in Queen's Park was necessary, she thought she was being sent to the workhouse and promtly had a heart attack and died before she got in there.:eek:

I think a one centre hospital will be much better for all concerned, once any teething troubles have ceased. Parking at the Infirmary was always nigh on impossible.

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I know what the post was ORIGINALLY about......but I was making a comment on something that you had posted...maybe it wasn't relevant to the original thread....and maybe we should both have our hands slapped for 'thread wander'.

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Yes, and I was answering the original question, what the end of the BRI meant to me. You were reading something into my comment that wasn't there - ie that I was dismissing the move from one building to another as easy and simple. I wasn't saying that at all.

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Being one of those very old people that you refer to garinda I can remember the Queens Park Workhouse first hand. As a child of about 8 I took up residence there with my parents and brother just after the war whilst my dad searched for a house or just rooms to rent in Accrington. We also had a spell in Moorlands, I think it was called, on the road from Haslingden to Rawtenstall when a landlord threw us out of one set of digs.

I think that the new BRH will be a rousing success and the old BRI had got past it sell by date by many a year. I never had a problem parking close to BRI but then I have a Blue Badge so I wouldn’t.

As senior moderator on the Golden Talk Forum I make off topic drifters stand in a corner for an hour and for really serious drifters I make them kneel on dried peas.

I will now punish myself for going off topic and stand in a corner for one hour wearing a dunce’s cap.

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Wynonie, I have re-read your post and it does seem quite dismissive in its tone to me...but if I have read something into it that wasn't there, then I apologise...but that was just how it sounded.

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Margaret, my better half works in the NHS and I know just how much effort and dedication the vast majority of workers put in (and often for very little thanks, too!). I would NEVER be dismissive of their efforts, believe me!

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Can I also add that I do have some experience of moving equipment from one building to another so I can appreciate the organisation and effort involved to effect a move without disrupting the service too much.

I, with all my shore station mates in Capetown moved the contents of the transmitting station at Cape East to Cape South some 30 odd miles away and kept transmitting at the same time except for the transmitter being moved.

Many of the transmitters were as large as an average room but were composed of many separate items. So they had to be dismantled and then re-built at the other end.

OK! OK! I’m going back in the corner.

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...and get kneeling on those dried peas!!

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Its not asif its a long way.. its only up the road. Plus Queens Park is a far better hospital than BRI. (Well in my words it is.)

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I think that there will be quite a few of us in that corner....kneeling on dried peas....Ouch!

I'm sure your dear wife worked her cotton socks off Wynonie....even those who weren't (theoretically) involved would be working hard to keep the services going (in some shape or form).

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And as far as not getting any thanks for pulling out all the stops......I've been there and done that...have the T-shirt and the baseball cap.

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I think its got to the point where in todays society (and paticularly on this site) that all people can do is complain and moan.

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No offence meant Jambutty, you aren't 'very' old!

I know my great grandmother was admitted into Queen's Park in the '60's. I thought her fears referred to pre-second world war, I didn't know it had lasted so long.

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Is this you moaning on this site about people moaning???:D

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OK, Margaret, I agree! I agree! Put me down! :D

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No offence taken garinda – I laugh at my age but there are days when I feel very, very old. But my youth comes streaming back when I find out how much I have gained on the Internet since yesterday and after my first read on this forum. Now that should be worth a few Brownie points!

You know garinda, morgan_brotherz does have a point. People will moan about anything to anyone except to the person who could address the moan and maybe do something about it. That part is nearly always left to someone else to do.

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It is always the safest bet....agree with a woman....even if you don't:)

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I only moan when I'm eating my chocolate, mmmmmmmmmm ye baby ye baby, :D

Actually I'm still eating easters choc so i may need the hospital.

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Haha. Suppose so..

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been again today, top rate- pleasant staff, appointment on time, the specialist did some tests, then asked me if i wanted to be x-rayed today if he could sort it, to save me an extra journey, i bit his hand off.;) didnt chance the carpark again though got paris to drop me lol i shall return the favour tomoz its her turn.think this NEW hospital will turn out to be a good move.