Lewisham Hospital saved

Amazing, wonderful news. Lawyers acting for the campaign to save Lewisham Hospital from the threat the closure of key services say:

The High Court today (31 July 2013) found that the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, had acted outside his powers and therefore unlawfully, in deciding to substantially cut services and close departments at Lewisham Hospital. 

In today’s judgment Mr Justice Silber said that the decision of the Secretary of State must be “quashed” as he had acted outside his powers as Secretary of State, and in breach of the National Health Service Act 2006, when he announced to Parliament that services at Lewisham Hospital would be downgraded and closed. 

The BBC reports:

The judge gave [Hunt] permission to appeal against the decision. Mr Justice Silber said recommendations of the Secretary of State had to have regard to, or be supported by, GP commissioners. It was quite clear that the Lewisham GP commissioners did not give support to the proposals, said the judge. 

He went on: "On the contrary, they strongly opposed them although those GP commissioners in a number of surrounding but different areas were happy with them. I considered that it was the absence of support from the local GP commissioners which constituted an additional reason why the decision of the Secretary of State cannot stand."