25/08/2026
๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ & ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ
I am deeply concerned at reports about the Northern Care Alliance, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital alongside Salford Royal, Fairfield General and Rochdale Infirmary.
The concerns raised by staff and patients deserve to be fully investigated, especially when they are supported by evidence of failures which have contributed to harm to patients.
Like most local people, I use and rely on the NHS and the Royal Oldham Hospital. While we are all thankful for the care provided by individual staff who go above and beyond to support us when we are at our most vulnerable, it is clear that the hospital is under sustained staffing pressure, an A&E department and wards which are overwhelmed, and a system which does not work as it should, creating bottlenecks, backlogs and adding to the stress staff and patients experience.
Reports of 12,000 cases of delayed treatment, 28 deaths and 56 severe harm incidents are serious. The Manchester Evening Newsโ reporting of these figures should invite the trust to respond with a clear plan to ensure such failures do not happen again. The public will need much more than we have heard so far to give confidence that the situation will materially improve.
The hospital and its trust need to look at the whole system, from arrival at A&E, where delays can make the conditions of those needing treatment worse, through the supply and allocation of beds, diagnostic capacity, in-hospital treatment and ultimately discharge. It isnโt right that patients are falling through the gaps at a point where they are so vulnerable.
Beyond Royal Oldham, local health leaders also need to review what impact successive reductions and closures in community provision have had on pressure at A&E, something I and others have been raising over a long period of time.
In Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, local people have seen changes to GP and urgent-care provision over recent years, including the closure of the Oldham Town Centre Urgent Care Walk-in Centre in 2020, Donald Wilde Medical Centre (Coldhurst) in 2021, St Chadโs Medical Practice (Limeside) in 2022, Block Lane Surgery (Freehold) in 2023 and The Duru Practice (Oldham Town Centre) in 2024.
It is also clear that more needs to be done to address what appears to be a lack of mental health support for vulnerable patients who find themselves without the specialist support they need and are directed to A&E and general wards which are simply not set up to deal with the complexity of intervention required. This is poor for the patient and adds to the stress and strain for staff and other patients.
There are good examples of the health system working to offer better care and reduce demand in hospital. For instance, the service offered at Butler Green supports patients across 28 beds on the road to recovery and frees up ward beds in hospital. Same too at Medlock Court. There are also many leading examples of community health care and early intervention which is helping to give care where it is best placed; often at home or in the local community, which is almost certainly reducing demand which would otherwise present to A&E.
Many patient experiences will be positive, and the care and compassion of individual staff will stand out, but itโs clear the trust needs to do much more.
I have requested a meeting with the trust to discuss the recent news reports and the current staffing dispute which has resulted in strike action and the trust declaring a major incident.
