Louie French had the pleasure of cutting the ribbon of the Crisis Call Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital. The crisis line is a 24 hour telephone service for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. The crisis line provides an opportunity to talk to a mental health professional and provides advice and information for carers, family and friends who may know someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Louie praised the Crisis Line team who can take up to 90 calls per day and offer compassionate care and support to local residents when in need. The number for the 24 hour Crisis Line is 0800 330 8590.
As part of his wider tour of the hospital, Louie visited the Acorns Unit - the new Children’s Development centre bringing together many children’s services together in one location, the Holbrook Ward - a dementia intensive care unit which cares for those with complex needs and behaviour related to their dementia, the General Surgery wards which offer patients planned routine surgery with 32 surgical beds and the Gillies Unit which delivers impressive oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Louie discussed future plans for the hospital and his work and drive to secure extra diagnostic and treatment facilities to ensure local residents continue to benefit from receiving care closer to home and to reduce waiting times following the pandemic.
Louie is passionate about Queen Mary’s Hospital’s 100 years of medical history in Sidcup. Established in 1917 as the Queen’s Hospital, the hospital treated soldiers wounded during the Great War, including the pioneering plastic surgery of Sir Harold Gillies. Louie championed the work of the hospital and Sir Harold Gillies in his maiden speech and gifted a copy of his speech during his visit.
Commenting, Louie said:
“It was a real honour to open the Crisis Call Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital and see the care and support the service offers to local residents at such a critical time, particularly following the mental health effects of the pandemic.
Alongside this new call centre, it is great to see the new facilities and how the hospital has evolved significantly over the last few years which means local patients are now seeing the benefits of an investment plan, including being able to receive essential care closer to home.
The site has considerable potential for further development of healthcare to benefit the local community and I look forward to working to secure extra facilities and championing our local hospital.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the doctors, nurses, staff and all those who have campaigned consistently for our local hospital, Queen Mary’s can look to the future with confidence.”
