Wandsworth councillors have accused St George’s NHS Trust of deliberately running down Queen Mary’s Hospital’s urgent care service in Roehampton, warning that thousands of residents face losing a valued walk-in option.
At Wednesday night’s Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee, senior Trust executives were pressed repeatedly on their claim that the Queen Mary’s minor injuries service is “underused” and “costly to run.” Councillors argued the figures are artificially depressed because the unit was switched to an appointment-only model after COVID, capped at just 44 slots per day.
Cllr Crivelli reminded the Trust that before 2020 it operated as a genuine walk-in, regularly seeing 60 to 80 patients a day with two-hour waits at most — far shorter than the four to six hours at many London A&Es.
“Isn’t it a statement of fact that one of the reasons it’s underutilised is because it is in effect appointment-only, whereas other minor injuries units are walk-in?” he asked. “Before December 2020 it was a walk-in — why not now?”
Cllr Jafri pointed to the 8,000-signature petition (now 9,750) circulating locally, stressing how difficult it would be for Roehampton residents, many without cars, to travel to Tooting.
Trust sticks to its line
Kate Slemeck, St George’s Managing Director, told councillors the service was being “reviewed” but insisted:
“We won’t be closing the service. That is not our intention … but we want to look at whether we can shape the service in a different way that balances it across the St George’s and Queen Mary’s sites.”
Pressed on the walk-in issue, she admitted:
“It’s currently not commissioned to be a walk-in service, it’s commissioned to be appointment-only.”
No firm pledge was made on public consultation. Slemeck said the Trust and the Integrated Care Board were still “developing a stakeholder plan” and would “take that away” when asked if a formal consultation would take place.
The exchanges echo concerns Putney.news has raised for weeks: that St George’s is attempting to downgrade Roehampton’s unit to fit NHS England’s policy of consolidating urgent care into 24/7 Urgent Treatment Centres at acute hospital sites.
That policy makes smaller, community-based centres like Queen Mary’s look expendable. By limiting it to appointments only, the Trust can now present the hub as an “expensive” service per patient seen, bolstering the case for pulling staff back into Tooting.
What happens next
No final decision has yet been made, but Trust executives confirmed that staff have been warned options are under review, fuelling fears of a slow run-down. Councillors demanded full transparency and a proper public consultation before any change.
Slemeck refused to give any specifics about the plan, or commit to a public consultation, while clearly noting that community upset over the plans has been heard:
“We’re working with stakeholders and our communications team and the ICB to put some more communication hours about this, hopefully to sort of calm things down whilst we look at the options,” she said, adding: “We know this is a very valued service by local communities.”
For Roehampton residents, the fight is far from over. Campaigners argue that without a local, flexible urgent care option, thousands will be pushed back into overstretched A&E queues at St George’s — or go without treatment altogether.
