We desperately need to preserve the key services to CGH; A&E (as a 24/7 dept.) and general surgery, which will keep it functioning as a fully-fledged General Hospital. Losing this status, as an ‘acute hospital’ that receives emergency patients, will mean that EVERY resident in Gloucestershire will have to travel to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (GRH) for emergency care. GRH often has no available beds, which will lead to much longer waiting times in A&E, more patients lying on trolleys in corridors and people being transferred out of county.

Therefore, this will affect not just those living in Cheltenham and North of Gloucestershire, but everyone in Gloucestershire as a whole!