The protest vote

At least 5,000 people packed into People's Park to send a firm "No" message to Oxfordshire's health managers who want to cut essential services at the Horton.

The cutbacks include ending round-the-clock children's services, closing the special care baby unit, reducing maternity cover, shutting the obstetric and gynaecology departments, and closing operating theatres for out-of-hours surgery.

But a series of speakers, including Banbury MP Tony Baldry, South Northants MP Tim Boswell, former Horton consultant Dr Peter Fisher, town mayor John Donaldson, and Cherwell District Council leader Barry Wood, promised further action in the coming weeks to reinforce the opposition to the proposed changes.

George Parish, leader of the Keep the Horton General action group, which organised the rally, "warmed up" the crowd and introduced the speakers.

Mr Baldry said: "For well over a century we have had a general hospital in Banbury. Generations of people have been born at the Horton, cared for at the Horton, and nursed at the Horton.

"The Horton is part of the identity of Banbury and towns and villages in three counties Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire a huge catchment area.

"The region is fast-growing and we need to keep the Horton as a general hospital.

"Over the years, local people have given millions of pounds in donations to the Horton because they care about their hospital and want it to remain for future generations.

"We are in this situation because the Government has told Oxfordshire to cut £33m from its budget. But the Department of Health's own figures show the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust is the most efficient in the country so why is it having to lose 600 jobs.

"The reason is the unfair way the Government allocates money to the NHS.

"The distribution formula is desperately unfair to Oxfordshire which gets £1,000 for every man, woman, and child. But Tony Blair's constituency gets £1,400 per head of population.

"I do not believe that the Prime Minister's constituents are worth almost half as much again as my constituents."

Mr Baldry added: "We cannot wish away the £33m cuts, but we can come up with ideas to lessen the effect on the Horton. It will be a two-pronged campaign. Oxfordshire MPs will lobby the Government in Westminster and locally we will use the coming three months of public consultation to try to keep the Horton General."

Mr Boswell referred to the relevance of the Horton to his Northamptonshire constituents, and to him personally.

He reminded people that Mary Horton, who founded the hospital in 1872, was a Northants' resident. He said: "Since then, the Horton has been the hospital of choice for 30,000 Northamptonshire people."

Mr Boswell said: "We are told that services withdrawn from the Horton will be immediately available elsewhere. But will the John Radcliffe be able to cope with such an increase in numbers? More than 1,000 women a year will have to have their babies at the JR. It is assumed that beds will be available, but I believe the JR will be under severe pressure."

Dr Fisher said: "What is being proposed for the Horton is what we feared reducing children's services, losing the special care baby unit, and the rest.

"Health bosses told us we were scaremongering. But that is what they're doing and can we be sure this will be the end of it?

"The history of hospitals that go down this route is that the cuts and the erosion goes on and on."

Dr Fisher said people feared the coming public consultation would be a sham that decisions had already been made.

He said: "But we must not roll over and accept the cutbacks."

Mr Donaldson said: "I believe enough is enough. Health bosses should start with what we want, not with what they want. We have a right to expect health services to be provided locally, when we need them and we want the Horton to remain as it is."

Mr Wood said Cherwell District Council would fight for the Horton. He said: "The council will stand up and speak up for the Horton and for health care in north Oxfordshire. We are going to make sure these cuts are reversed."

The council has invited members of the ORH Trust to a meeting of its environment select committee on Monday, when the Horton issue will be discussed, and the Save the Horton battle will continue on Thursday, July 6, when health managers come to Banbury for a public consultation meeting in St Mary's Church.