Hospital pays off surgeons in NHS cash crisis

Two doctors at a leading NHS hospital have become the first consultant surgeons to be made redundant as a result of the financial crisis in the health service. Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which has a £33m deficit, has given two consultant gastrointestinal surgeons, one full-time and one part- time, three months’ notice.

One of the surgeons, Simon Cole, is a former president of the Association of Surgeons in Training, while the name of the other has not been disclosed.

Jonathan Fielden, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) consultants’ committee, said: “This is a deplorable step that shows the state of the financial crisis that many trusts are in. This will have a significant impact on patient care.”

A trust spokeswoman confirmed the trust had to save £33m this year, adding: “A review indicates, among other things, a reduced number of gastrointestinal procedures. We are, therefore, matching our capacity to the reduced use of this service.”

The move comes as Debbie Abrahams, chairwoman of Rochdale NHS Trust, disclosed this weekend that she was resigning her post because of her anger at the use of private health companies in the NHS.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2242594,00.html

We are due for a lively week as at this week’s BMA annual conference its chairman James Johnson is expected to say the government’s NHS reforms have delivered poor value for money. His research indicates that despite massive funding increases there has not been a dramatic improvement in patient care. “The NHS has got better, but not commensurately better, for the very large amounts of money spent.”