NHS changes are all about saving money
The Labour government has launched a charm offensive to convince critics that hospital reconfigurations are not just about cutting costs. But many remain unconvinced. Protesters believe changes are being motivated by cash shortages- Huntingdon, Worthing, Epsom, Cheltenham and Redditch are hardly known for their militancy. But like many other towns across the country, they have seen demonstrations on a previously unheralded scale. The protesters, who include residents, NHS staff and MPs, are united in their concerns about cuts in their local health services.
They fear the proposed cuts to A&E departments and other key hospital services which are being put forward by local health chiefs are being driven by money.
The NHS racked up a deficit of over £500m last year and is predicting another one this year. So the financial advantage in closing A&E, maternity and trauma departments is obvious.
Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, said: "The climate of debt in the NHS puts the development of new policy under suspicion. We are extremely concerned that these policies may be being driven by deficits, not what is best for patient care."
"The key to developing new policy in the NHS must be asking the experts - the staff who work in it - and the announcements have been made without any prior consultation. If we move towards more specialist units we still need to ensure that patients have access to really good local A&E departments."
Expertise
"The strength of building specialist units and advancing specialist medical knowledge should be in sharing that expertise and cascading it down. However, in reality, the new markets, commercial confidentiality and competition being fostered by the government in the NHS create obstacles to hospitals working together."
And Geoff Martin, of the Health Emergency campaign group which has been helping to support local campaigns, believes patients could be put under threat if the proposals being put forward are pushed through.
"Claiming that closing local A&E departments, trauma units and intensive care facilities will improve services turns all logic on its head. People are fighting these closures in their tens of thousands up and down the country because they know that closing local services and increasing journey times puts lives at risk."
The government has argued it is all part of the evolution the NHS has been undergoing in recent years with more care being provided in the community.
"Eighteen months ago at the time of the last election I did not hear the government arguing for A&E and maternity services closing down." said Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary.
But Andrew Lansley said if this was the case they should have been making the case months ago.
"Eighteen months ago at the time of the last election I did not hear the government arguing for A&E and maternity services closing down. This has happened because the government has plunged the health service in deep financial deficit."
And Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Specialised centres will only benefit the UK¿s heart patients if there are enough of them to support those in need, which will mean significant investment."
"Until then we need to make sure those people who can¿t access specialised centres aren¿t left at risk, which will only be achieved through investing in emergency care within local communities."
Critics have also said that if the government was truly motivated by moving care into the community they would wait until the services - such as specialist GP clinics and home chemotherapy were in place.
Ministers have promised £750m over the next five years to fund such projects but the projects are still in their infancy.
Alex Nunns, of the Keep Our NHS Public campaign group, which represents patients and staff, said: "We keep hearing about these projects but on the whole they are not off the ground. yet. Is it surprising people do not believe it is about saving money?"
Taken from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6209908.stm
This news comes only a few weeks since Health Direct warned on Nov 23, 06- NHS Trusts warned not to axe acute beds prematurely that mental health trusts have been warned not to cut acute beds until their community services are fully developed.
In a report about bed over-occupancy, the Mental Health Act Commission found that in the year leading to July 2006 the national average for bed occupancy in acute admission wards visited was 101 per cent. In London it was as high as 112 per cent.
Who's Been Sleeping in my Bed? The incidence and impact of bed over-occupancy in the mental health acute sector highlights the distress and detrimental effects seen in patients who are asked to take leave or move wards to vacate a bed.
Senior MHAC policy analyst Mat Kinton, author of the report, said: 'There has been much on the development of community services as an alternative to admitting patients to hospital, but we have found that some community services are very much embryonic.
'In some areas authorities have cut beds in the hope that the new community outreach projects will take up the slack and that has not universally happened yet. It will eventually, in two or three years- but there is a danger of clipping it too far as it's easy to make cuts when feeling the financial pinch.'
They fear the proposed cuts to A&E departments and other key hospital services which are being put forward by local health chiefs are being driven by money.
The NHS racked up a deficit of over £500m last year and is predicting another one this year. So the financial advantage in closing A&E, maternity and trauma departments is obvious.
Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, said: "The climate of debt in the NHS puts the development of new policy under suspicion. We are extremely concerned that these policies may be being driven by deficits, not what is best for patient care."
"The key to developing new policy in the NHS must be asking the experts - the staff who work in it - and the announcements have been made without any prior consultation. If we move towards more specialist units we still need to ensure that patients have access to really good local A&E departments."
Expertise
"The strength of building specialist units and advancing specialist medical knowledge should be in sharing that expertise and cascading it down. However, in reality, the new markets, commercial confidentiality and competition being fostered by the government in the NHS create obstacles to hospitals working together."
And Geoff Martin, of the Health Emergency campaign group which has been helping to support local campaigns, believes patients could be put under threat if the proposals being put forward are pushed through.
"Claiming that closing local A&E departments, trauma units and intensive care facilities will improve services turns all logic on its head. People are fighting these closures in their tens of thousands up and down the country because they know that closing local services and increasing journey times puts lives at risk."
The government has argued it is all part of the evolution the NHS has been undergoing in recent years with more care being provided in the community.
"Eighteen months ago at the time of the last election I did not hear the government arguing for A&E and maternity services closing down." said Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary.
But Andrew Lansley said if this was the case they should have been making the case months ago.
"Eighteen months ago at the time of the last election I did not hear the government arguing for A&E and maternity services closing down. This has happened because the government has plunged the health service in deep financial deficit."
And Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Specialised centres will only benefit the UK¿s heart patients if there are enough of them to support those in need, which will mean significant investment."
"Until then we need to make sure those people who can¿t access specialised centres aren¿t left at risk, which will only be achieved through investing in emergency care within local communities."
Critics have also said that if the government was truly motivated by moving care into the community they would wait until the services - such as specialist GP clinics and home chemotherapy were in place.
Ministers have promised £750m over the next five years to fund such projects but the projects are still in their infancy.
Alex Nunns, of the Keep Our NHS Public campaign group, which represents patients and staff, said: "We keep hearing about these projects but on the whole they are not off the ground. yet. Is it surprising people do not believe it is about saving money?"
Taken from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6209908.stm
This news comes only a few weeks since Health Direct warned on Nov 23, 06- NHS Trusts warned not to axe acute beds prematurely that mental health trusts have been warned not to cut acute beds until their community services are fully developed.
In a report about bed over-occupancy, the Mental Health Act Commission found that in the year leading to July 2006 the national average for bed occupancy in acute admission wards visited was 101 per cent. In London it was as high as 112 per cent.
Who's Been Sleeping in my Bed? The incidence and impact of bed over-occupancy in the mental health acute sector highlights the distress and detrimental effects seen in patients who are asked to take leave or move wards to vacate a bed.
Senior MHAC policy analyst Mat Kinton, author of the report, said: 'There has been much on the development of community services as an alternative to admitting patients to hospital, but we have found that some community services are very much embryonic.
'In some areas authorities have cut beds in the hope that the new community outreach projects will take up the slack and that has not universally happened yet. It will eventually, in two or three years- but there is a danger of clipping it too far as it's easy to make cuts when feeling the financial pinch.'
posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic at
8:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home