More than 5,000 workers from five County Durham hospitals have been asked if they want to leave their jobs, reports the BBC.
One of the hospitals is Bishop Auckland Hospital, recently dogged by controversy with ward closures and cuts in services.
Claims have also been made that patients are being moved during the night because of bed shortages.
The Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the move was part of a constant review.
The other four hospitals operating under the trust are the University Hospital of North Durham, Darlington Memorial Hospital and two community hospitals in Chester-le-Street and Shotley Bridge.
David Fryer from the Save Bishop Auckland Hospital campaign said: "We're really very concerned indeed. I think there are now clear financial and bed management problems with this hospital.
"We have already lost wards. We have now lost services and clearly we are now going to lose yet more staff."
The Durham and Darlington trust would not say how many staff they expect to apply or whether compulsory job losses would eventually be considered.
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Manchester: Hospital bed cuts plan revealed
About 10% of beds are to be cut across four Greater Manchester hospitals to help an NHS trust balance its books - reports the BBC.
Staff at the Pennine Acute Trust were told of the plans to cut 221 of its 2,279 beds at a meeting on Tuesday.
The trust runs Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, North Manchester General, the Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary.
Royal Oldham will lose 69 of its 703 beds; 60 beds from a total of 664 to go at North Manchester; Fairfield Hospital will lose 55 of its 518 beds; 37 beds lost out of Rochdale's 394.
Pennine Acute Trust was £28m in debt last year and the bed cuts are part of a number of measures on its "recovery plan".
The Royal Oldham Hospital will lose an 18-bed surgical unit and 12 of 28 beds on an orthopaedic ward.
At North Manchester the cuts will include the closure of a 20-bed short-stay ward.
At Rochdale, a medical ward will be lost and at Fairfield an orthopaedic ward will be cut from 22 to 12 beds.
Roger Pickering, director of human resources and organisational development at Pennine Acute, said: "Our aim is as before, to deliver financial recovery, while minimising the impact on patient services and staff."
Staff at the Pennine Acute Trust were told of the plans to cut 221 of its 2,279 beds at a meeting on Tuesday.
The trust runs Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, North Manchester General, the Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary.
Royal Oldham will lose 69 of its 703 beds; 60 beds from a total of 664 to go at North Manchester; Fairfield Hospital will lose 55 of its 518 beds; 37 beds lost out of Rochdale's 394.
Pennine Acute Trust was £28m in debt last year and the bed cuts are part of a number of measures on its "recovery plan".
The Royal Oldham Hospital will lose an 18-bed surgical unit and 12 of 28 beds on an orthopaedic ward.
At North Manchester the cuts will include the closure of a 20-bed short-stay ward.
At Rochdale, a medical ward will be lost and at Fairfield an orthopaedic ward will be cut from 22 to 12 beds.
Roger Pickering, director of human resources and organisational development at Pennine Acute, said: "Our aim is as before, to deliver financial recovery, while minimising the impact on patient services and staff."
Labels:
bury,
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manchester,
NHS cuts,
rochdale
Monday, 28 May 2007
Brown axe threatens 5,000 front-line police
Five thousand police officers are facing the axe because of a squeeze on public spending, the Government has been warned - according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The cutbacks would mean the loss of one in every 25 officers across England and Wales.
It follows a decision by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to freeze the Home Office budget.
The alert was sounded last week by the body representing police authorities, which are responsible for police finances.
Bob Jones, the chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, told a committee of MPs that job cuts would have to be made following a tough financial settlement this year, in which funding for forces rose by only 3.6%.
He said: "It is very difficult to make reductions of this size without looking at overall numbers of police officers. You could be looking at a move from 141,000 to 136,000 officers."
Confronted with the figures by MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee, Tony McNulty, the police minister, said: "There will be tight years ahead... of that there is no doubt."
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, warned that the removal of front-line officers would lead to rising crime rates.
Alan Gordon, its vice chairman, said: "Regrettably, Mr McNulty's comments came as no surprise to us.
"Chief constables are already recruiting cheaper civilians at the expense of police officers. A dramatic cut in front-line police will inevitably result in a rise in crime."
In January, this newspaper reported the concerns of Tim Brain, the Gloucestershire Chief Constable and spokesman on funding for the Association of Chief Police Officers, who warned that most police forces "will lose some police officers or police staff numbers".
Mr Brain told the committee last week that the police face a £656 million "funding gap" by 2009, rising to £966 million in 2011.
Ministers acknowledged that every £100 million taken from police budgets equates to the loss of between 2,000 and 3,000 police jobs - either officers, civilian support officers or administrative staff.
"The numbers I quoted are realistic and may even be conservative," Mr Brain said. "We will face severe operational challenges in the years ahead and could be looking at a decline in police performance."
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "More police on the streets means less crime. We've already seen the Government renege on its promise to provide 24,000 police community support officers, and now the public face even more cuts."
The funding gap discussed here represent a small proportion of the extra money the government has pledged to the European Union budget every year between now and 2013.
That will be an extra £2.5bn a year - a 60% increase over what we already pay - despite on-going reports of waste and fraud, and the inability of auditors to explain the "majority" of the EU's spending.
Are MPs really going to vote to approve the blatant waste of money that the EU budget deal entails, while police face such cutbacks?
That would be a very strange signal about their priorities to send to voters, which we will ensure will not be forgotten come the next election.
The cutbacks would mean the loss of one in every 25 officers across England and Wales.
It follows a decision by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to freeze the Home Office budget.
The alert was sounded last week by the body representing police authorities, which are responsible for police finances.
Bob Jones, the chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, told a committee of MPs that job cuts would have to be made following a tough financial settlement this year, in which funding for forces rose by only 3.6%.
He said: "It is very difficult to make reductions of this size without looking at overall numbers of police officers. You could be looking at a move from 141,000 to 136,000 officers."
Confronted with the figures by MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee, Tony McNulty, the police minister, said: "There will be tight years ahead... of that there is no doubt."
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, warned that the removal of front-line officers would lead to rising crime rates.
Alan Gordon, its vice chairman, said: "Regrettably, Mr McNulty's comments came as no surprise to us.
"Chief constables are already recruiting cheaper civilians at the expense of police officers. A dramatic cut in front-line police will inevitably result in a rise in crime."
In January, this newspaper reported the concerns of Tim Brain, the Gloucestershire Chief Constable and spokesman on funding for the Association of Chief Police Officers, who warned that most police forces "will lose some police officers or police staff numbers".
Mr Brain told the committee last week that the police face a £656 million "funding gap" by 2009, rising to £966 million in 2011.
Ministers acknowledged that every £100 million taken from police budgets equates to the loss of between 2,000 and 3,000 police jobs - either officers, civilian support officers or administrative staff.
"The numbers I quoted are realistic and may even be conservative," Mr Brain said. "We will face severe operational challenges in the years ahead and could be looking at a decline in police performance."
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "More police on the streets means less crime. We've already seen the Government renege on its promise to provide 24,000 police community support officers, and now the public face even more cuts."
The funding gap discussed here represent a small proportion of the extra money the government has pledged to the European Union budget every year between now and 2013.
That will be an extra £2.5bn a year - a 60% increase over what we already pay - despite on-going reports of waste and fraud, and the inability of auditors to explain the "majority" of the EU's spending.
Are MPs really going to vote to approve the blatant waste of money that the EU budget deal entails, while police face such cutbacks?
That would be a very strange signal about their priorities to send to voters, which we will ensure will not be forgotten come the next election.
Staffordshire: Dementia cases to double in next decade
The number of dementia sufferers in Staffordshire is set to soar by more than half over the next 14 years, reports The Sentinel.
According to research commissioned by the Alzheimer's Society, there are currently 9,537 people with dementia in Staffordshire - 6.8% of the population.
But the study, which was carried out by the London School of Economics and King's College London, estimates there will be 14,785 sufferers in the county by 2021, a rise of 55%.
And the number of younger people developing dementia is expected to rise due to an increase in binge-drinking.
Elaine Ivis, West Midlands area manager of the Alzheimer's Society, said the predicted rise was mainly due to the ageing population.
She said: "Dementia is set to increase by a phenomenal amount in Staffordshire.
"The first thing we need to do is accept this is going to happen. There is still a big stigma about mental health and also about being old."
But some under-65s suffer from dementia and the number is set to increase. At the moment there are 230 under-65s in Staffordshire with dementia. By 2021 this figure is estimated to be 243.
Ms Ivis said the Alzheimer's Society believed more people would suffer from Korsakoff's Syndrome, a brain disorder associated with heavy drinking, in the future because of Britain's binge drinking culture.
She said: "We need to start people thinking about how to tackle this challenge. We are recommending that dementia is made a priority nationally and locally."
So why are some of Staffordshire's MPs considering voting a massive 60% funding increase to the audit-failing EU, while local health services clearly need extra investment to cope with this looming problem?
More needs to be spent both on research into the causes of dementia, and on care and treatment facilities. Not on the wasteful and fraud-ridden European Union, which hasn't had the "majority" of its spending approved by auditors for twelve years in a row.
Find out whether your MP is going to vote in favour of the EU budget deal, and consequently restrict the funding available to local public services.
According to research commissioned by the Alzheimer's Society, there are currently 9,537 people with dementia in Staffordshire - 6.8% of the population.
But the study, which was carried out by the London School of Economics and King's College London, estimates there will be 14,785 sufferers in the county by 2021, a rise of 55%.
And the number of younger people developing dementia is expected to rise due to an increase in binge-drinking.
Elaine Ivis, West Midlands area manager of the Alzheimer's Society, said the predicted rise was mainly due to the ageing population.
She said: "Dementia is set to increase by a phenomenal amount in Staffordshire.
"The first thing we need to do is accept this is going to happen. There is still a big stigma about mental health and also about being old."
But some under-65s suffer from dementia and the number is set to increase. At the moment there are 230 under-65s in Staffordshire with dementia. By 2021 this figure is estimated to be 243.
Ms Ivis said the Alzheimer's Society believed more people would suffer from Korsakoff's Syndrome, a brain disorder associated with heavy drinking, in the future because of Britain's binge drinking culture.
She said: "We need to start people thinking about how to tackle this challenge. We are recommending that dementia is made a priority nationally and locally."
So why are some of Staffordshire's MPs considering voting a massive 60% funding increase to the audit-failing EU, while local health services clearly need extra investment to cope with this looming problem?
More needs to be spent both on research into the causes of dementia, and on care and treatment facilities. Not on the wasteful and fraud-ridden European Union, which hasn't had the "majority" of its spending approved by auditors for twelve years in a row.
Find out whether your MP is going to vote in favour of the EU budget deal, and consequently restrict the funding available to local public services.
Friday, 25 May 2007
Rossendale: 'Don’t stamp out our post offices'
The future of a number of Valley post offices has been thrown up in the air following the government's announcement that around 2,500 branches will close in the next two years - reports the Manchester Evening News.
Postmasters across Rossendale face an uncertain future following Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling's Commons announcement last Thursday that a fifth of the nation's network is to close.
A clearer picture should emerge following meetings between Valley postmasters and the Post Office Ltd pegged for the coming months.
Mr Darling argued that new technology and changing lifestyles were resulting in the entire network running with unsustainable weekly losses of £4M.
But Jackie Oakes, of Stacksteads Post Office said that, despite systematic changes in services such as pensions, her business had never been more vital.
She said: 'I'm still as busy as ever; we were a bit surprised as we thought that we would be less busy when the pension books went but I think people are more aware now of the banking services we offer and they make a point of supporting the Post Office service.'
There will be around 60 area-specific proposals conducted before a period of public consultation is launched; the final decision will be made by Post Office Ltd.
Jackie explained that Valley postmasters were currently in the dark over what would ultimately happen and were nervously awaiting news from the parent company.
She added: 'Basically all we know is that if they keep to the three-mile distance rule between post offices they could close us, Lea Mill and Britannia and that will be a catastrophe.
'The timescale is the next 18 months, but 18 months ago when they said they would close 2,000 post offices there was such a furore that they had a public consultation, yet here we are now and they are saying the same thing.
'All the postmasters have been invited to a meeting in the middle of June, when they may learn more, but at the moment there is nobody we can contact to clarify anything, so we will just have to wait until then.
'On a personal level, I live on the premises so this is really important to me.'
If government subsidy cuts cause local post office closures, can local MP Janet Anderson really justify approving paying the EU an extra £2.5 billion every year - much more than would be needed to keep local lifeline post offices open?
That would hardly be a responsible course of action on behalf of her constituents. Especially since the EU hasn't been able to get its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years in a row, so we're unlikely to find out how the majority of that £2.5bn extra EU payment gets spent.
Only holding her seat by a highly marginal 3,676 votes, Ms Anderson had better consider very carefully how voting to approve the EU budget deal would look to local voters denied essential public services that could have been saved with a little more financial support.
Postmasters across Rossendale face an uncertain future following Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling's Commons announcement last Thursday that a fifth of the nation's network is to close.
A clearer picture should emerge following meetings between Valley postmasters and the Post Office Ltd pegged for the coming months.
Mr Darling argued that new technology and changing lifestyles were resulting in the entire network running with unsustainable weekly losses of £4M.
But Jackie Oakes, of Stacksteads Post Office said that, despite systematic changes in services such as pensions, her business had never been more vital.
She said: 'I'm still as busy as ever; we were a bit surprised as we thought that we would be less busy when the pension books went but I think people are more aware now of the banking services we offer and they make a point of supporting the Post Office service.'
There will be around 60 area-specific proposals conducted before a period of public consultation is launched; the final decision will be made by Post Office Ltd.
Jackie explained that Valley postmasters were currently in the dark over what would ultimately happen and were nervously awaiting news from the parent company.
She added: 'Basically all we know is that if they keep to the three-mile distance rule between post offices they could close us, Lea Mill and Britannia and that will be a catastrophe.
'The timescale is the next 18 months, but 18 months ago when they said they would close 2,000 post offices there was such a furore that they had a public consultation, yet here we are now and they are saying the same thing.
'All the postmasters have been invited to a meeting in the middle of June, when they may learn more, but at the moment there is nobody we can contact to clarify anything, so we will just have to wait until then.
'On a personal level, I live on the premises so this is really important to me.'
If government subsidy cuts cause local post office closures, can local MP Janet Anderson really justify approving paying the EU an extra £2.5 billion every year - much more than would be needed to keep local lifeline post offices open?
That would hardly be a responsible course of action on behalf of her constituents. Especially since the EU hasn't been able to get its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years in a row, so we're unlikely to find out how the majority of that £2.5bn extra EU payment gets spent.
Only holding her seat by a highly marginal 3,676 votes, Ms Anderson had better consider very carefully how voting to approve the EU budget deal would look to local voters denied essential public services that could have been saved with a little more financial support.
Manchester: New debt crisis hits health trust
Mental health services in Manchester have been placed on the government's critical list - reports the Manchester Evening News.
Cash-strapped Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust which started the financial year £4.5m in debt, will have to report its financial progress to regional health bosses every fortnight.
It is the second trust in Greater Manchester to officially enter "turnaround" - a Department of Health initiative to tackle debt crisis.
MMHSCT, which has a historic debt of £1.9m and is already predicting it will be £2.5m in the red by March next year, will have to appoint an outside troubleshooter to find ways to cut spending and make savings.
New chief executive Sheila Foley said: "While we are disappointed with the decision, we are determined to use this opportunity to put the Trust into sustainable financial stability.
"We remain committed to delivering the agreed improvements to mental health services across the city."
The turnaround programme was started by the Department of Health 15 months ago.
Turnaround trusts have to produce detailed plans of how they will provide patient care and bring their finances in line.
The city's mental health services are set to undergo radical changes after a public consultation called Change In Mind.
Karen Reissmann, of the MMHSCT staff union's forum and a top member of Unison's executive, said: "Mental health nationally and certainly mental health in Manchester has been under-funded for many years, despite the obvious high need.
Cash-strapped Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust which started the financial year £4.5m in debt, will have to report its financial progress to regional health bosses every fortnight.
It is the second trust in Greater Manchester to officially enter "turnaround" - a Department of Health initiative to tackle debt crisis.
MMHSCT, which has a historic debt of £1.9m and is already predicting it will be £2.5m in the red by March next year, will have to appoint an outside troubleshooter to find ways to cut spending and make savings.
New chief executive Sheila Foley said: "While we are disappointed with the decision, we are determined to use this opportunity to put the Trust into sustainable financial stability.
"We remain committed to delivering the agreed improvements to mental health services across the city."
The turnaround programme was started by the Department of Health 15 months ago.
Turnaround trusts have to produce detailed plans of how they will provide patient care and bring their finances in line.
The city's mental health services are set to undergo radical changes after a public consultation called Change In Mind.
Karen Reissmann, of the MMHSCT staff union's forum and a top member of Unison's executive, said: "Mental health nationally and certainly mental health in Manchester has been under-funded for many years, despite the obvious high need.
Midwives ponder industrial action over pay
Midwives are to consider industrial action for the first time in their history over a pay offer in the latest sign of unrest among NHS staff - reports the BBC.
Midwives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been offered a 1.5% pay rise followed by an extra 1% later.
The government says this is affordable, but midwives want 2.5% immediately - as is happening in Scotland.
Union leaders have been asked by midwives to consider industrial action as nurses ponder a similar move.
Last week, the Royal College of Nursing announced it would be balloting members to see if they wanted to be balloted on industrial action.
Nurses are also angry about the pay offer and if they did decide to take action it would also be a first for them.
Delegates at the Royal College of Midwives conference asked the union's governing council to consider balloting the 37,000 members over industrial action.
The college said the average midwife on £26,700 a year was facing a cut of nearly £700 in real terms as the retail price index shows inflation is running at 4.5%.
RCM general secretary Dame Karlene Davis said: "This overwhelming vote shows the strength of feeling about this issue."
Midwives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been offered a 1.5% pay rise followed by an extra 1% later.
The government says this is affordable, but midwives want 2.5% immediately - as is happening in Scotland.
Union leaders have been asked by midwives to consider industrial action as nurses ponder a similar move.
Last week, the Royal College of Nursing announced it would be balloting members to see if they wanted to be balloted on industrial action.
Nurses are also angry about the pay offer and if they did decide to take action it would also be a first for them.
Delegates at the Royal College of Midwives conference asked the union's governing council to consider balloting the 37,000 members over industrial action.
The college said the average midwife on £26,700 a year was facing a cut of nearly £700 in real terms as the retail price index shows inflation is running at 4.5%.
RCM general secretary Dame Karlene Davis said: "This overwhelming vote shows the strength of feeling about this issue."
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Redditch: Fears over post office closures
Post office managers in Redditch are fearing for their future after the Government announced massive cuts throughout the UK - reports the Redditch Advertiser.
About 2,500 post offices are expected to go by the end of 2008 as part of plans to slim down the network.
Shops in Greenlands and Astwood Bank are among those that would be forced to close if the post office businesses were taken away.
Sub postmaster Richard Pinder, from Greenlands convenience store and post office, has worked at the shop for 40 years.
"My business is fine but if I lost the post office side it would no longer be viable," he said.
He blamed Government departments which have withdrawn many of the services, such as the television licensing and utility payments facility.
Mr Pinder added: "We have even had to accept a payment cut in our fees from 11p per transaction to 7p."
Julian Wilson, from Astwood Bank Post Office, said: "My shop would have to close. It runs at a loss on its own because I cannot buy goods any lower than you can get at the supermarket. But if I'm forced to shut it will be a loss to my customers, especially the elderly."
Redditch MP Jacqui Smith said: "My top priority is to maintain a national network of post offices so I'm pleased the Government is already committed to providing up to £1.7 billion to 2011 to support the network. Without that 10,000 offices would close."
She added that following an announcement in June naming the specific post offices to go, she will be doing her bit as a local MP to ensure the consultation period which follows is thorough and well informed.
It's not surprising that the best Jacqui Smith can offer is to ensure that local people will be 'well informed' when local post office closures are announced.
The £1.7bn subsidy for post offices she trumpets is a drop in the ocean compared to the £7bn extra Ms Smith intends to approve paying the EU between now and 2013, when she votes on the European Communities (Finance) Bill.
This huge award is particulary unjustified given EU auditors have for thirteen years now been unable to explain how the "majority" of the EU's budget is being spent.
If Ms Smith was really interested in standing up for local services, she wouldn't shrug off post office closures caused by insufficient subsidies, while quietly signing away billions of pounds extra to an organisation like the EU with a terrible record for waste, corruption and mismanagement.
About 2,500 post offices are expected to go by the end of 2008 as part of plans to slim down the network.
Shops in Greenlands and Astwood Bank are among those that would be forced to close if the post office businesses were taken away.
Sub postmaster Richard Pinder, from Greenlands convenience store and post office, has worked at the shop for 40 years.
"My business is fine but if I lost the post office side it would no longer be viable," he said.
He blamed Government departments which have withdrawn many of the services, such as the television licensing and utility payments facility.
Mr Pinder added: "We have even had to accept a payment cut in our fees from 11p per transaction to 7p."
Julian Wilson, from Astwood Bank Post Office, said: "My shop would have to close. It runs at a loss on its own because I cannot buy goods any lower than you can get at the supermarket. But if I'm forced to shut it will be a loss to my customers, especially the elderly."
Redditch MP Jacqui Smith said: "My top priority is to maintain a national network of post offices so I'm pleased the Government is already committed to providing up to £1.7 billion to 2011 to support the network. Without that 10,000 offices would close."
She added that following an announcement in June naming the specific post offices to go, she will be doing her bit as a local MP to ensure the consultation period which follows is thorough and well informed.
It's not surprising that the best Jacqui Smith can offer is to ensure that local people will be 'well informed' when local post office closures are announced.
The £1.7bn subsidy for post offices she trumpets is a drop in the ocean compared to the £7bn extra Ms Smith intends to approve paying the EU between now and 2013, when she votes on the European Communities (Finance) Bill.
This huge award is particulary unjustified given EU auditors have for thirteen years now been unable to explain how the "majority" of the EU's budget is being spent.
If Ms Smith was really interested in standing up for local services, she wouldn't shrug off post office closures caused by insufficient subsidies, while quietly signing away billions of pounds extra to an organisation like the EU with a terrible record for waste, corruption and mismanagement.
Labels:
post offices,
redditch,
worcestershire
Monday, 21 May 2007
Derby: 150 hospital beds set to go
Dozens of beds at Derby hospitals will be cut to help save £15.9m this year, reports the Derby Evening Telegraph.
It is not yet known how many of the 1,157 beds at Derby City General Hospital and Derbyshire Royal Infirmary will be removed this year to make the saving.
But Chris Calkin, financial director of the trust that runs the hospitals, said that about 150 beds - the equivalent of five or six wards - were likely to go in the next few years.
It means many patients will not be admitted for an overnight stay ahead of operations and that more treatments will be carried out as day cases.
The trust is also looking to save money on staff, but it is hoping compulsory redundancies will be avoided by redeployment, retraining and natural wastage.
Mr Calkin said the trust had to make the £15.9m saving by March because the amount it was paid by the Government had been reduced by 2.5% in real terms.
All trusts in the country are in the same position.
He said: "We see the (money) problem getting worse and we are doing something about it now."
We know that we can be more efficient in how we use beds and that we can manage with a lot fewer beds than we have currently got and still provide the same volume and quality of service."
Derby North MP Bob Laxton said the way in which the health service operated had changed - patients were not needing to stay as long in hospital and therefore not as many beds were needed.
He said: "The health service is carrying out a lot more day work and people are spending a lot less time in hospital and so (the hospital) is accommodating these changes."
But former City Hospital patient Cyril Woods, 76, said it would be the staff and patients who would pay the price.
Mr Woods, of Brough Street, Derby, said: "I'm not at all surprised. I have been sent home at 10pm before because they've needed the bed."
Charlie Carruth, East Midlands organiser for Unison, also believed the beds were needed. He said: "Those beds shouldn't be cut and we should be asking for more money from the Government.
"Derby deserves more money. It is a good trust - it's really well run and efficient and the staff in it are absolutely marvellous."
It is not yet known how many of the 1,157 beds at Derby City General Hospital and Derbyshire Royal Infirmary will be removed this year to make the saving.
But Chris Calkin, financial director of the trust that runs the hospitals, said that about 150 beds - the equivalent of five or six wards - were likely to go in the next few years.
It means many patients will not be admitted for an overnight stay ahead of operations and that more treatments will be carried out as day cases.
The trust is also looking to save money on staff, but it is hoping compulsory redundancies will be avoided by redeployment, retraining and natural wastage.
Mr Calkin said the trust had to make the £15.9m saving by March because the amount it was paid by the Government had been reduced by 2.5% in real terms.
All trusts in the country are in the same position.
He said: "We see the (money) problem getting worse and we are doing something about it now."
We know that we can be more efficient in how we use beds and that we can manage with a lot fewer beds than we have currently got and still provide the same volume and quality of service."
Derby North MP Bob Laxton said the way in which the health service operated had changed - patients were not needing to stay as long in hospital and therefore not as many beds were needed.
He said: "The health service is carrying out a lot more day work and people are spending a lot less time in hospital and so (the hospital) is accommodating these changes."
But former City Hospital patient Cyril Woods, 76, said it would be the staff and patients who would pay the price.
Mr Woods, of Brough Street, Derby, said: "I'm not at all surprised. I have been sent home at 10pm before because they've needed the bed."
Charlie Carruth, East Midlands organiser for Unison, also believed the beds were needed. He said: "Those beds shouldn't be cut and we should be asking for more money from the Government.
"Derby deserves more money. It is a good trust - it's really well run and efficient and the staff in it are absolutely marvellous."
Labels:
derby,
derbyshire,
hospitals,
NHS cuts
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Oxfordshire: Urban post offices 'also under threat'
Urban post offices are under threat as well as their rural counterparts, an Oxford sub-postmaster has warned - reports the Oxford Times.
Dozens of sub-postmasters across the county were left wondering if their businesses had a future after the Government said 2,500 of the country's 14,000 post offices would have to close.
The Government confirmed proposals announced last December for 2,500 branches - 18% of the total - to shut.
In Oxfordshire, that could mean about 30 of the 180 post offices in the county shutting. A list of which will have to close has not been issued.
Christine Donnelly, the secretary of the Oxford and District branch of the National Federation of Sub Postmasters, who runs Great Milton Post Office, said more rural post offices were likely to close than urban ones, but there could be closures in urban areas as well.
But Jan Sanderson, who runs the Elms Parade post office in Botley, said: "Urban post offices are suffering just as much because the Government has repeatedly diverted business elsewhere.
Her husband John, 60, added: "We do not get any rural subsidy like the branches out in the country but we still have to find rent and rates. It's getting harder all the time."
Pakeera Rathan, 32, who runs the post office and Costcutter shop in Old Marston Road, is another sub-postmaster who fears for the future of his branch.
He said earlier that the branch was a lifeline customers in the area because neighbouring branches had closed.
In the past six years, 21 post offices in Oxfordshire have closed. The most recent casualty was in Courtland Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, in March.
The changes will come into effect over an 18-month period from this summer.
Before MPs vote an extra £2.5 billion every year away to the EU - which still cannot pass its annual financial audit - they should surely explain to local voters why there isn't more government subsidy available to "lifeline" post offices in order to prevent 2,500 facing closure.
If the answer is insufficient government funds, then MPs can scarcely afford to approve sending billions extra to the EU. Or those local voters without a post office as a result will likely want answers for such a clearly irresponsible approach to public spending, come the next election.
Dozens of sub-postmasters across the county were left wondering if their businesses had a future after the Government said 2,500 of the country's 14,000 post offices would have to close.
The Government confirmed proposals announced last December for 2,500 branches - 18% of the total - to shut.
In Oxfordshire, that could mean about 30 of the 180 post offices in the county shutting. A list of which will have to close has not been issued.
Christine Donnelly, the secretary of the Oxford and District branch of the National Federation of Sub Postmasters, who runs Great Milton Post Office, said more rural post offices were likely to close than urban ones, but there could be closures in urban areas as well.
But Jan Sanderson, who runs the Elms Parade post office in Botley, said: "Urban post offices are suffering just as much because the Government has repeatedly diverted business elsewhere.
Her husband John, 60, added: "We do not get any rural subsidy like the branches out in the country but we still have to find rent and rates. It's getting harder all the time."
Pakeera Rathan, 32, who runs the post office and Costcutter shop in Old Marston Road, is another sub-postmaster who fears for the future of his branch.
He said earlier that the branch was a lifeline customers in the area because neighbouring branches had closed.
In the past six years, 21 post offices in Oxfordshire have closed. The most recent casualty was in Courtland Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, in March.
The changes will come into effect over an 18-month period from this summer.
Before MPs vote an extra £2.5 billion every year away to the EU - which still cannot pass its annual financial audit - they should surely explain to local voters why there isn't more government subsidy available to "lifeline" post offices in order to prevent 2,500 facing closure.
If the answer is insufficient government funds, then MPs can scarcely afford to approve sending billions extra to the EU. Or those local voters without a post office as a result will likely want answers for such a clearly irresponsible approach to public spending, come the next election.
Friday, 18 May 2007
Manchester: Hospital beds axe fear
Staff at North Manchester General Hospital are 'demoralised', according to their hospital union, as trust bosses look to cut dozens of beds to trim a £12M debt - reports the Manchester Evening News.
Negotiations between Pennine Acute Trust managers and hospital staff continue over 60 bed cuts at the Crumpsall hospital over the next year, just as a Healthcare Commission report finds that a third of patients across Pennine Acute Trust's (PAT) four hospitals already have to share wards or bays with people of the opposite sex.
Some 29 beds on North Manchester General's short-stay surgical unit could be first in line to be axed, along with 14 beds at Royal Oldham.
Unison's Pete Hinchliffe said: "We are opposed to all the bed closures because we cannot see that it is anything but detrimental to the services - it is driven purely by finance.
"We are in discussions with managers about plans for surgical bed cuts in Oldham and are now speaking to staff at North Manchester.
"Staff need to know where these job cuts will be as soon as possible. It is unsettling and demoralising for them to have the cuts hanging over them like this."
Trust bosses have confirmed that managers are considering where to make the cuts which they claim form part of a package of 'improvements', but say no final decision has yet been made. Staff affected by the changes would be offered other jobs with the trust.
Roger Pickering, a PAT director, said: "Decisions have not been made to close specific wards. As we announced previously, our recovery programme involves reducing a number of beds from each site.
"We've asked staff in our operational divisions to work up proposals for each site, so there will certainly be ideas in the system, and discussions across all of our sites. However, this is different to formal proposals agreed by the trust.
"We are not at that stage - once we are then staff will be informed. We have been very open about reducing bed numbers, and the need to engage staff in developing the proposals so that we get this right."
Negotiations between Pennine Acute Trust managers and hospital staff continue over 60 bed cuts at the Crumpsall hospital over the next year, just as a Healthcare Commission report finds that a third of patients across Pennine Acute Trust's (PAT) four hospitals already have to share wards or bays with people of the opposite sex.
Some 29 beds on North Manchester General's short-stay surgical unit could be first in line to be axed, along with 14 beds at Royal Oldham.
Unison's Pete Hinchliffe said: "We are opposed to all the bed closures because we cannot see that it is anything but detrimental to the services - it is driven purely by finance.
"We are in discussions with managers about plans for surgical bed cuts in Oldham and are now speaking to staff at North Manchester.
"Staff need to know where these job cuts will be as soon as possible. It is unsettling and demoralising for them to have the cuts hanging over them like this."
Trust bosses have confirmed that managers are considering where to make the cuts which they claim form part of a package of 'improvements', but say no final decision has yet been made. Staff affected by the changes would be offered other jobs with the trust.
Roger Pickering, a PAT director, said: "Decisions have not been made to close specific wards. As we announced previously, our recovery programme involves reducing a number of beds from each site.
"We've asked staff in our operational divisions to work up proposals for each site, so there will certainly be ideas in the system, and discussions across all of our sites. However, this is different to formal proposals agreed by the trust.
"We are not at that stage - once we are then staff will be informed. We have been very open about reducing bed numbers, and the need to engage staff in developing the proposals so that we get this right."
Labels:
hospitals,
manchester,
NHS cuts,
oldham
Thursday, 17 May 2007
2,500 more post offices to close
The BBC reports today that about 2,500 post offices are to close by 2009, representing a fifth of those left in the UK.
The news comes on top of the over 4,000 post offices that have shut in the past eight years.
Trade Secretary Alistair Darling, ahead of speaking in Parliament about the post office network, claimed that the current network was "unsustainable".
But opposition parties say further closures will devastate local communities, particularly in rural areas.
The network has been affected by the decision to pay a range of services like pensions and benefits directly into bank accounts, while others traditionally provided by post offices like TV and driving licences, passports and tax disks are now increasingly being bought online.
Liberal Democrat trade spokeswoman Susan Kramer said the closures would be a "death knell" for many communities.
"The government sees only a business in inevitable decline. Its plan is designed purely to save money and has nothing to do with meeting the long-term needs of people who rely on post offices for essential services."
If the government can't afford to subsidise those post offices that are not profit-making on the grounds of the essential support and services they provide in many communities, they need to be looking to make savings in the areas of government spending that are an obvious waste.
One obvious target for making a saving is the £2.5bn extra every year that Tony Blair has agreed to hand over to the EU - because of the scale of the saving possible, and the complete lack of justification for rewarding an audit-failing organisation with a 60% increase in payments.
Are MPs going to agree to this waste, when the EU budget deal comes before Parliament for their approval? If so, post office closures due to lack of public money for subsidies will be their fault alone - and local voters will know who to blame, come the next election.
The news comes on top of the over 4,000 post offices that have shut in the past eight years.
Trade Secretary Alistair Darling, ahead of speaking in Parliament about the post office network, claimed that the current network was "unsustainable".
But opposition parties say further closures will devastate local communities, particularly in rural areas.
The network has been affected by the decision to pay a range of services like pensions and benefits directly into bank accounts, while others traditionally provided by post offices like TV and driving licences, passports and tax disks are now increasingly being bought online.
Liberal Democrat trade spokeswoman Susan Kramer said the closures would be a "death knell" for many communities.
"The government sees only a business in inevitable decline. Its plan is designed purely to save money and has nothing to do with meeting the long-term needs of people who rely on post offices for essential services."
If the government can't afford to subsidise those post offices that are not profit-making on the grounds of the essential support and services they provide in many communities, they need to be looking to make savings in the areas of government spending that are an obvious waste.
One obvious target for making a saving is the £2.5bn extra every year that Tony Blair has agreed to hand over to the EU - because of the scale of the saving possible, and the complete lack of justification for rewarding an audit-failing organisation with a 60% increase in payments.
Are MPs going to agree to this waste, when the EU budget deal comes before Parliament for their approval? If so, post office closures due to lack of public money for subsidies will be their fault alone - and local voters will know who to blame, come the next election.
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Stoke: More mental health beds could face axe
More community beds for mentally ill people could be axed in Stoke-on-Trent following the controversial plan to lose eight at a Tunstall unit.
Health officials yesterday gave notice they may next turn their sights on the city's two other mental health resource centres in Longton and Shelton once the beds at the Greenfield unit have gone.
The beds give short-term intensive care which avoids people having to be admitted to the area's main Harplands psychiatric hospital in Hartshill.
But Stoke-on-Trent's NHS funding body, the primary care trust (PCT), wants to use them instead to rehabilitate longer-stay patients from the hospital.
The move will leave the city with just 16 community beds at the Sutherland centre in Longton and the Bennett unit in Shelton - and the PCT failed to give councillors a guarantee that those were safe.
PCT joint senior commissioning director Jane Tipping told the city's health scrutiny commission that bed use was falling because of schemes to support patients in their own homes.
But councillors voiced fears that the number of remaining beds would be too small to cope, especially as the incidence of stress and depression was growing in society.
Adrian Knapper said: "There is no flexibility here. When all 16 beds are full, are patients number 17 and 18 expected to walk the streets?
"And with the Tunstall patients being moved to beds in Shelton and Longton, the relatives and friends will face transport difficulties visiting them."
Hilda Johnson, from Combined Healthcare's patients forum, said: "We are unhappy about the closure of these beds so we would be worried if they started shutting even more besides."
People in Bennett and Sutherland are already worried that they will be discharged to make room for patients from Greenfield."
The Greenfield bed closures - opposed by a petition from staff and patients - were initially part of a cost-cutting programme unveiled last year.
Health officials yesterday gave notice they may next turn their sights on the city's two other mental health resource centres in Longton and Shelton once the beds at the Greenfield unit have gone.
The beds give short-term intensive care which avoids people having to be admitted to the area's main Harplands psychiatric hospital in Hartshill.
But Stoke-on-Trent's NHS funding body, the primary care trust (PCT), wants to use them instead to rehabilitate longer-stay patients from the hospital.
The move will leave the city with just 16 community beds at the Sutherland centre in Longton and the Bennett unit in Shelton - and the PCT failed to give councillors a guarantee that those were safe.
PCT joint senior commissioning director Jane Tipping told the city's health scrutiny commission that bed use was falling because of schemes to support patients in their own homes.
But councillors voiced fears that the number of remaining beds would be too small to cope, especially as the incidence of stress and depression was growing in society.
Adrian Knapper said: "There is no flexibility here. When all 16 beds are full, are patients number 17 and 18 expected to walk the streets?
"And with the Tunstall patients being moved to beds in Shelton and Longton, the relatives and friends will face transport difficulties visiting them."
Hilda Johnson, from Combined Healthcare's patients forum, said: "We are unhappy about the closure of these beds so we would be worried if they started shutting even more besides."
People in Bennett and Sutherland are already worried that they will be discharged to make room for patients from Greenfield."
The Greenfield bed closures - opposed by a petition from staff and patients - were initially part of a cost-cutting programme unveiled last year.
Labels:
mental health,
NHS cuts,
staffordshire,
stoke-on-trent
Monday, 14 May 2007
Cancer sufferers to be denied drug on NHS
Another story today - this time from the Daily Mail - of NHS patients being denied the drugs they need on grounds of cost.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has rejected the drug Erbitux (also known as cetuximab) for cancer sufferers in England and Wales.
Campaigners said the move was a blow to patients as the drug is the first one licensed in the last 40 years for treating locally advanced head and neck cancer.
In January, Nice also rejected an appeal from charities over its decision to reject Erbitux for bowel cancer patients.
Today's decision covers using Erbitux in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer.
Nice chief executive, Andrew Dillon, said: "The evidence presented to the independent advisory committee did not persuade them that cetuximab works any better or offers better therapeutic value than existing treatments for head and neck cancer.
"The NHS has finite resources and it is our job to ensure that these are spent on treatments that confer enough of a benefit to patients in relation to the amount of money they cost."
Erbitux plus radiotherapy increases the average survival for patients from 29 months to 49 compared to patients who receive radiotherapy on its own.
More than 7,800 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK every year. Today's announcement comes after a Swedish study published earlier this month showed that the UK has one of the worst records over access to new cancer drugs.
Experts ranked the UK in the bottom group for its "slow and low" uptake of drugs after analysing sales in 25 countries.
Dr Vinod Joshi, from the Mouth Cancer Foundation, said: "This is an extremely sad day for people living with locally advanced head and neck cancer in England and Wales.
"Nice has effectively denied them this new treatment option for a chance to live longer.
"There is now a postcode lottery as the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved not only cetuximab but also docetaxel (another head and neck cancer drug) for Scottish patients."
Christine Piff, chief executive of the head and neck cancer support group Let's Face It, said: "I am devastated by the news. Head and neck cancer continues to be the Cinderella cancer, receiving little or no attention from the NHS.
"It is scandalous when you consider the emphasis placed on other cancers. Why shouldn't people suffering from head and neck cancer have access to a drug that is prescribed in Scotland?"
Dr Nick Slevin, consultant oncologist at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, added: "The decision from Nice ignores the complexities and pragmatism of clinical practice.
"I have no doubt that cetuximab with radiotherapy is the correct treatment option for some patients.
"Head and neck cancer management is not black and white and I believe this decision is discriminatory against a group of patients who don't carry the same political influence as others."
Denise Richard, head of the oncology business unit at manufacturers Merck Serono UK, said: "We are seriously considering all of our options with regards appealing this decision since we strongly believe that patients in England and Wales deserve to have access to the same standards of care as those in Scotland and the rest of Europe."
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has rejected the drug Erbitux (also known as cetuximab) for cancer sufferers in England and Wales.
Campaigners said the move was a blow to patients as the drug is the first one licensed in the last 40 years for treating locally advanced head and neck cancer.
In January, Nice also rejected an appeal from charities over its decision to reject Erbitux for bowel cancer patients.
Today's decision covers using Erbitux in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer.
Nice chief executive, Andrew Dillon, said: "The evidence presented to the independent advisory committee did not persuade them that cetuximab works any better or offers better therapeutic value than existing treatments for head and neck cancer.
"The NHS has finite resources and it is our job to ensure that these are spent on treatments that confer enough of a benefit to patients in relation to the amount of money they cost."
Erbitux plus radiotherapy increases the average survival for patients from 29 months to 49 compared to patients who receive radiotherapy on its own.
More than 7,800 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer in the UK every year. Today's announcement comes after a Swedish study published earlier this month showed that the UK has one of the worst records over access to new cancer drugs.
Experts ranked the UK in the bottom group for its "slow and low" uptake of drugs after analysing sales in 25 countries.
Dr Vinod Joshi, from the Mouth Cancer Foundation, said: "This is an extremely sad day for people living with locally advanced head and neck cancer in England and Wales.
"Nice has effectively denied them this new treatment option for a chance to live longer.
"There is now a postcode lottery as the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved not only cetuximab but also docetaxel (another head and neck cancer drug) for Scottish patients."
Christine Piff, chief executive of the head and neck cancer support group Let's Face It, said: "I am devastated by the news. Head and neck cancer continues to be the Cinderella cancer, receiving little or no attention from the NHS.
"It is scandalous when you consider the emphasis placed on other cancers. Why shouldn't people suffering from head and neck cancer have access to a drug that is prescribed in Scotland?"
Dr Nick Slevin, consultant oncologist at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, added: "The decision from Nice ignores the complexities and pragmatism of clinical practice.
"I have no doubt that cetuximab with radiotherapy is the correct treatment option for some patients.
"Head and neck cancer management is not black and white and I believe this decision is discriminatory against a group of patients who don't carry the same political influence as others."
Denise Richard, head of the oncology business unit at manufacturers Merck Serono UK, said: "We are seriously considering all of our options with regards appealing this decision since we strongly believe that patients in England and Wales deserve to have access to the same standards of care as those in Scotland and the rest of Europe."
Fears over NHS funding gap for new drugs
The BBC reports today that cancer doctors fear the NHS will not be able to afford the growing number of new drugs being developed to fight cancer, and that patient face having to pay for more drugs themselves.
Responding to a BBC questionnaire, 180 specialist cancer doctors have said that they are either worried or very worried about the situation.
Some drugs, like Herceptin for breast cancer, have won NICE backing as being cost effective for the health service. But others like Tarceva, which can extend the life of lung cancer patients, have been turned down.
Specialists like Nick James, professor of clinical oncology in Birmingham, believe the gap between what the NHS can fund and what is available is going to get bigger.
"The drugs in the pipeline are going to cause even more pressure. I think politicians need to be honest and say this gap is going to be there and we need to look at ways of filling it," he said.
Stephen Allen is one patient who already pays £3,000 every six weeks for drugs alone. Mr Allen is terminally ill with kidney and lung cancer and had been told he only had six months to live.
NHS funding for the drug recommended for him was refused, with letters explaining the health service has limited resources and faces very tough decisions.
He said: "I didn't realise we had to pay for certain drugs. If they'd said from the start there are certain drugs on the list which aren't available to you, we probably would have understood a little bit easier the situation they're in."
So Mr Allen is spending savings he wanted to leave for his wife in the hope of living to see the first birthday of his youngest grandchild, two-month-old Annabelle.
Cancer charities also remain concerned about the issue of drugs, and continue to campaign for funding for individual medicines. An appeal on Tarceva is due before NICE this summer.
Many also want a much more transparent debate about how much health service money should be allocated to cutting edge cancer treatments.
Dr Jesme Fox, medical director of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, says she is appalled some people spend the last few months of their life in a desperate fight for NHS funding.
The average time from diagnosis to death for lung cancer patients is six months.
"If they're not going to be allowed to access drugs that improve survival by a few months, or improve their quality of life, we need to have an honest debate about how we're going to have to fund these things."
While it's true that the NHS has received a record increase in funding in recent years, it's still clearly not enough to meet many people's treatment needs.
So is it appropriate for MPs to vote billions of pounds away to the EU while this remains the situation? Is it acceptable to waste £2.5bn more a year on an organisation that cannot get its accounts approved by auditors, while people are denied relief-giving - even life-saving - drugs by the NHS if they can't afford to pay for them?
Can such an attitude possibly be compatible with claiming support for public services? MPs will have trouble making that stick, come the next election - if they approve the unjustified 60% increase in funds for the EU.
Responding to a BBC questionnaire, 180 specialist cancer doctors have said that they are either worried or very worried about the situation.
Some drugs, like Herceptin for breast cancer, have won NICE backing as being cost effective for the health service. But others like Tarceva, which can extend the life of lung cancer patients, have been turned down.
Specialists like Nick James, professor of clinical oncology in Birmingham, believe the gap between what the NHS can fund and what is available is going to get bigger.
"The drugs in the pipeline are going to cause even more pressure. I think politicians need to be honest and say this gap is going to be there and we need to look at ways of filling it," he said.
Stephen Allen is one patient who already pays £3,000 every six weeks for drugs alone. Mr Allen is terminally ill with kidney and lung cancer and had been told he only had six months to live.
NHS funding for the drug recommended for him was refused, with letters explaining the health service has limited resources and faces very tough decisions.
He said: "I didn't realise we had to pay for certain drugs. If they'd said from the start there are certain drugs on the list which aren't available to you, we probably would have understood a little bit easier the situation they're in."
So Mr Allen is spending savings he wanted to leave for his wife in the hope of living to see the first birthday of his youngest grandchild, two-month-old Annabelle.
Cancer charities also remain concerned about the issue of drugs, and continue to campaign for funding for individual medicines. An appeal on Tarceva is due before NICE this summer.
Many also want a much more transparent debate about how much health service money should be allocated to cutting edge cancer treatments.
Dr Jesme Fox, medical director of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, says she is appalled some people spend the last few months of their life in a desperate fight for NHS funding.
The average time from diagnosis to death for lung cancer patients is six months.
"If they're not going to be allowed to access drugs that improve survival by a few months, or improve their quality of life, we need to have an honest debate about how we're going to have to fund these things."
While it's true that the NHS has received a record increase in funding in recent years, it's still clearly not enough to meet many people's treatment needs.
So is it appropriate for MPs to vote billions of pounds away to the EU while this remains the situation? Is it acceptable to waste £2.5bn more a year on an organisation that cannot get its accounts approved by auditors, while people are denied relief-giving - even life-saving - drugs by the NHS if they can't afford to pay for them?
Can such an attitude possibly be compatible with claiming support for public services? MPs will have trouble making that stick, come the next election - if they approve the unjustified 60% increase in funds for the EU.
Oxfordshire: Post office protesters visit Brown
Campaigners fighting to prevent the closure of Oxfordshire post offices will deliver a petition to No 11 Downing Street today - reports the Oxford Times.
Residents, councillors, a village postmaster and Banbury MP Tony Baldry will call on Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown to ensure post offices are given the financial support they need to stay economically viable.
The petition, which will also be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, has been signed by more than 1,000 residents from about 20 towns and villages in Oxfordshire.
It urges the Government to "stop action which will lead to the immediate closure of post offices" and urgently review funding and the services offered by branches to enable them to continue to be "a cornerstone of the community for individuals, business and the most vulnerable in society".
Earlier this month, Trade and Industry Secretary Alastair Darling said he intended to make a statement "fairly shortly" about the issue.
Residents, councillors, a village postmaster and Banbury MP Tony Baldry will call on Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown to ensure post offices are given the financial support they need to stay economically viable.
The petition, which will also be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, has been signed by more than 1,000 residents from about 20 towns and villages in Oxfordshire.
It urges the Government to "stop action which will lead to the immediate closure of post offices" and urgently review funding and the services offered by branches to enable them to continue to be "a cornerstone of the community for individuals, business and the most vulnerable in society".
Earlier this month, Trade and Industry Secretary Alastair Darling said he intended to make a statement "fairly shortly" about the issue.
Saturday, 12 May 2007
Hospital report reveals debt fear
A confidential report which sparked a review of hospital services and led to nearly a year of protests across Surrey and Sussex has been revealed - reports the BBC.
The report to NHS managers in 2005, seen by BBC South, said health services in Surrey and Sussex were "financially unsustainable".
They were heading for debts of between £350m and £700m by 2009, it said.
South East Coast Strategic Health Authority said it had since taken action (cuts) which they expect to produce a surplus.
The report, by management consultants McKinsey, was obtained by a member of the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
It made a number of suggestions for reducing the health authority's potential debts, including cutting the number of qualified nurses by 6%.
It also suggested changes to acute Accident and Emergency departments, including allowing only patients arriving in 999 ambulances to enter.
Others would have to go to emergency care centres.
Fit for the Future has led to fears about potential cuts to A&E and maternity services at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, Worthing and Southlands Hospitals, the Princess Royal at Haywards Heath and the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.
The only firm proposals so far put forward are in East Sussex, where either Eastbourne District General Hospital or the Conquest, in Hastings, could lose its maternity unit.
A public consultation is under way on which town will have the county's main consultant-led centre.
The report to NHS managers in 2005, seen by BBC South, said health services in Surrey and Sussex were "financially unsustainable".
They were heading for debts of between £350m and £700m by 2009, it said.
South East Coast Strategic Health Authority said it had since taken action (cuts) which they expect to produce a surplus.
The report, by management consultants McKinsey, was obtained by a member of the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
It made a number of suggestions for reducing the health authority's potential debts, including cutting the number of qualified nurses by 6%.
It also suggested changes to acute Accident and Emergency departments, including allowing only patients arriving in 999 ambulances to enter.
Others would have to go to emergency care centres.
Fit for the Future has led to fears about potential cuts to A&E and maternity services at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, Worthing and Southlands Hospitals, the Princess Royal at Haywards Heath and the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.
The only firm proposals so far put forward are in East Sussex, where either Eastbourne District General Hospital or the Conquest, in Hastings, could lose its maternity unit.
A public consultation is under way on which town will have the county's main consultant-led centre.
Labels:
chichester,
eastbourne,
guildford,
hastings,
haywards heath,
NHS cuts,
worthing
Friday, 11 May 2007
Cowley: PO closure causes queues
The Oxford Times reports today that pensioners are being forced to queue for up to an hour to use a post office in Cowley following the closure of a nearby branch in Rose Hill.
More than 30 people were waiting for Post Office services following the Bank Holiday weekend before the counter, at the Co-op store in Templars Square, even opened, with the queue continuing to grow throughout the morning.
Peter Stovold, of Hollow Way, started queuing 45 minutes before the post office opened. He said: "Every day it's really backed up and it's usually worse than this.
"I got here at 8.45am and I've been queuing for 45 minutes because otherwise you have to wait 40 minutes in the queue. It's just easier to get here earlier."
Jane Lambert, from Iffley, left the post office without being served because she did not have enough time to wait.
She said: "It's completely ridiculous. I live near Rose Hill and since they closed the one there, which is absolutely crazy, everyone has to come here so it's really busy.
"I came to pay my council tax but the queues are just too long. I can't spend hours queuing.
"You can't do it anywhere else because they have closed the council tax office in town as well."
Tina Lambrick, of Derwent Avenue, also left without being served, having come to pick up child benefit for her two children.
She said: "There's no way I'm getting in that queue, that's an hour's wait at least.
"I feel sorry for the old people who have to stand waiting for so long. Something needs to be done."
More than 30 people were waiting for Post Office services following the Bank Holiday weekend before the counter, at the Co-op store in Templars Square, even opened, with the queue continuing to grow throughout the morning.
Peter Stovold, of Hollow Way, started queuing 45 minutes before the post office opened. He said: "Every day it's really backed up and it's usually worse than this.
"I got here at 8.45am and I've been queuing for 45 minutes because otherwise you have to wait 40 minutes in the queue. It's just easier to get here earlier."
Jane Lambert, from Iffley, left the post office without being served because she did not have enough time to wait.
She said: "It's completely ridiculous. I live near Rose Hill and since they closed the one there, which is absolutely crazy, everyone has to come here so it's really busy.
"I came to pay my council tax but the queues are just too long. I can't spend hours queuing.
"You can't do it anywhere else because they have closed the council tax office in town as well."
Tina Lambrick, of Derwent Avenue, also left without being served, having come to pick up child benefit for her two children.
She said: "There's no way I'm getting in that queue, that's an hour's wait at least.
"I feel sorry for the old people who have to stand waiting for so long. Something needs to be done."
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Stoke: Patients slam dirty hospital
The condition of wards, toilets and bathrooms at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire has been criticised by patients in two separate surveys.
One was carried out on behalf of the Healthcare Commission (HC) while the other was from people contacted by the hospital's patients advice services.
The HC - the independent inspection body for the NHS - called for a review of the cleaning contracts at the hospital in the wake of the concerns raised by the survey.
The patients in both surveys also raised concerns about catering at the hospital but described staff as excellent.
The findings were based on the HC survey in which 461 patients out of 850 polled at the Hartshill complex filled in questionnaires, and from 223 people who completed so-called "feedback forms" issued to 40 wards and departments through its patient advice liaison service (PALS).
One was carried out on behalf of the Healthcare Commission (HC) while the other was from people contacted by the hospital's patients advice services.
The HC - the independent inspection body for the NHS - called for a review of the cleaning contracts at the hospital in the wake of the concerns raised by the survey.
The patients in both surveys also raised concerns about catering at the hospital but described staff as excellent.
The findings were based on the HC survey in which 461 patients out of 850 polled at the Hartshill complex filled in questionnaires, and from 223 people who completed so-called "feedback forms" issued to 40 wards and departments through its patient advice liaison service (PALS).
Labels:
hospitals,
hygiene,
NHS cuts,
staffordshire,
stoke-on-trent
Blackpool: Fight on for post office
The fight to save Blackpool's historic Crown post office has been stepped up with the town's MPs fearing that vulnerable residents will be hit by the closure - reports the Blackpool Citizen.
Plans were announced by Royal Mail last month to close the Abingdon Street office and transfer services to WH Smith in Bank Hey Street, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative which will see 76 Crown Post Offices closed.
Both MPs for the town, Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have signed a Commons motion, which has so far been supported by 30 MPs, calling for more consultation and expressing anger at the decision.
Not enough "anger", however, to consider blocking the government's completely unjustified 60% proposed increase in payments to the audit-failing EU, to divert the £2.5 billion a year at stake to supporting lifeline post offices serving "vulnerable" constituents instead.
Mr Marsden has also written to the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook, seeking assurances about services and postal workers' jobs.
In the letter, he states: "The Post Office provides a service to the most vulnerable people in Blackpool, the disabled, those claiming benefits, as well as the elderly and unemployed.
"What plans do you have to relocate the service counters with WH Smith, which has a far smaller surface area in my estimation and how will you ensure that elderly and disabled customers are able to use the new facilities easily?"
Mrs Humble said that there should be much more debate before the decision is finalised.
She said: "I will be seeking information from the Royal Mail, the DTI and ministerial colleagues on the reasons behind it and the treatment of the staff who work there.
"Whenever I go into the Abingdon Street post office it is very busy and provides an excellent service in an ideal location.
"I have my doubts whether relocating the office to WH Smith will be able to provide the same level of service.
"It is also a one of Blackpool's most eyecatching buildings and I will be seeking clarification on its future."
Both Blackpool MPs Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have said they intend to vote in favour of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament for approval.
Both clearly seem to think that Blackpool's public services have all the money they could use, so gifting billions of pounds a year to the EU is affordable.
Yet auditors haven't been able to approve the "majority" of EU spending for twelve years in a row, and every week it seems there is a new report of EU waste or fraud.
So Marsden and Humble may well protest when the effects of shortages of public money are felt in their constituencies. But if they vote to waste vast sums on the EU - a 60% increase over what we already pay - then they alone bear ultimate responsibility for local problems that could be solved with a little extra financial support from government.
Plans were announced by Royal Mail last month to close the Abingdon Street office and transfer services to WH Smith in Bank Hey Street, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative which will see 76 Crown Post Offices closed.
Both MPs for the town, Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have signed a Commons motion, which has so far been supported by 30 MPs, calling for more consultation and expressing anger at the decision.
Not enough "anger", however, to consider blocking the government's completely unjustified 60% proposed increase in payments to the audit-failing EU, to divert the £2.5 billion a year at stake to supporting lifeline post offices serving "vulnerable" constituents instead.
Mr Marsden has also written to the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook, seeking assurances about services and postal workers' jobs.
In the letter, he states: "The Post Office provides a service to the most vulnerable people in Blackpool, the disabled, those claiming benefits, as well as the elderly and unemployed.
"What plans do you have to relocate the service counters with WH Smith, which has a far smaller surface area in my estimation and how will you ensure that elderly and disabled customers are able to use the new facilities easily?"
Mrs Humble said that there should be much more debate before the decision is finalised.
She said: "I will be seeking information from the Royal Mail, the DTI and ministerial colleagues on the reasons behind it and the treatment of the staff who work there.
"Whenever I go into the Abingdon Street post office it is very busy and provides an excellent service in an ideal location.
"I have my doubts whether relocating the office to WH Smith will be able to provide the same level of service.
"It is also a one of Blackpool's most eyecatching buildings and I will be seeking clarification on its future."
Both Blackpool MPs Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have said they intend to vote in favour of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament for approval.
Both clearly seem to think that Blackpool's public services have all the money they could use, so gifting billions of pounds a year to the EU is affordable.
Yet auditors haven't been able to approve the "majority" of EU spending for twelve years in a row, and every week it seems there is a new report of EU waste or fraud.
So Marsden and Humble may well protest when the effects of shortages of public money are felt in their constituencies. But if they vote to waste vast sums on the EU - a 60% increase over what we already pay - then they alone bear ultimate responsibility for local problems that could be solved with a little extra financial support from government.
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Carshalton: Bed push protest over NHS budget
The BBC reports today that a bed push between two hospitals in London and Surrey has been staged by campaigners in protest at "rising debts" at Epsom and St Helier NHS.
Two MPs joined the protest between St Helier hospital in Carshalton and Epsom Hospital in Surrey.
Sutton MP Paul Burstow said the trust was now being "forced to save almost twice the £24m asked of it last year".
The NHS trust said it saved £20m last year and had a £21m target next year which was about savings not overspends.
A spokeswoman said the trust's predicted £7.3m overspend this year had actually been £5.4m which was "better than predicted".
But campaign group Health Emergency has warned of both job and service cuts under the savings plans.
And Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling said there was now "a very real possibility that St Helier, Epsom and Guildford Hospitals will all be downgraded".
He added: "We want the NHS to realise that the strength of feeling about our local hospital services and about the future of Epsom Hospital is as strong as ever."
Two MPs joined the protest between St Helier hospital in Carshalton and Epsom Hospital in Surrey.
Sutton MP Paul Burstow said the trust was now being "forced to save almost twice the £24m asked of it last year".
The NHS trust said it saved £20m last year and had a £21m target next year which was about savings not overspends.
A spokeswoman said the trust's predicted £7.3m overspend this year had actually been £5.4m which was "better than predicted".
But campaign group Health Emergency has warned of both job and service cuts under the savings plans.
And Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling said there was now "a very real possibility that St Helier, Epsom and Guildford Hospitals will all be downgraded".
He added: "We want the NHS to realise that the strength of feeling about our local hospital services and about the future of Epsom Hospital is as strong as ever."
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Friday, 4 May 2007
Ealing: 15 teachers lose jobs in cuts
More news of cuts to public services in Ealing that should give Ealing's MPs pause for thought about whether they can afford to approve the 60% hike in payments to the audit-failing EU - and certainly whether local voters will approve of such a choice, come the next election.
The Ealing Gazette reports today that 15 teachers at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College are losing their jobs as a result of a government cut of 7% - equating to £2m - from the college's budget for adult education services.
The cuts are thought to be the "tip of the iceberg", with more following before September.
The college has campuses in Barons Court and Ealing, and is having to increase class sizes and merge some services as a result.
Amarjit Busi, deputy principal of the college said: "We've lost £2m of public funding support at the same time we're being told to direct money away from lower-level courses."
"It's going to affect the most vulnerable and poorest parts of the community."
The Ealing Gazette reports today that 15 teachers at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College are losing their jobs as a result of a government cut of 7% - equating to £2m - from the college's budget for adult education services.
The cuts are thought to be the "tip of the iceberg", with more following before September.
The college has campuses in Barons Court and Ealing, and is having to increase class sizes and merge some services as a result.
Amarjit Busi, deputy principal of the college said: "We've lost £2m of public funding support at the same time we're being told to direct money away from lower-level courses."
"It's going to affect the most vulnerable and poorest parts of the community."
Ealing: Teachers & health workers protest at pay offer
Public sector workers staged a protest on the steps of Ealing Town Hall on Tuesday to show opposition to the government's 2% pay rise offer - reports the Ealing Gazette.
Organised by public sector union Unison and supported by Ealing teachers and health workers, the protest argued that with inflation running at 4.8% the government deal is effectively a pay cut.
Adam Smith, an officer for the Ealing branch of Unison, warned that the protest was a "first step" and could lead to widespread strike action and disruption of services.
Are Ealing's MPs going to tolerate such a situation - do they agree health and education workers should get a pay cut? Are they going to vote billions of pounds extra away to the audit-failing EU that could actually be used to pay teachers and others in line with inflation?
Organised by public sector union Unison and supported by Ealing teachers and health workers, the protest argued that with inflation running at 4.8% the government deal is effectively a pay cut.
Adam Smith, an officer for the Ealing branch of Unison, warned that the protest was a "first step" and could lead to widespread strike action and disruption of services.
Are Ealing's MPs going to tolerate such a situation - do they agree health and education workers should get a pay cut? Are they going to vote billions of pounds extra away to the audit-failing EU that could actually be used to pay teachers and others in line with inflation?
Thursday, 3 May 2007
Hounslow: Cuts close playground
Angry Mums on a deprived estate have slammed Hounslow Borough Council for "penny-pinching" after a children's playground was forced to close - reports the Hounslow Chronicle.
The cost-cutting council recently removed swings, slides and a climbing frame from the play area on the Beavers Lane Estate. The equipment was deemed unsafe, but leisure services provider CIP has been unable to fund repairs or replacements.
One Mum-of-three said: "This administration's penny-pinching is hitting kids on this estate - including my eight-year-old girl - very hard."
"First the community teacher was cut, then a dance teacher from Waterman's art centre who used to hold classes at the Hub was axed, and now this."
No doubt speaking for hundreds of local parents, she added: "My daughter loved the play area and it's really sad it's gone."
To be fair, councils like Hounslow are operating under a great deal of financial pressure, caught between insufficient funding from central government and the deadly unpopularity of hiking council tax bills unreasonably.
It's for local MPs like Ann Keen to justify why her local council can't be given more to prevent such cuts by the government. Especially when she's enthusiastically intending to approve paying £2.5bn a year extra to the already lavishly-funded but endlessly wasteful EU.
If the government can't afford to give local councils more, why is she going to approve wasting such vast amounts of public money by handing it to an organisation that hasn't had its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years running?
If Mrs Keen doesn't block that extra money for the EU when it comes to the vote in Parliament, local residents will know who's really to blame for cuts to local services come the next election.
The cost-cutting council recently removed swings, slides and a climbing frame from the play area on the Beavers Lane Estate. The equipment was deemed unsafe, but leisure services provider CIP has been unable to fund repairs or replacements.
One Mum-of-three said: "This administration's penny-pinching is hitting kids on this estate - including my eight-year-old girl - very hard."
"First the community teacher was cut, then a dance teacher from Waterman's art centre who used to hold classes at the Hub was axed, and now this."
No doubt speaking for hundreds of local parents, she added: "My daughter loved the play area and it's really sad it's gone."
To be fair, councils like Hounslow are operating under a great deal of financial pressure, caught between insufficient funding from central government and the deadly unpopularity of hiking council tax bills unreasonably.
It's for local MPs like Ann Keen to justify why her local council can't be given more to prevent such cuts by the government. Especially when she's enthusiastically intending to approve paying £2.5bn a year extra to the already lavishly-funded but endlessly wasteful EU.
If the government can't afford to give local councils more, why is she going to approve wasting such vast amounts of public money by handing it to an organisation that hasn't had its accounts approved by auditors for twelve years running?
If Mrs Keen doesn't block that extra money for the EU when it comes to the vote in Parliament, local residents will know who's really to blame for cuts to local services come the next election.
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
NHS leaves war hero to go blind
Ex-RAF flight engineer Dennis Devier, 84, is already blind in one eye and faces going blind in the other, because his local NHS trust has turned down funding for the drug that would save his sight.
Losing his sight fully will mean he can no longer care for his wife Frances, and they would have to be separated for the first time in 60 years - reports the Daily Express.
Mr Devier has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with the drug Lucentis. He has already spent more than £8,000 on private treatment, but the high cost of care is draining his life savings.
Mr Devier said: "If I go blind, it will cost the taxpayer thousands more to look after us both - it's madness."
In his typically plain-speaking style, Mr Devier's local MP Boris Johnson hit the nail on the head when he said: "I find it utterly incredible that we are posing these alternatives to a man at his time of life - cough up, or say goodbye to your eyes."
This is a sad real-world story, no doubt repeated many times across the country, that those MPs intending to reward an audit-failing EU with an extra £2.5bn a year would do well to remember.
Especially if they imagine that boasting about 'record' sums the NHS has received is some kind of justification for approving the obvious waste of large sums on the EU.
Do they really believe the NHS is a 'mission accomplished' - that no more funds are required? This story, and many others, would indicate otherwise.
People like Mr Devier are those who pay a real price of such a lax attitude by some MPs to safeguarding scarce public funds. Those MPs are merely risking their jobs, when the time comes for them to explain such bad choices to local voters.
Losing his sight fully will mean he can no longer care for his wife Frances, and they would have to be separated for the first time in 60 years - reports the Daily Express.
Mr Devier has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with the drug Lucentis. He has already spent more than £8,000 on private treatment, but the high cost of care is draining his life savings.
Mr Devier said: "If I go blind, it will cost the taxpayer thousands more to look after us both - it's madness."
In his typically plain-speaking style, Mr Devier's local MP Boris Johnson hit the nail on the head when he said: "I find it utterly incredible that we are posing these alternatives to a man at his time of life - cough up, or say goodbye to your eyes."
This is a sad real-world story, no doubt repeated many times across the country, that those MPs intending to reward an audit-failing EU with an extra £2.5bn a year would do well to remember.
Especially if they imagine that boasting about 'record' sums the NHS has received is some kind of justification for approving the obvious waste of large sums on the EU.
Do they really believe the NHS is a 'mission accomplished' - that no more funds are required? This story, and many others, would indicate otherwise.
People like Mr Devier are those who pay a real price of such a lax attitude by some MPs to safeguarding scarce public funds. Those MPs are merely risking their jobs, when the time comes for them to explain such bad choices to local voters.
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