North Yorks: Furious GPs attack health chiefs over ‘panic’ cuts

Health chiefs are ordering swingeing cuts in health services serving 750,000 people in Yorkshire in a "panic" attempt to tackle a dramatically-worsening financial crisis – reports the Yorkshire Post.

Sick patients referred to hospital could be sent back home, injured casualties turned away from A&E and people forced to endure waits of up to 16 weeks for operations under plans drawn up by NHS managers in North Yorkshire.

Last night family doctors claimed the emergency package was a "panic measure" in the face of urgent demands from Ministers to make savings, and warned patient care would suffer.

North Yorkshire’s newly formed Primary Care Trust (PCT) had faced a deficit of £24m in 2006-07 but officials now believe the cash crisis has significantly worsened and it could run up debts of £45m unless action is taken.

Measures being put in place are:

• New assessments of emergency admissions to hospitals in Scarborough, Northallerton and York;
  
• About half of patients in A&E being told to seek alternative help from walk-in centres, minor injury units and GPs;
  
• The imposition of minimum waits of 12 to 16 weeks for patients requiring routine surgery and 8 weeks for outpatients;
  
• The suspension of a range of treatments including joint injections, a ban on some investigative procedures and curbs on IVF treatment;
  
• A ban on some drug treatments and non-essential follow-up hospital appointments.

John Givans, secretary of North Yorkshire Local Medical Committee which represents GPs said they were "horrified" at the package.

He said: "This will undoubtedly cause patients to suffer increased pain and I can see all sorts of risks associated with it.

"The whole thing is a panic measure as a result of pressure from the government."

Cllr Sue Galloway, executive member for adult social services on Lib Dem-run York Council said: "It’s no use passing the buck because local authorities are cash-strapped as well. Already our services are over-stretched and we just cannot take people on. People are going to be in really, really desperate straits."

Selby Labour MP John Grogan said: "My fear is that unless a grip is got on the financial situation, the next step would be to propose very significant bed and job cuts, which would be completely unacceptable."

In a letter to health chiefs, chief executive of the troubled PCT Janet Soo-Chung said: "We fully appreciate the difficulties that the introduction of these measures entail. However, the financial position of the PCT is such that there is absolutely no alternative programme if we are to avoid even more difficult decisions in the near future."

Of course, one alternative would be for the government to stop wasting vast sums by sending it to the European Union, and bail out troubled PCTs like this one with a tiny fraction of the money that would be saved.

Sadly the government cares more about propping up the wasteful and fraud-ridden EU than it does about preventing these hospital cuts.

If Selby MP John Grogan votes to hand the extra £2.5bn a year Tony Blair has gifted the EU when it comes before Parliament, unfortunately the same will have to be said about him.

That’s unlikely to go down well with voters come the next election.

- Article contributed by: B.S., Hull