Health chiefs have revealed plans to downgrade Bridlington hospital so that it will no longer treat heart patients or medical emergencies - reports the BBC.
The site will become a community hospital under proposals announced by the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT).
Cardiac and acute patients will instead be treated at Hull or Scarborough.
Elsewhere in East Yorkshire, the NHS received news of a £20m funding boost, including a new hospital in Beverley.
However, this extra money - while welcome - is little more than a day's worth of money the government now pays into the EU's audit-failing budget at £115 million every single week.
The government investment will also fund a new healthcare facility in Hornsea and major refurbishment work at Driffield's Albert Bean Hospital.
So imagine what could be achieved with the equivalent of just one more day's payment to the EU, if our massive financial contribution to that audit-failing organisation were diverted instead to essential health services.
The investment is the largest single award in the latest wave of the Department of Health's £750m capital investment programme for community hospitals and services (NHS improvements being worth only six and a half weeks' worth of our payments to the EU, in the government's eyes).
On the future role of Bridlington Hospital, the Scarborough and North Yorkshire PCT said: "During the public consultation run by the trust earlier this year the support and passion for Bridlington Hospital was extremely well voiced by local people.
"Whilst recognising the level of public interest and concern...it would be neither prudent clinically, professionally nor financially to maintain services in their current format in the long term.
"Overall the number of patients served by both hospitals [Bridlington and Scarborough] is relatively small and having services duplicated across sites affects future sustainability of those services."
In September, health union officials warned that if the cardiac unit at Bridlington was closed, lives would be put at risk as patients would have to travel further for treatment.
Earlier this year, the trust revealed it intended to cut 600 jobs in an attempt to reduce its £20m deficit and cut costs.
But the losses were averted at the last minute after an agreement was reached between the trust and the strategic health authority to write off the debts.
Showing posts with label hull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hull. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Hospices warn of cash shortfall
Hospice managers in Hull and Grimsby have warned services could be cut amid a shortfall in government cash, according to the BBC.
Dove House Hospice in Hull is facing a deficit of £400,000 and says it has seen its money cut in real terms.
Finance director Chris Sadler said: "That is not something we could sustain indefinitely. The only way we can really save costs is to shut beds."
Bosses at Grimsby's St Andrew's Hospice said it may have to cut services as it forecasts a £100,000 deficit this year.
Two thirds of the hospices in England are run by the voluntary sector, providing support to the NHS.
St Andrew's Hospice fundraising and marketing manager Jane Whenham-White said: "The government told us two years ago that end-of-life care was its top priority and it had a strategy to meet that need.
"But they haven't yet come up with any funding.
"Because we actually haven't got a guaranteed income it is very, very difficult for us to plan our services.
"The only way to cut costs is to lay staff off, close beds or drop services.
"We don't want to do that, but we may have to if the funds are not available."
She said the hospice was relying more and more heavily on income generated by its shops and a lottery scheme.
"The worst thing is that because of the geographic area we cover we have been told we should have 16 adult beds here and we've only got eight.
"That means at a time when we should be doubling the number of beds we're actually facing the real prospect of having to cut back."
Dove House Hospice in Hull is facing a deficit of £400,000 and says it has seen its money cut in real terms.
Finance director Chris Sadler said: "That is not something we could sustain indefinitely. The only way we can really save costs is to shut beds."
Bosses at Grimsby's St Andrew's Hospice said it may have to cut services as it forecasts a £100,000 deficit this year.
Two thirds of the hospices in England are run by the voluntary sector, providing support to the NHS.
St Andrew's Hospice fundraising and marketing manager Jane Whenham-White said: "The government told us two years ago that end-of-life care was its top priority and it had a strategy to meet that need.
"But they haven't yet come up with any funding.
"Because we actually haven't got a guaranteed income it is very, very difficult for us to plan our services.
"The only way to cut costs is to lay staff off, close beds or drop services.
"We don't want to do that, but we may have to if the funds are not available."
She said the hospice was relying more and more heavily on income generated by its shops and a lottery scheme.
"The worst thing is that because of the geographic area we cover we have been told we should have 16 adult beds here and we've only got eight.
"That means at a time when we should be doubling the number of beds we're actually facing the real prospect of having to cut back."
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Flood-hit Hull a 'forgotten city'
Hull has become the "forgotten city" after suffering some of the worst flooding damage, the BBC reports today.
Council leader Carl Minns said it could take two years for the city to recover.
"We are the forgotten city in this disaster," said Mr Minns who has called for urgent government help for the 17,000 properties affected.
Some £18m is being earmarked for repairs to thousands of wrecked homes.
Mr Minns said: "What we have in Sheffield and Doncaster is terrible and my heart-felt sympathy goes out to those people.
"But their problems have been fairly localised, whereas ours is spread right across the city. Hull also needs help.
"We are starting to rebuild but the city won't recover for around two years.
"The Government needs to help this city with a large injection of capital, otherwise this city will not recover."
Are MPs going to vote £2.5bn away to the audit-failing EU - by approving the EU budget deal - while that money is clearly urgently needed not only to provide relief and support in areas hit by the recent terrible flooding, but also to help ensure it doesn't happen again?
Now more than ever it's time for MPs to demonstrate a high degree of responsibility with scarce public funds.
Council leader Carl Minns said it could take two years for the city to recover.
"We are the forgotten city in this disaster," said Mr Minns who has called for urgent government help for the 17,000 properties affected.
Some £18m is being earmarked for repairs to thousands of wrecked homes.
Mr Minns said: "What we have in Sheffield and Doncaster is terrible and my heart-felt sympathy goes out to those people.
"But their problems have been fairly localised, whereas ours is spread right across the city. Hull also needs help.
"We are starting to rebuild but the city won't recover for around two years.
"The Government needs to help this city with a large injection of capital, otherwise this city will not recover."
Are MPs going to vote £2.5bn away to the audit-failing EU - by approving the EU budget deal - while that money is clearly urgently needed not only to provide relief and support in areas hit by the recent terrible flooding, but also to help ensure it doesn't happen again?
Now more than ever it's time for MPs to demonstrate a high degree of responsibility with scarce public funds.
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