Union officials are compiling an explosive report they say will expose a "gross deterioration" in patient care at the region's biggest hospital, according to The Sentinel.
Pat Powell, Unison branch secretary at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, is working with other unions there to prepare a dossier of evidence about falling standards of patient care following financial cuts.
The allegations include:
... cuts in hospital cleaning leaving patients vulnerable to infections such as MRSA;
... bed shortages that have forced staff to put adults on a children's ward, and 10 beds into a bay designed for six;
... a lack of staff meaning some patients are unable to leave the ward for scans and treatment;
... cuts to physiotherapy services including the end of the paediatric outpatient service and cystic fibrosis service.
A hospital spokesman said the claims were an inaccurate reflection of the situation.
He added: "Some of the allegations are untrue.Others are based on unsubstantiated anecdote, are exaggerated, do not relate to cost cutting, or reflect best practice."
The allegations come as the Royal College of Nursing today revealed more than 22,300 NHS posts have been lost across the country in the last 18 months, of these 500 are from the University Hospital.
Mrs Powell told Sentinel Sunday the problems have been experienced by union members.
She said: "We know these things are happening and at the moment we are gathering in documentary evidence.
"We are collating the evidence through freedom of information requests to the trust on things we know are happening.
"We will then put it all together into a report."
She said all the health unions involved in NHS Together alliance were involved, including bodies representing doctors, nurses and ancillary staff.
Mark Young, North Staffordshire's regional officer for Amicus, which represents 300 workers at the hospital including laboratory staff, said he was also involved in the report.
He hopes it will show the Government that health service cuts are having a devastating impact on care in North Staffordshire.
He said: "The reality on patient care in Stoke-on-Trent is that patients' health is suffering because of these cuts.
"Patients might not notice their care is suffering, but there are a lot of underlying problems.
If the place isn't so clean because of staffing levels, if the beds aren't properly maintained in wards, if laboratory staff aren't able to turn round samples as quickly, then patient care is suffering.
"We want to show the Department of Health what these problems are. The difficulty we have is that people who work in the NHS have an ethos of public service so we often find that although staff are under greater stress because a colleague has been made redundant or not been replaced, they pick up the extra bit of work. "
Mrs Powell spoke out in a speech at the West Midlands NHS rally in Birmingham last month. In it, she blamed the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust's decision to cut 1,000 jobs.
Sunday, 15 April 2007
Nurse union condemns NHS job cuts
Nurses' leaders say patients are being harmed by job cuts in the profession caused by continuing NHS deficits, the BBC reports.
The Royal College of Nursing, whose conference opened on Sunday, claims that 22,300 NHS posts have been lost in England in the past 18 months.
Specialist nurses are said to have been particularly hard hit.
In its report Our NHS - Today and Tomorrow, the union said the health service was facing a debt crisis that was "real and entrenched".
The RCN study, compiled from reports by members and NHS board papers, said trusts had been forced to shed 22,300 posts through a combination of redundancies, recruitment freezes and post closures.
The financial crisis was also hitting patient care, the study claimed.
However the Department of Health claimed that the actual number of compulsory redundancies was 1,446 - of which only 303 were clinical positions, such as doctors or nurses.
RCN general secretary Dr Peter Carter said he stood by the RCN's figures.
"The deficits issue is not history - it is real, entrenched and continues to hit patient care, services and jobs.
"Yes, the NHS achieved overall financial balance last year - but at what cost?"
He added: "This is hitting services, hurting patients, undermining staff morale and threatening the hard-won progress made over recent years."
The RCN claims specialist nurses, which have been trained to provide expert care in areas such as diabetes and heart disease and have a range of enhanced powers like prescribing, had been particularly effected.
A poll of 807 specialist nurses for the report found one in five were facing a risk of redundancy, while half were aware of cuts in their specialist area.
June James, who has been working as a specialist diabetes nurse for the last 12 years, said: "Posts are being downgraded and services cut. I think it shows a lack of respect for the job we do."
Michael Summers, from the Patients Association, told BBC Five Live that callers to his organisation's helpline said there were "not enough nurses to go round" and patients were "in fear of infections".
"What is clear is that those who leave are not being replaced," he said.
The RCN, which represents 400,000 nurses, published its report to kick start its annual conference in Harrogate.
The Royal College of Nursing, whose conference opened on Sunday, claims that 22,300 NHS posts have been lost in England in the past 18 months.
Specialist nurses are said to have been particularly hard hit.
In its report Our NHS - Today and Tomorrow, the union said the health service was facing a debt crisis that was "real and entrenched".
The RCN study, compiled from reports by members and NHS board papers, said trusts had been forced to shed 22,300 posts through a combination of redundancies, recruitment freezes and post closures.
The financial crisis was also hitting patient care, the study claimed.
However the Department of Health claimed that the actual number of compulsory redundancies was 1,446 - of which only 303 were clinical positions, such as doctors or nurses.
RCN general secretary Dr Peter Carter said he stood by the RCN's figures.
"The deficits issue is not history - it is real, entrenched and continues to hit patient care, services and jobs.
"Yes, the NHS achieved overall financial balance last year - but at what cost?"
He added: "This is hitting services, hurting patients, undermining staff morale and threatening the hard-won progress made over recent years."
The RCN claims specialist nurses, which have been trained to provide expert care in areas such as diabetes and heart disease and have a range of enhanced powers like prescribing, had been particularly effected.
A poll of 807 specialist nurses for the report found one in five were facing a risk of redundancy, while half were aware of cuts in their specialist area.
June James, who has been working as a specialist diabetes nurse for the last 12 years, said: "Posts are being downgraded and services cut. I think it shows a lack of respect for the job we do."
Michael Summers, from the Patients Association, told BBC Five Live that callers to his organisation's helpline said there were "not enough nurses to go round" and patients were "in fear of infections".
"What is clear is that those who leave are not being replaced," he said.
The RCN, which represents 400,000 nurses, published its report to kick start its annual conference in Harrogate.
Health 'should be top priority' says survey
Health should be the top priority for government, a survey has suggested - according to the BBC.
A poll of nearly 2,400 people carried out by YouGov for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) found that health was ranked above law and order, defence, education and the environment.
A third of those questioned said they wanted to see funding maintained at current levels, while 59% said they wanted it to be increased.
Many said they feared services would be cut if this did not happen.
In total, 37% said health should be the most important spending priority, 23% law and order, 20% education, 10% environment and 2% defence.
When asked in more detail about their healthcare priorities, almost half of those surveyed ranked hospitals above other areas, such as reducing waiting times, more health services in the community, care for the elderly and public health.
So when voters see that their MP, rather than investing limited public funds in their top spending priorities, has in fact approved a 60% increase in funds - billions more pounds a year - for the audit-failing EU, that's unlikely to go down very well at all.
MPs planning to vote in favour of the EU budget deal - particularly those in marginal seats - would surely do well to bear this in mind.
A poll of nearly 2,400 people carried out by YouGov for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) found that health was ranked above law and order, defence, education and the environment.
A third of those questioned said they wanted to see funding maintained at current levels, while 59% said they wanted it to be increased.
Many said they feared services would be cut if this did not happen.
In total, 37% said health should be the most important spending priority, 23% law and order, 20% education, 10% environment and 2% defence.
When asked in more detail about their healthcare priorities, almost half of those surveyed ranked hospitals above other areas, such as reducing waiting times, more health services in the community, care for the elderly and public health.
So when voters see that their MP, rather than investing limited public funds in their top spending priorities, has in fact approved a 60% increase in funds - billions more pounds a year - for the audit-failing EU, that's unlikely to go down very well at all.
MPs planning to vote in favour of the EU budget deal - particularly those in marginal seats - would surely do well to bear this in mind.
Friday, 13 April 2007
Ealing: 23,000 children living in poverty
A staggering 23,000 children in Ealing are living below the poverty line, reports the Ealing Gazette.
They live in poor-quality and overcrowded housing, or temporary accommodation and will probably grow up to be poor adults with emotional issues, according to new figures that show poverty rates across 624 wards in London.
Carey Oppenheim, chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, said the problem would not be solved without major policy changes and improvements to benefits and tax credits.
She said: "Radical improvements in employment for parents of low incomes, rises in national benefits such as child benefit and child tax credit as well as specific measures which improve the incentives for Londoners to take and hold on to jobs are all needed."
Can Ealing MPs Stephen Pound, Andrew Slaughter and Piara Khabra all really intend to vote to approve paying billions of pounds a year to an audit-failing and obviously wasteful body like the EU, with such serious problems in their own backyard?
Are they saying that their constituents living in poverty can do without a share of the £2.5bn a year of public money that the government would save if they voted against the EU budget deal?
If so, they should have a serious look at their priorities. Or at least the thousands of families affected by this problem will likely be looking for change come the next election.
They live in poor-quality and overcrowded housing, or temporary accommodation and will probably grow up to be poor adults with emotional issues, according to new figures that show poverty rates across 624 wards in London.
Carey Oppenheim, chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, said the problem would not be solved without major policy changes and improvements to benefits and tax credits.
She said: "Radical improvements in employment for parents of low incomes, rises in national benefits such as child benefit and child tax credit as well as specific measures which improve the incentives for Londoners to take and hold on to jobs are all needed."
Can Ealing MPs Stephen Pound, Andrew Slaughter and Piara Khabra all really intend to vote to approve paying billions of pounds a year to an audit-failing and obviously wasteful body like the EU, with such serious problems in their own backyard?
Are they saying that their constituents living in poverty can do without a share of the £2.5bn a year of public money that the government would save if they voted against the EU budget deal?
If so, they should have a serious look at their priorities. Or at least the thousands of families affected by this problem will likely be looking for change come the next election.
Friday, 6 April 2007
Superbug kills almost as many as die on roads
The Daily Telegraph reports today that deaths from the hospital superbug, Clostridium difficile, are fast approaching the number of road fatalities, an expert has said.
Dr John Starr, reader in geriatric medicine at the University of Edinburgh, says that cases of C difficile rose by 5.5% over a year while MRSA cases fell by 4.3%.
"With more than 2,200 deaths attributed to C difficile in death certificates in England and Wales, the mortality rate is fast approaching that for road traffic accidents and is now around half that for suicide," he says in the British Medical Journal.
Road deaths in 2004 were 2,915.
Dr Starr says that more than 50,000 patients over the age of 65 suffered C difficile infection in hospitals in England last year compared with around 7,000 who caught MRSA.
"Control of C difficile is difficult because, unlike MRSA, alcohol hand scrubs are ineffective and its spores are resistant to routine hospital cleaning."
He says that patients on waiting lists should be screened before they are admitted to see if they are carrying the bacterium.
Dr John Starr, reader in geriatric medicine at the University of Edinburgh, says that cases of C difficile rose by 5.5% over a year while MRSA cases fell by 4.3%.
"With more than 2,200 deaths attributed to C difficile in death certificates in England and Wales, the mortality rate is fast approaching that for road traffic accidents and is now around half that for suicide," he says in the British Medical Journal.
Road deaths in 2004 were 2,915.
Dr Starr says that more than 50,000 patients over the age of 65 suffered C difficile infection in hospitals in England last year compared with around 7,000 who caught MRSA.
"Control of C difficile is difficult because, unlike MRSA, alcohol hand scrubs are ineffective and its spores are resistant to routine hospital cleaning."
He says that patients on waiting lists should be screened before they are admitted to see if they are carrying the bacterium.
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Oxfordshire: Trip to France 'spared me NHS wait'
A man crippled with arthritic pain went to France for a hip replacement after being told he would have to wait six months on the NHS - reports the Oxford Times.
Tony Singleton, 47, of Bagley Close in Kennington, decided to pay £6,800 to be treated at a private clinic in Abbeville, northern France, after learning he could have the operation there within a fortnight.
Mr Singleton, who had already been on the waiting list at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre for five months, was told at the beginning of March he would have to wait even longer.
He said: "I feel the NHS has failed me. I've worked since I was 15 years old and paid all my National Insurance contributions and when I need something, they let me down.
"There was no way I could wait. I had got to the point where I was so crippled by pain that my quality of life was nothing.
The clinic in France Mr Singleton attended is run by English firm People Logistics, who provided door-to-door collection as part of their service.
Managing director Keith Smith said: "Unfortunately there are more and more people who need joint replacement surgery.
"The NHS is failing people and we're disappointed for those that have to use our service."
The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre has said that the current national waiting time for an orthopaedic inpatient appointment requires patients be seen within 26 weeks, or six months.
A spokesman for the trust said: "In 2005-6, no patients exceeded this target, with the exception of a handful of planned occasions."
However, as Mr Singleton was added to the waiting list in November last year, he would not have been included in these figures.
How can MPs consider rewarding the audit-failing EU with a 60% increase in payments, while people like Mr Singleton aren't getting the vital services they need and have paid for - instead having to raid their savings and pay over again.
Those MPs planning such an unjustified waste of billions of pounds of public money every year instead of investing it in the NHS - or many other useful public purposes - should think again. Or will surely face angry local voters at the next election.
Tony Singleton, 47, of Bagley Close in Kennington, decided to pay £6,800 to be treated at a private clinic in Abbeville, northern France, after learning he could have the operation there within a fortnight.
Mr Singleton, who had already been on the waiting list at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre for five months, was told at the beginning of March he would have to wait even longer.
He said: "I feel the NHS has failed me. I've worked since I was 15 years old and paid all my National Insurance contributions and when I need something, they let me down.
"There was no way I could wait. I had got to the point where I was so crippled by pain that my quality of life was nothing.
The clinic in France Mr Singleton attended is run by English firm People Logistics, who provided door-to-door collection as part of their service.
Managing director Keith Smith said: "Unfortunately there are more and more people who need joint replacement surgery.
"The NHS is failing people and we're disappointed for those that have to use our service."
The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre has said that the current national waiting time for an orthopaedic inpatient appointment requires patients be seen within 26 weeks, or six months.
A spokesman for the trust said: "In 2005-6, no patients exceeded this target, with the exception of a handful of planned occasions."
However, as Mr Singleton was added to the waiting list in November last year, he would not have been included in these figures.
How can MPs consider rewarding the audit-failing EU with a 60% increase in payments, while people like Mr Singleton aren't getting the vital services they need and have paid for - instead having to raid their savings and pay over again.
Those MPs planning such an unjustified waste of billions of pounds of public money every year instead of investing it in the NHS - or many other useful public purposes - should think again. Or will surely face angry local voters at the next election.
Sunday, 1 April 2007
Stoke: Diabetics condemn hospital unit closure
Diabetics are fighting a decision to ditch plans for a new hospital specialist unit catering for their illness - reports The Sentinel.
The unit at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire was due to be included in the area's new hospital, to be built in the next five years.
But the scheme has had to be scaled down for financial reasons and the re-drawn plans no longer show a self-contained diabetic care centre.
Leaders of the thousands of local diabetics voiced fears that they will be "left in limbo" because their existing specialist centre is due to close, forcing them to rely on GPs instead.
News of the closure of the so-called Nines Block comes amid a sharp rise in diabetes cases nationally, linked to rising obesity levels.
Sandra Parsons, of the North Staffordshire branch of the charity Diabetes UK, said: "We have been told that the cut-down funding wouldn't cover the cost of a diabetic care centre in the new plans.
"But no-one has told us, or told the specialist nurses we rely on, what will happen after the Nines Block comes down, reportedly in July.
"In GP surgeries, the service is very patchy - some have diabetic clinics but others don't. There have even been cases of our members having to transfer doctors until they can find a practice with specialist clinic.
"Yet provision is now being squeezed at the hospital end, too.
The branch, which has hospital diabetes specialist Dr John Scarpello as its president, has already raised more than 1,000 signatures for a petition of protest and is now trying to enlist MPs into the fight.
Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness. It can also lead to angina, heart failure, strokes, renal failure and amputation.
Figures for 2005/06 showed there are almost 16,000 registered diabetics in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, with 60,000 in total in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
The unit at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire was due to be included in the area's new hospital, to be built in the next five years.
But the scheme has had to be scaled down for financial reasons and the re-drawn plans no longer show a self-contained diabetic care centre.
Leaders of the thousands of local diabetics voiced fears that they will be "left in limbo" because their existing specialist centre is due to close, forcing them to rely on GPs instead.
News of the closure of the so-called Nines Block comes amid a sharp rise in diabetes cases nationally, linked to rising obesity levels.
Sandra Parsons, of the North Staffordshire branch of the charity Diabetes UK, said: "We have been told that the cut-down funding wouldn't cover the cost of a diabetic care centre in the new plans.
"But no-one has told us, or told the specialist nurses we rely on, what will happen after the Nines Block comes down, reportedly in July.
"In GP surgeries, the service is very patchy - some have diabetic clinics but others don't. There have even been cases of our members having to transfer doctors until they can find a practice with specialist clinic.
"Yet provision is now being squeezed at the hospital end, too.
The branch, which has hospital diabetes specialist Dr John Scarpello as its president, has already raised more than 1,000 signatures for a petition of protest and is now trying to enlist MPs into the fight.
Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness. It can also lead to angina, heart failure, strokes, renal failure and amputation.
Figures for 2005/06 showed there are almost 16,000 registered diabetics in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, with 60,000 in total in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
Labels:
diabetes,
NHS cuts,
staffordshire,
stoke-on-trent
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
