Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has failed to turn up to hold its roadshow to “engage” with the public about the so-called “Right Care Right Place Right Time” proposals. These aim to reconfigure the NHS and social care in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.
At least three members of the public went to the Halifax North Bridge Leisure Centre car boot sale to attend the roadshow, which Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group listed as one of its engagement events in its Strategic Review Engagement Plan.
But at midday today, Chris Day emailed Plain Speaker,
“Jim, Gary and I spent quite a bit of time looking for the first of the advertised engagement events this morning – it didn’t exist! The Leisure Centre have had no bookings since the public meeting about the NHS last month.”
Up early to catch the roadshow, around 8am Gary Scott tweeted Plain Speaker,
“Well, no one from Calderdale CCG has turned up at the advertised “engagement” event at North Bridge…”
I tweeted back that perhaps Calderdale CCG would turn up later, but it seems they didn’t.
Upper Calder Valley Plain Speaker has asked Calderdale CCG why they didn’t turn up, and will publish their answer if and when they send one.
The core Right Care Right Time Right Place proposals, that the CCG roadshow was to discuss with the public, are to:
- downgrade Calderdale A&E to a Minor Injuries Unit – without any guarantee of 24 hour cover
- centralise A&E and acute services at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary
- cut 100 hospital beds across both sites
- reduce Calderdale Royal Hospital to an 86 bed planned care hospital
- make up for the loss of costly hospital A&E admissions, beds and treatments by unclear, cost-saving proposals for “integrated health and social care in the community” for patients at home, or near home in local “hubs”
Clinical Commissioning Group’s legal duty to allow public to be involved in making decision about NHS reconfiguration
Calderdale CCG has a legal duty to allow the public to be involved in the decision about reconfiguring the NHS in Calderdale, and its “engagement” events are crucial to fulfilling this legal duty.
One of the 4 legal tests for an NHS reconfiguration to be allowable is “Strengthened public and patient engagement in the consultation process.” The four tests are spelled out in the 2012 Health and Social Care Act.
But the CCG’s engagement plans seem to be in a bit of a state of disarray. The last Calderdale CCG Governing Body meeting failed to sign off the engagement plan, because they wanted to rebrand it to take out all references to the Strategic Review and replace them with references to Right Care Right Time Right Place Proposals.
Despite this failure to sign off the engagement plan, the Governing Body didn’t seem to make any provision for changing the schedule of engagement activities.
The Save Calderdale and Huddersfield Hospitals campaign aka Band Together For Our NHS is monitoring the Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield engagement activities for the Strategic Review/Right Care Right Time Right Place proposals, as part of its work of gathering information to identify if there are grounds for a legal challenge to the reconfiguration proposals.
Calderdale Council Cabinet to decide on Council motion calling for withdrawal of NHS reconfiguration Strategic Outline Case
Tomorrow (28th April), Calderdale Council Cabinet is considering the Council’s motion that calls for Calderdale NHS Foundation Trust, Locala (the community health business that runs community health centres in Kirklees and Calderdale), and South West Yorkshire Foundation Trust Partnership to withdraw their Strategic Outline Case for the Right Care Right Time Right Place proposals.
I can’t attend the Cabinet meeting because I’m committed to another meeting. If anyone could attend the Cabinet meeting and report on what happens, I would really appreciate that. Please let me know if you can.