Its our Councillors’ job to Save Calderdale & Kirklees NHS – please email them now

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Save Calderdale Royal Hospital campaign is calling on Calderdale and Kirklees Councillors to do their job of protecting our local NHS from damage.

If you want your Councillors to do their job of protecting our local NHS, please consider getting in touch with them to tell them about this. On this webpage you’ll find template emails to send to Councillors as well as live links to Councillors’ email addresses.

Councillors have the power – and the duty to use that power – to:

  • tell the Clinical Commissioning Groups to formally consult the public NOW on the significant changes to Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS that they are carrying out
  • ask the Secretary of State to stop proposed changes that will damage our local NHS

This webpage has 4 different template emails, to send to:

  1. members of Calderdale Council Adults Health & Social Care (AHSC) Scrutiny Panel, for people who live in Calderdale to send – see section A, below
  2. members of Calderdale & Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC), for both Calderdale and Kirklees people to send – see section B, below
  3. your Calderdale ward councillors, if they’re not members of either Calderdale AHSC Scrutiny Panel or the Calderdale & Kirklees JHSC , for Calderdale residents to send) – see section C, below
  4. your Kirklees ward Councillors, if they’re not members of Calderdale & Kirklees JHSC, for Kirklees residents to send- see section C, below

If you put the emails in your own words, they may have more impact on councillors.

A) Calderdale Scrutiny Panel members’ email addresses and template email

Here are the email addresses for Calderdale Councillors who are members of the Adults Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel:

Here is a template email for Calderdale residents to send to Calderdale AHSC Scrutiny Panel members:

Dear AHSC Scrutiny Panel member,

The NHS needs you.

As a Calderdale resident and a voter, I am writing to ask that you do not allow the NHS plan known as Right Care Right Place Right Time to damage the NHS in Calderdale.

There are 3 simple things you can do to protect our NHS:

  1. You can protect our NHS in Calderdale by asking the Secretary of State to stop the implementation of the “Right Care” proposals,  that will damage our local NHS. Calderdale Council unanimously rejected the “Right Care” plans and asked for the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) to be withdrawn. The CCGs’ developments since then have not significantly changed the proposals made in the hospitals Trust’s SOC – with the exception of  the CCGs’ unjustifiable decision to postpone formal public consultation on the proposals. Please act now to protect our NHS.
  2. You can use the Scrutiny Panel’s power – which you have a duty to exercise – to compel the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to formally consult the public now, before they go any further with carrying out the “Care Closer to Home” elements of the “Right Care” programme.  In August 2014, the Chair of the Scrutiny Panel wrote to Calderdale CCG asking them not to make any decision to go ahead with significant changes to our NHS without formally consulting the public . But these are significant changes – the CCGs cannot keep an open mind about what services should remain in hospital, if they have already decided what services should move from the hospital to the community. And the CCGs will not be able to afford to keep services in the hospital when they are also funding them in the community.. So please make sure that they don’t get away with this.
  3. You can make sure that no Care Closer to Home proposals are carried out before the formal public consultation has taken place. This is vital as it will prevent the CCGs predetermining the outcome of the consultation. The people of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield have the right to a meaningful say on these significant changes to our NHS.

Will you commit to those 3 simple steps?

I’m relying on you and I look forward to your reply,

B) Members of Calderdale & Kirklees JHSC – email addresses and template email

Here are the email addresses for Calderdale Councillors on the Calderdale & Kirklees Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee

Here is the template email for both Calderdale & Kirklees residents to send to their Councillors on the Calderdale & Kirklees JHSC

Dear Councillor

The NHS needs you.

As a resident and a voter, I am writing to ask that you do not allow the NHS transformation plan known as Right Care Right Place Right Time to damage the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.

There are 5 simple things you can do to protect our NHS:

  1. You can make sure that the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (CKJHSC) immediately publishes a timeline for producing its scrutiny report. The Mid Yorkshire JHSC scrutiny committee failed to produce their report to the Secretary of State quickly enough to make a difference – please don’t be responsible for allowing that to happen in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.
  2. You can protect the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield by asking the Secretary of State to stop the implementation of the “Right Care” proposals, that will damage to the NHS in Calderdale or Greater Huddersfield. Calderdale Council unanimously rejected the “Right Care” plans and asked for the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) to be withdrawn. The CCGs developments since then have not significantly changed the proposals made in the hospitals Trust’s SOC – with the exception of  the CCGs’ unjustifiable decision to postpone formal public consultation on the proposals. Please act now to protect our NHS.
  3. You can use the JHSC’s power – which you have a duty to exercise – to compel the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to formally consult the public now, before they go any further with carrying out the “Care Closer to Home” elements of the “Right Care” programme. In August 2014, the Chair of the Scrutiny Panel wrote to Calderdale CCG asking them not to make any decision to go ahead with significant changes to our NHS without formally consulting the public . These are significant changes – the CCGs cannot keep an open mind about what services should remain in hospital, if they are already deciding what services should move from the hospital to the community. And the CCGs will not be able to afford to keep services in the hospital when they are also funding them in the community. So please make sure that they don’t get away with this.
  4. You can make sure that the JHSC prevents any implementation of the Care Closer to Home proposals before the formal public consultation has taken place. This is vital, as it will prevent the CCGs predetermining the outcome of the consultation. The people of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield have a right to have a meaningful say on the significant changes to our own NHS.
  5. You can make sure the JHSC arranges regular meetings with the CCG and other local NHS organisations to enable you to hold them to account and you can lobby your fellow JHSC members to attend the meetings.

Will you commit to those 5 simple steps?

I’m relying on you and I look forward to your reply,

Here are the email addresses for the Kirklees Councillors on the Calderdale & Kirklees Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee

 C) Your ward councillors, if they’re not members of either Calderdale AHSC Scrutiny Panel or the Calderdale & Kirklees JHSC

If you live in Calderdale, you can find contact info for your 3 ward Councillors here.

If you live in Kirklees, you can find your ward Councillors here.

Here’s the email for Calderdale residents to send to your ward councillors if they’re not on the Scrutiny Panel or the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee:

Dear Councillors

The NHS needs you.

As a  resident and voter in your ward, I am writing to ask that you do not allow the NHS plan known as Right Care Right Place Right Time to damage the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.

There are 4 simple things you can do to protect our NHS:

  1. You can make sure that Councillors in your party who are members of the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC) understand and act on the need for the JHSC to immediately publish a timeline for producing its scrutiny report. The Mid Yorkshire JHSC scrutiny committee failed to produce their report to the Secretary of State quickly enough to make a difference – please don’t be responsible for allowing that to happen with this JHSC.
  2. You can make sure that your party colleagues who are members of the JHSC and the Calderdale Adult Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel (SP) protect the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield. They can do this by asking the Secretary of State to stop the implementation of the “Right Care” proposals, that will damage the NHS in Calderdale or Greater Huddersfield. Calderdale Council unanimously rejected the “Right Care” plans and asked the hospitals Trust to withdraw the Strategic Outline Case (SOC). Since then, Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield CCGs have made no real departures from the original SOC – with the exception of their unjustifiable decision to postpone formal public consultation on the proposals. Please act now to protect the NHS.
  3. You can make sure that your colleagues on the JHSC and SP use their power – which they have a duty to exercise – to make the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) formally consult the public now, before they go any further with carrying out the “Care Closer to Home” elements of the “Right Care” programme. In August 2014, the Chair of the Scrutiny Panel wrote to Calderdale CCG asking them not to make any decision to go ahead with significant changes to our NHS without formally consulting the public . These are significant changes – the CCGs cannot keep an open mind about what services should remain in hospital, if they have already decided what services should move from the hospital to the community. And the CCGs will not be able to afford to keep services in the hospital when they are also funding them in the community. So please make sure that they don’t get away with this.
  4. You can make sure that your colleagues on JHSC and SP prevent any implementation of the Care Closer to Home proposals before the formal public consultation has taken place. This is vital, as it will prevent the CCGs predetermining the outcome of the consultation. The people of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield have a right to have a meaningful say on the significant changes to our own NHS.

Will you commit to those 4 simple steps?

I’m relying on you and I look forward to your reply,

Here’s the email for Kirklees residents to send to your ward councillors if they’re not on the  Joint Health Scrutiny Committee:

Dear Councillors

The NHS needs you.

As a Kirklees resident and voter in your ward, I am writing to ask that you do not allow the NHS plan known as Right Care Right Place Right Time to damage the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield.

There are 4 simple things you can do to protect the NHS:

  1. You can make sure that Councillors in your party who are members of the Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC) understand and act on the need for the JHSC to immediately publish a timeline for producing its scrutiny report. The Mid Yorkshire JHSC scrutiny committee failed to produce their report to the Secretary of State quickly enough to make a difference – please don’t be responsible for allowing that to happen with this JHSC.
  2. You can make sure that Councillors in your party who are members of the JHSC  protect the NHS in Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield by pushing for the JHSC to ask the Secretary of State to stop the implementation of the “Right Care” proposals, that will damage the NHS in Calderdale or Greater Huddersfield. Calderdale Council unanimously rejected the “Right Care” plans and asked the hospitals Trust to withdraw the Strategic Outline Case (SOC). Since then, Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield CCGs have made no real departures from the Trust’s original SOC – with the exception of their unjustifiable decision to postpone formal public consultation on the proposals. Please act now to protect the NHS.
  3. You can make sure that Councillors in your party who are members of the JHSC use their power – which they have a duty to exercise – to make the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) formally consult the public now, before they go any further with carrying out the “Care Closer to Home” elements of the “Right Care” programme.  These are significant changes – the CCGs cannot keep an open mind about what services should remain in hospital, if they have already decided what services should move from the hospital to the community. And the CCGs will not be able to afford to keep services in the hospital when they are also funding them in the community. So please make sure that they don’t get away with this.
  4. You can make sure that your colleagues on JHSC and SP prevent any implementation of the Care Closer to Home proposals before the formal public consultation has taken place. This is vital, as it will prevent the CCGs predetermining the outcome of the consultation. The people of Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield have a right to have a meaningful say on the significant changes to our own NHS.

Will you commit to those 4 simple steps?

I’m relying on you and I look forward to your reply,