Category Archives: Social fairness

Standing room only as Town Council questions Hebden Bridge Group Practice about public concerns

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Members of the public crowded into Hebden Royd Town Council chamber on September 25th, to hear Dr Nigel Taylor address widespread public concerns about patient safety and restricted access to appointments with Hebden Bridge Group practice doctors.

He was there at the invitation of Hebden Royd Town Council, which had asked the Practice to explain what was going on.

The meeting followed at least two years of public anxiety about lack of access to adequate health care, after the Practice decided to send all patients needing urgent appointments to a morning walk-in clinic in Mytholmroyd.

Dr Taylor said that the Practice is “desperate to recruit more GPs” and has been advertising continuously since five of the 12 GPs left in 2018 for personal reasons. It now only has 9.25 Full Time Equivalent GPs and GP equivalents (Advanced Practice Nurses and Pharmacy Practitioners), for 18,000 patients. Continue reading →

Integrated Care System papers show West Yorkshire and Harrogate are hurtling towards an unaccountable Local Health Service

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On 30 July (2pm, Leeds Civic Centre) a meeting in public of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Sustainability and Transformation Plan Joint Health Scrutiny Committee will question  West Yorkshire and Harrogate Integrated Care System leaders about what they’re up to.

Papers for the Committee clearly show that the Integrated Care System plans mean an overall substantial change to NHS, social care and public health services across the region. Continue reading →

Campaigners call for public consultation on West Yorkshire and Harrogate Integrated Care System

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West Yorkshire and Harrogate Sustainability and Transformation Plan Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (phew, a mouthful) is meeting on Monday 30th July at 2pm in Leeds Civic Hall. It is to scrutinise the Integrated Care System that recently developed from the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, as part of NHS England’s Integrated Care System Development Group.

The meeting is open to the public and NHS campaigners are going to make deputation statements at the start of the meeting. If you’re coming, please try and turn up at 1.30pm for a group photo – with placards, please bring some. Continue reading →

Wigan Council confirms its £2m “investment” to discontinue Wigan hospitals’ WOS will pay for other cost-cutting changes

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A few weeks ago, a Wigan Council press release announced that the Council had made the Wrightington Wigan & Leigh hospital trust a financial offer that had averted the Trust’s transfer of its support staff into a Wholly Owned Subsidiary.

Amid rejoicing that Wigan hospitals staff were to remain as NHS employees and that the cost-cutting Wholly Owned Subsidiary was not happening,  Unison called off the planned strike.

But some feared it might be Out of the Wholly Owned Subsidiary frying pan into the Accountable Care fire.

To find out, I sent Wigan Council a Freedom of Information request.

They have now replied with this paper for August 2nd Cabinet from the Director of Resources (Deputy Chief Executive). Continue reading →

Is Wigan Council’s solution a question of Out of the Wholly Owned Subsidiary frying pan, into the Accountable Care fire?

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A Wigan Council press release (below) says the Council has made the Wrightington Wigan & Leigh hospital trust a financial offer that has averted the Trust’s transfer of its support staff into a Wholly Owned Subsidiary.

While it is great news that the Wigan hospitals staff are to remain as NHS employees and that the cost-cutting Wholly Owned Subsidiary is not happening, there is no public information about what the Council’s solution and funding option are.

What are people’s thoughts about Wigan Council’s solution to the Wigan hospitals trust Wholly Owned Subsidiary?

I’m hoping it’s not Out of the Wholly Owned Subsidiary frying pan into the Accountable Care fire.

Continue reading →

National Trades Councils Conference’s unanimous opposition to Accountable Care Systems

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The 150th Annual Trades Council Conference has unanimously passed a composite NHS motion from Cheshire, Calderdale and Derby Trades Councils, that calls on the TUC to take action to oppose Accountable Care Systems (rebranded by NHS England as “Integrated Care Systems”) and Sustainability and Transformation Plans/Partnerships; and to support the campaigning activity of Keep Our NHS Public, Defend our NHS, 999 Call for the NHS and Health Campaigns Together.

Continue reading →

Health & Social Care Select Committee report on Accountable Care Ducks endorses Hunt’s quackery while rapping quangos over knuckles

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How can this Report be independent when you read the identity of two of the three special advisers, and find in footnote 10, the conflict of interest declaration  for Chris Ham & Anna Charles (both employed by the Kings Fund)?  Ham says:

“The Kings Fund is working to support accountable care systems in England and some of the funding for this work has been provided by NHSE. Our work on STPs was funded entirely by the Kings Fund.”

Charles says:

“The Kings Fund is providing support to accountable care systems in England. This work has been partly funded by NHSE. Our work on STPs was funded by the Kings Fund.”

Last winter, NHS Detectives warned of Kings Fund fingers in the Health Select Committee Inquiry’s pie, when we found that the House of Commons briefing on Accountable Care Organisations was heavily dependent on the Kings Fund think tank for a summary of the core features of Accountable Care Organisations.

We pointed out that the Kings Fund is far from impartial in its views on Accountable Care Organisations and their variants, Accountable Care Systems and Partnerships. Continue reading →

Hebden Bridge Group Practice – please give this patient access to the hospital treatment they need

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A Hebden Bridge patient with serious long term ailments is being prevented from accessing NHS treatments for which they have a clinical need.

If you support her wish to get to the bottom of this matter, please sign this open letter, by Friday 30th March.  Upper Calder Valley Plain Speaker will  then deliver, it with all signatures, to the Hebden Bridge Group Practice Manager. Continue reading →

Look back in anger: Monitor and EY put Hospital PFI investors above people of Calderdale and Kirklees

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Just a reminder, in case one is needed, about how the government, its quango Monitor (now renamed NHS Improvement) and the management consultancy company EY have worked hand in glove to put PFI investors’ interests above the healthcare needs of the people of Calderdale and Huddersfield.

Here’s how the story has unfolded over the last 4 years.

In 2014, Calderdale and Huddersfield hospitals Trust’s finances fell into “deficit”, as a result of impossible underfunding combined with a £20m+ transfer over 2 years of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust funding to Calderdale Council to prop up its cash-starved adult social care services, via the Better Care Fund.

This fund was introduced in 2014 to allow local authorities and NHS clinical commissioning groups to pool budgets and jointly commission social care services that would take pressure off hospitals. But it did not bring any new money. Instead it required Clinical Commissioning Groups to redeploy money from supposedly ringfenced NHS funding. NHS England 2013 Guidance said this meant:
‘hospital emergency activity will have to reduce by 15%’

This is what happened next. Continue reading →

Councillors! Test your understanding of #Calderdale Accountable Care System

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Calderdale Council Cabinet has resolved that the Council will take more steps towards setting up an Accountable Care System to run local NHS and social care services.

Dubbed a “place based integrated health and care system”,  it is due to be set up in shadow form in April and to go live in June 2019, according to a paper prepared for the 12.2.18 Cabinet meeting.

As the Cabinet resolved this issue in the meeting, Full Council will not debate or vote on it at its Meeting on 11th April.

Papers prepared for the Cabinet seem to have been written, in gobbledygook, by a student of Humpty Dumpty:

Continue reading →