Profiteering consultancy company Ernst and Young in charge of deciding the future of Calderdale and Huddersfield Hospitals Trust

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In order to work out if the hospitals Trust is sustainable, given its deficit, the Trust has commissioned Ernst and Young (EY) to come up with a 5 Year Strategic Plan by the end of December 2015. The cost is expected to be £1m, according to a forecast in the Trust’s financial report to the October 29th Board meeting.  £1m for 3 months work seems like a good definition of exorbitant.

At the 21st October Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, Councillors didn’t question why a profiteering, global management consultancy/accountancy company should decide the future of our hospitals, and the community health services that the hospitals Trust also provides. Continue reading →

Plan for possible temporary closure of Calderdale A&E at short notice on grounds of safety

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At the 21 October Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC) meeting, Councillors asked questions about a proposal for Calderdale A&E to close temporarily at short notice if there was:

“an urgent need on the grounds of safety to temporarily close one of the A&E sites”.

Members of the public are unimpressed by this proposal. A comment on the Save Calderdale Royal Infirmary facebook group asked:

“How is it SAFER for Calderdale people to have to travel to Huddersfield in an emergency? Might be ‘safer’ for the Trust, so they don’t fall foul of target numbers of staff they are supposed to have on site, but I don’t think it’s safer for the patients! What’s the point of cutting waiting times if journey times are twice as long? From Todmorden it will not be possible to get to an A&E (either Blackburn or Huddersfield) in under 40 mins. That is UNSAFE!”

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Scrutiny Committee Councillors need to up their game and protect #Calderdale and #Huddersfield hospitals

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The Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC) met on Wednesday 21 October, to find out what’s happening with the proposed hospital cuts and changes that are known as Right Care Right Time Right Place.

The meeting was like falling down Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole and arriving in time for the Lobster quadrille.

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you consult the public?

The recurring theme at the JHSC was: Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the Public Consultation dance?

JHSC 21 Oct._Quadrille_2

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Conservationist Mark Avery tells Hebden Bridge Ban the Burn meeting driven grouse shooting can’t go on

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Hebden Bridge resident Myra James reports on Mark Avery’s talk at the Trades Club on 14th October 2015

Conservationist and campaigner Mark Avery came to Hebden Bridge Trades Club to speak to a sizeable audience, hosted by Ban the Burn, about his new book, Inglorious: Conflict in the Uplands and his campaign for driven grouse shooting to be banned. Continue reading →

Todmorden News and Hebden Bridge Times merge as Johnston Press strips journalistic resources in pursuit of profits

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The Chair and Secretary of the Calderdale branch of the National Union of Journalists have issued the following statement:

Calderdale branch of the National Union of Journalists has condemned the merger of two once-proud local papers, the Todmorden News and the Hebden Bridge Times.  The end of a dedicated local paper for each town breaks a tradition which goes back a century, and is another sign of the way that the local media in Britain is being starved of resources and professional skills. Continue reading →

PFI costs for Calderdale Royal Hospital 2014-15

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In 2014-15, the total cost of Calderdale Royal Hospital Private Finance Initiative (PFI)  was £23.570m.

This “unitary charge” was made up of:

Interest on the debt……… £10.929m
Repayment of the debt…..£ 1.497m
Service charge…………….£11.144m

The value of the hospital building is £80.451m.

The total cost (capital and interest) of the PFI debt over its 30 year life is £289,908,000. This leaves out the high service charges, which cover services like portering, domestics, security, catering, maintenance etc Continue reading →

Monitor has hospital in stranglehold – hospital cuts and changes consultation on hold

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As expected, both Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield NHS commissioners today agreed to postpone the public consultation on proposed hospital cuts and changes. The consultation had been scheduled to start this month.

One burning issue for the public is what NHS bosses want to do to our A&Es. A slide presented at the meeting showed we could end up without a full A&E at either hospital. The slide said that one emergency centre or specialist emergency centre is planned – but draft specifications from NHS England say that only specialist emergency centres provide full A&E care.

The delay to the public consultation is because the Clinical Commissioning Groups don’t know if the hospitals Trust will be financially viable in five years time and are waiting for it to produce a Five Year Financial Plan.

The Trust – along with half the Foundation Trusts in the country – is in deficit. It is under special measures from Monitor, the NHS competition enforcer and financial regulator. Monitor is telling it to make big spending cuts, since Foundation Trusts are not allowed to operate at a loss. Continue reading →

Campaigners to question Calderdale & Greater Huddersfield NHS bosses about hospital cuts consultation at 24th September meeting

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Calderdale & Kirklees 999 Call for the NHS campaigners have questions for Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Groups’ Governing Bodies’ meeting. This starts at 12.15pm at Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield on Thursday 24th September and is open to the public. Continue reading →

Confusion over planned bed cuts for Calderdale mental health rehabilitation and recovery patients

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Three NHS and social care organisations are planning the future of Calderdale’s mental health rehabilitation and recovery services.

Only two of them have explained their proposals to Councillors on Calderdale Council’s Adults Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel. They want to cut beds and put patients into their own homes with unclear “support” in the community.

If you are affected by these proposals, please contact Plain Speaker.

Research shows that cutting mental health beds puts patients at increased risk of suicide. Continue reading →

Traffic air pollution is killing us!

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An air quality monitoring contraption has popped up on Market Street outside the Hebden Bridge Coop.

AQmonitoring 1

This is in one of Calderdale’s seven Air Quality Management Areas, where traffic- caused air pollution exceeds legal limits for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PMn).

Calderdale Council’s Director of Public Health says air pollution is responsible for approximately 180 deaths per year in Calderdale – second only to smoking as the leading cause of death in our area. Continue reading →