Tag Archives: Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group

#Calderdale Council Health Scrutiny Panel in private unscheduled meeting this evening

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In response to a question from Plain Speaker, the Chair of Calderdale Council’s Adults Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel has confirmed that the Panel is to hold a private meeting on Monday 1st September at 6pm in Halifax Town Hall.

The meeting is not on the official Council calendar, nor on the printed sheet which was issued on 28 August listing amendments to committees for the period 1 September to 1 October.

Neither the Council’s Democratic Services Manager, other Councillors who are not on the Scrutiny Panel, nor the public had been told about it. Continue reading →

Calderdale Council Scrutiny Panel steps up to a democratic investigation of NHS shake up plans

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We have some good news, thanks to the 118 members of the public who signed Plain Speaker’s petition to the Scrutiny Panel, to the Scrutiny Panel themselves, and to Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign Group, Calderdale Trades Council and other members of the public who lobbied the Scrutiny Panel meetings. Continue reading →

Support for #Calderdale Save Our A&Es campaign from Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett

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Green Party leader Natalie Bennett recently visited the Upper Calder Valley and gave her support to the Calderdale and Huddersfield Save our A&Es campaign.

Natalie Bennett told Calderdale Green Party members that similar cuts in London were having a negative effect on services.

Calderdale Green Party is active in the campaign to keep both A&Es open, in the face of NHS Chiefs’ proposals to close one or both A&Es. Continue reading →

Calderdale NHS Commissioners plan to scrap public consultation on proposed A&E cuts and new community care system

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Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS commissioners are to ask their Governing Bodies for permission to shelve the scheduled public consultation on the so-called “Right Care Right Time Right Place” NHS shakeup.

This shakeup includes the likely closure of Calderdale Royal Hospital A&E and at least 360 of its 450 beds.

Overall, at least 200 acute hospital beds across both CRH and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary would be cut and replaced with a new system of care in the community that is based on the model used by the American private health care company Kaiser Permanente. Continue reading →

Want an explanation of NHS Commissioners’ plans to scrap public consultation on NHS shakeup plans? You could email your ward councillors

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Here is the email I’ve sent to my ward Councillors (below). Please feel free to use it as a template, if you’d like the Adults Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel to find out why Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group wants to avoid public consultation on the “Right Care” shakeup of our NHS and social care services. Continue reading →

Unacceptable conflicts of interest in Calderdale GP Commissioners’ bid for role in commissioning primary care services

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Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group is among the 87% of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) that have bid for a role in commissioning primary care.

This is despite the fact that in May this year, GPs at the Local Medical Committees’ Conference in York voted against co-commissioning of primary care by CCGs, on the grounds that this would create “unacceptable” conflicts of interest.

CCGs are made up of local GPs, and primary care covers GP practices as well as dental practices, community pharmacies and high street optometrists. Continue reading →

Calderdale NHS commissioners end wheelchair services contract with hospitals Trust: “we have no loyalty to existing providers”

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Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Body was in self congratulatory mode on 10th July as they approved the award of a £4m, 3 year Wheelchair Services contract to an as-yet unnamed bidder.

The bidder’s name will be revealed at the end of the 10 day “standstill” that follows the Governing Body’s decision.- Update 30/7/2014 – The contract has gone to a company called Opcare Ltd.

The hospitals Trust, which currently provides wheelchair services to patients in Calderdale, Greater Huddersfield and North Kirklees, will lose the contract in September. The Trust already faces a £20m funding shortfall this financial year and the loss of this contract will further reduce its income. Continue reading →

Calderdale Council Scrutiny Panel to investigate hospitals cuts and shakeup proposals

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At a packed meeting on 1st July, Calderdale Council Adults Health and Scrutiny Panel accepted a petition signed by 118 people, asking the Scrutiny Panel to use its powers to call in the NHS bosses to explain their proposed hospital cuts and service changes.

The Council recently asked the hospitals Trust to withdraw their proposals to shake up health services by cutting acute and emergency hospital services and replacing them with care in the community. But the Trust has gone ahead regardless.

A leaked Trust document, discussed at a 5th June meeting of the Trust’s Executive Board, shows that the Trust is secretly planning to start making the cuts this month, even though the public consultation on the proposals hasn’t yet happened. Continue reading →

Privatisation Prof to chair Calderdale People’s Commission on NHS and social care

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Calderdale Council’s Chief Executive, Merran McRae, has selected Professor Andrew Kerslake as the Independent Chair of a Calderdale People’s Commission.

Professor Kerslake is an Associate Director of the Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University.

In 2011 Professor Kerslake was in Yorkshire to tell local authorities how to privatise social care services. Professor Kerslake gave formal presentations on facilitating the social care market to two Market Facilitation Seminars, which were attended by both local authorities and social care providers.

Calderdale People’s Commission is a new Council committee set up in partnership with Calderdale Healthwatch and Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group. It has no formal powers, but aims to collect evidence about local health services and then make recommendations to the Council about the future of health and social care in the area. Continue reading →

Calderdale Council’s “People’s Commission” into future of health and social care lacks formal powers

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Members of the public who attended recent “Right Care” drop in sessions reported that Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) supports Calderdale Council’s proposed “People’s Commission” into the future of health and social care in Calderdale.

Now Calderdale Council has followed up with a press release announcing the “People’s Commission” launch.

The Council’s “People’s Commission” seems to add another layer to local NHS organisations’ public “engagement’ and consultation about their ‘Right Care” proposals. These proposals aim to reduce costly acute and emergency hospital admissions and replace these hospital services with cheaper care health and social care in the community for patients with long term illnesses. Continue reading →