Tag Archives: Right CAre Right Time Right Place

NHS Commissioners still sitting on travel impact analysis of proposed A&E closure

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At the shambolic Calderdale and Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (JHSC) meeting on 29th January, the Chair Cllr Elizabeth Smaje said that p255 of the Pre Consultation Business Case refers to a journey time assessment study and the JHSC will have a meeting about that and would like that study to be made available asap to JHSC.

This study is the Clinical Commissioning Groups’ travel impact analysis of their proposal to close one of our A&Es.

Since 4th February, I have repeatedly asked Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group for this document – so far to no avail. Update 26.2.16 – the CCGs have now made public their travel impact analysis. Continue reading →

Two Towns, One Fight – why we have to keep both A&Es open 24/7

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This is the first Plain Speaker report on the hospital cuts plans that are scheduled for public consultation, starting at the end of February.

In it you can find out about:

  • Key elements of the plan – called Right Care Right Time Right Place
  • Why we need the NHS Reinstatement Bill
  • Why we need to keep both A&Es open
  • Lack of evidence that the proposals will deliver health care to the required standards
  • How successive governments have prioritised bailing out the bankers above properly funding public services for their own people
  • How Monitor (the NHS “market competition” regulator) and management consultancy company Ernst and Young (with a vested interest in NHS privatisation) are behind the CCGs’ proposal
  • A pattern of sacrificing publicly owned hospitals to protect PFI bankers’ profits

Continue reading →

Ending the PFI hospitals rip-off

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Quite a few people, rightly outraged by Calderdale Royal Hospital’s rip-off PFI debt, are calling for Calderdale Council to lend the hospitals Trust the money to buy out the debt, along the lines of the Council-financed Hexham Hospital buy out of its PFI debt in 2014.

The Hexham PFI contract allowed an early exit, the CRH one doesn’t

The Council’s PFI debt buy-out was possible at Hexham Hospital because of PFI contract conditions that don’t apply at Calderdale Royal Hospital (CRH). As the Chief Executive of Northumbria Healthcare (the Trust that runs Hexham hospital) told the Financial Times:

Northumbria benefited from a rare clause that allowed an early exit, which many PFI agreements do not include.

Continue reading →

Who’s holding the smoking gun? Questions about A&E and hospital cuts for 20th Jan public meeting

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The public can ask questions at the Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Groups Governing Bodies meeting at 1.30pm, Wednesday 20th January at Briar Court Hotel, Halifax Road, Huddersfield HD3.

My question is about whether the decision to make Calderdale Royal Hospital the acute/ A&E hospital is down to the need for the hospitals Trust to maximise the value of the CRH PFI contract. Continue reading →

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!”

Continue reading →

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 →

NHS bosses’ listening event that wasn’t – oh, and there are “no proposals” for NHS cuts and changes

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“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – – that’s all.”

I gained entry to Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group’s 20th August Stakeholder Engagement Event only after picketing it, along with other members of the general public.

A Councillor Councillor recently told NHS bosses they “should seek a wider basis of opinion about their plans” – instead of confining their “engagement” to “people inside the goldfish bowl.”

So there we were, offering a wider basis of opinion. But would the people inside the goldfish bowl be able to hear us? Continue reading →