Are they all working so hard they have no time to read newspapers?
“The BMA, which today reveals the £22billion spending shortfall, said a survey found two-thirds of doctors had no input in the plans and a third had not even heard of them.
Its council chairman Dr Mark Porter added: “Given the scale of the savings required, there is a risk these plans will be used as a cover for delivering cuts… starving services of resource and patients of vital care. It is extremely concerning that the majority of doctors have not been consulted on the plans, particularly as ministers have been so keen to insist that all stakeholders would be involved.”
The Lib Dems demanded an urgent £4billion cash injection for the NHS and social care services to stop the crisis getting worse. Health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “NHS and care services are on the precipice as we approach the winter months.
“Waiting lists are growing, deficits hit record levels this year and staff are under unsustainable pressure.
“In social care, thousands of people are seeing services withdrawn and 15-minute visits have become the norm as councils struggle to make ends meet.”
A report by health think-tank the Kings Fund blasted the secrecy surrounding the Sustainability and Transformation Plans, which are being finalised by health chiefs around the UK.
Cheshire and Merseyside is one of the largest affected areas. Three hospitals could be axed and “merged” on to a single site to plug its black hole. Birmingham and Solihull trusts face a £712million shortfall, putting services at risk of closure.
Somerset’s two main hospitals in Yeovil and Taunton may merge key departments including cancer and maternity wards. In Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, bosses are planning to cut the staff payroll by £35million to help meet a £479million deficit.
It is a similarly depressing story in most other regions as Tory austerity continues to batter services, morale and patient safety.
But NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh insisted: “We are talking about steady incremental improvement, not a big bang, tackling things doctors and nurses have been telling us for years.”
The Department of Health added: “The NHS already has its own plan, designed by NHS leaders, which sets out how we can transform services and improve standards of care in building a more responsive, modern health system.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/secret-plan-22billion-nhs-cuts-9299803
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