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30 Nov 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Education (local), General Election, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Misc, NHS (local), Tories

“IFS warn austerity ‘baked in’ a Tory manifesto with ‘notable’ lack of social care funding”

In a dire warning the IFS added: “even in 2023–24 day-to-day spending on public services outside of health would still be almost 15 per cent lower in real terms that it was at the start of the 2010s.”

“The Institute for Fiscal Studies is deeply unimpressed at what it deemed a “lack of significant policy action” in the Conservative Party manifesto.

The Tory social care crisis for Britain’s elderly and infirm that Johnson had promised to fix when he became PM did not even get a mention in the manifesto. Johnson had previously claimed that he had a plan ready to sort it out.

The IFS concluded that the manifesto plans meant people expecting relief for Britain’s public services after a decade of austerity would instead see “cuts to their day-to-day budgets of the last decade baked in.”

Economic researchers at the independent think tank calculated that the National Insurance threshold rise to £9,500 that Boris Johnson appeared to have lied or been mistaken about will actually only save most in paid work “less than £2 a week” and highlighted the “notable omission” for any plan to deal with the crisis in social care funding.

Nigel Edwards, chief executive at the Nuffield Trust, an independent health think tank, said he was “bitterly disappointed” to see “unnecessary delay” in tackling the issue of social care.

IFS director Paul Johnson said: “If a single Budget had contained all these tax and spending proposals, we would have been calling it modest.

“As a blueprint for five years in government, the lack of significant policy action is remarkable.”

Main manifesto pledges quickly debunked

Speaking at a launch event in Telford, Boris Johnson reaffirmed his commitment to take the UK out of the EU by the end of January, so they could “forge a new Britain”. “We will get Brexit done and we will end the acrimony and the chaos,” he said.

As well as a flagship promise of 50,000 more nurses for the NHS in England despite Brexit “chaos”, the manifesto included a U-turn restoring maintenance grants for student nurses previously scrapped by the Tories.

Tory sources later acknowledged that about 30,000 of the additional nurses would come from measures to retain existing staff rather than new recruits, and the main Tory manifesto pledge was debunked among other claims by a fact checking service within hours of the launch. Labour called the Tory figures “deceitful.”

Chief executive Will Moy said the Conservative Party could “do more to meet the standards we expect” after investigating its pledges on paving the way for 50,000 new nurses and limiting day-to-day spending increases to only £3 billion, despite promising a litany of public services investment.

The fact checkers also slammed Johnson’s use the the slogan “get Brexit done”, a phrase that appears 22 times in the manifesto including on the cover, when a deal with the European Union could take “years to negotiate”.

“The Brexit process will not be completed by January,” despite what Johnson keeps repeating said the independent organisation.

‘Older people face a triple whammy’

“After a decade of the Conservatives cutting our NHS, police and schools, all Boris Johnson is offering is more of the same: more cuts, more failure, and years more of Brexit uncertainty,” Jeremy Corbyn responded.

He added: “Boris Johnson can’t be trusted. Older people face a triple whammy as he has failed to protect free TV licences for over 75s, refused to grant justice to women unfairly affected by the increase in the state pension age, and not offered a plan or extra money to fix the social care crisis.”

The lacklustre manifesto may be down to Conservative complacency after recent polls. The latest polling released on Sunday, created by Datapraxis using YouGov polling and voter interviews, suggested the Tories were on course to secure their largest Commons majority since 1987 – a majority of almost 50 MPs.

This would mean if Boris Johnson met the public services spending promises in his manifesto the UK would still be looking at a decade of cuts “baked into” our services, according to the IFS analysis.

Boris Johnson’s broken promise to fix Tory social care crisis

Paul Johnson of the IFS’ initial reaction to the Tory manifesto was scathing: “If the Labour and Liberal Democrat manifestos were notable for the scale of their ambitions the Conservative one is not. If a single Budget had contained all these tax and spending proposals we would have been calling it modest. As a blueprint for five years in government the lack of significant policy action is remarkable.

“In part that is because the chancellor announced some big spending rises back In September. Other than for health and schools, though, that was a one-off increase. Taken at face value today’s manifesto suggests that for most services, in terms of day-to-day spending, that’s it. Health and school spending will continue to rise. Give or take pennies, other public services, and working age benefits, will see the cuts to their day-to-day budgets of the last decade baked in.”

“One notable omission is any plan for social care. In his first speech as prime minister Boris Johnson promised to ‘fix the crisis in social care once and for all’. After two decades of dither by both parties in government it seems we are no further forward.

“On the tax side the rise in the National Insurance threshold was well trailed. The ambition for it to get to £12,500 may remain, but only the initial rise to £9,500 has been costed and firmly promised. Most in paid work would benefit, but by less than £2 a week. Another £6 billion would need to be found to get to £12,500 by the end of the parliament. Given the pressures on the spending side that is not surprising.”

“Perhaps the biggest, and least welcome, announcement is the ‘triple tax lock’: no increases in rates of income tax, NICs or VAT. That’s a constraint the chancellor may come to regret. It is also part of a fundamentally damaging narrative – that we can have the public services we want, with more money for health and pensions and schools – without paying for them. We can’t.”

School cuts barely reversed

The Conservative manifesto confirmed previous commitments in England to increase school spend in England by £7.1 billion by 2022–23. However, that would leave spend per pupil in real terms after a decade of austerity at the same level as 13 years ago, the IFS explained.

In contrast the IFS found the Labour commitment of a £7.5 billion real terms increase by 2022–23 a 14.6% rise in spending per pupil.

Unlike Labour and the Liberal Democrats the Conservative manifesto refused to extend free, pre-school childcare.

IFS researchers warned that the Conservative manifesto pledges left “little scope for spending increases beyond next year outside of those planned for health and schools.”

In a dire warning the IFS added: “even in 2023–24 day-to-day spending on public services outside of health would still be almost 15 per cent lower in real terms that it was at the start of the 2010s.”

@BenGelblum

IFS warn austerity ‘baked in’ a Tory manifesto with ‘notable’ lack of social care funding

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East Devon Watch

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27 Nov 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, DCC, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Local Government Finance, Poverty

A quarter of Devon’s children live in poverty says Devon County Council

It’s what people voted for when they voted Conservative for continued austerity.

“A quarter of Devon’s children are living in poverty once housing costs taken into account.

More than 35,000 children in Devon are living in poverty once housing costs are taken into account, councillors have heard.

A Children’s Services Self-Assessment went before Devon County Council’s Children’s Scrutiny Committee last Monday which provided an up-to-date evaluation of the needs of children and families in Devon.

The report outlined how 14 per cent of the local authority’s children are living in poverty (before housing costs), but that rises to 25 per cent (after housing costs) are taking into account.

More than 10 per cent of children are entitled to free school meals, the report added, and also says that 41,000 households in the county are affected by fuel poverty.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, chairman of the Children’s Scrutiny Committee, said that the figures were shocking and in many areas, including Devon, growing up in poverty is not the exception but the rule.

Commenting on the report after the meeting, he said: “These local figures for child poverty in Devon are truly shocking, and it’s completely unacceptable and wrong in 2019, in one of the richest countries in the world, that we are still dealing with this most basic of issues affecting so many children.

“Large numbers of people seem to just wrongly assume that because we live a beautiful part of the country, that we don’t experience the same serious social problems that other areas do. These new figures again show in stark reality that this is just not the case, and much of our poverty and hardship is hidden by the affluence that some others have.”

Cllr Hannaford added: “Thousands more families across Devon, are living on the cusp of the poverty line. One unexpected setback – like redundancy or illness – could push them into the poverty trap.

“Overall there are more than four million children in the UK growing up in poverty. The situation is getting worse, with the number set to rise to five million by 2020. And those poverty rates have risen for every type of working family – lone-parent or couple families, families with full and part-time employment and families with different numbers of adults in work. This is the first time in two decades this has happened, and incredibly it is happening at a time of rising employment, and these figures in Devon are in line with these trends.

“But the evidence is clear – poverty can make existing vulnerabilities worse. Growing up in poverty puts at risk the building blocks of a good childhood – secure relationships, a decent home, having friends and fun, and an inspiring education.

“A child is said to be living in poverty when they are living in a family with an income below 60 per cent of the UK’s average after adjusting for family size. So it’s just not acceptable that some people still seem to trot out the same old tired response that no one is really in poverty these days, and it’s like Victorian times or the 1930s, such as when children didn’t have shoes on their feet.

“My grandparents were brought up in near slum conditions, and at times they also did not have proper shoes, and went hungry, are we really seriously saying that we want to inflict all this misery and hardship on children today?”

He continued: “Clearly the biggest driver for children’s poverty nationally and locally is the profound lack of social, affordable, decent housing. The figures are stark. 120,000 children in England are living in temporary accommodation. There are also 90,000 children living in families who are ‘sofa-surfing’. And of course this accommodation is usually terrible.

What is poverty in the UK?

“B&Bs where sometimes the bathroom is shared and there is nowhere to cook. Places where vulnerable adults can be living on the same corridor. Office block conversions – individual flats the size of a parking space, where families live and sleep in the same single room. And even converted shipping containers – cramped and airless – hot in the summer, freezing in the winter. This is a reality that shames the whole nation.

“Rising living costs, low wages and cuts to benefits are creating a perfect storm in which more children are falling into the poverty trap. Shockingly, two thirds of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work. Many families are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. The prices of essentials like food and fuel are going up and this hits Britain’s poorest families hardest. We know that parents are skipping meals so they can afford to feed their children, and in winter many families are forced to make the impossible choice of feeding their children or heating their homes.

“So we know what actually causes child poverty and we know how to end it. We know that the income of less well-off families has been hit by severe real-terms cuts in benefits and by higher housing costs. And we know that work does not always guarantee a route out of poverty, with two thirds of child poverty occurring in working families.

“Yet in many areas, including Devon, growing up in poverty is not the exception, it’s the rule, with more children expected to get swept up in poverty in the coming years, with serious consequences for their life chances. Policy makers can no longer deny the depth and breadth of the problem, and the Government must respond with a credible long term child poverty reduction strategy.”

The report revealed that in primary schools, 10.9 per cent of pupils are entitled to free schools meals, and 10 per cent in secondary schools, but Cllr Hannaford feared that the numbers were in reality much higher.

He added: “The percentage is shocking, but there is a feeling in rural areas that it may be more as there is a stigma about people and they don’t claim it so they don’t have the finger pointed at in the local community.”

Cllr Margaret Squires, who represents the Creedy, Taw & Mid Exe ward, added her concerns to those of Cllr Hannaford.

She said: “A headteacher who had moved down here from London said to me the deprivation they see is different. Down here, people don’t want others to know they have free school meals, so they are working every hour they can. But it means that the children are missing out as the parents are so tired, they haven’t got the time to sit and listen to them read.

“I my area, we are virtually fully employed, but some of them work two jobs so they can live in the area, and to survive, they are working all these hours, but it not recorded as deprivation as they don’t have time to sit and read with their children.”

The figures in the report showed at as of September 1, 2019, 771 children were being looked after by the council – a rate of 54.8 per 10,000 children – an increase from 750 – 52.2 per 10,000 children – at March 31.

At September 1, 2019, 3,219 children had been identified through assessment as being formally in need of a specialist children’s service, an increase from 3,318 in March 2019, but the number of children subject of a child protection plan had decreased from 518 to 505 between March and September.

The report also said that there were 25 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the area, and that eight children and young people who turned 18 years old and who were in the care of the local authority were living in unsuitable accommodation during 2018-19.

Cllr Linda Hellyer questioned what the council was doing about it, why they were unsuitable, and what have we done to get them somewhere better.

In response, Darryl Freeman, Head of Children’s Social Care, explained that the definition of unsuitable included prison, where two of the eight were in custody. He added that the council will continue to work with them, assuming they allow them to remain in touch, and to ensure that they have choices once they leave custody.

The report also added that the top three risks for the future were increase in demand, across all services, recruitment and retention, particularly of experienced social workers, and sufficiency of provision for special needs children and placements for Children in Care.

The council also earlier this year adopted a new Children and Young People’s Plan, which is the single plan to co-ordinate developments for the next three years

Each priority in the plan has a detailed strategy/ action plan below it with a multi-agency group led by a senior manager from the partnership.

The self-assessment report was noted by the committee.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/child-poverty-devon-truly-shocking-3579939

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East Devon Watch

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25 Nov 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, General Election, Health and Social Care (local), Tories

No-one cares about social care: 74,000 over 65s have died while waiting for social care since last election

Covert euthanasia?

“A charity has blasted the government for the time it has “wasted” on drawing up a social care paper that still has not materialised.

Age UK called on the next government to spend £8bn over the next two years to prevent further decline in the adult social care sector.

The charity pointed out since the 2017 election 74,000 over-65s in England have died while waiting for the care they asked for, equating to a rate of 81 deaths per day, in analysis released yesterday.

Caroline Abrahams, director at Age UK, said the political system has “completely failed” to reform social care, despite it featuring heavily in the 2017 election campaign.

She said the last third months waiting for the promised social care green paper, which has now been delayed six times had been “effectively wasted ..waiting for the social care green paper that never was”.

“Social care is not some kind of nice-to-have optional extra, it’s a fundamental service on which millions of older and disabled people depend every day,” Abrahams said.

“Good care provided by kind and committed people, enriches lives and makes it possible to have dignity and hope. The reverse is also true: if you need care and you can’t get it then there are very serious implications for your health and your wellbeing – as the NHS knows all too well.”

Age UK estimates that between the 2017 and 2019 elections 1,725,000 unsuccessful requests have been – or will be made – by older people for care.

“It is appalling that one and a half million older people in our country now have some unmet need for care, one in seven of the entire older population. This is a shameful statistic, and older people are developing new unmet needs for care every day.”

https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2019/11/charity-demands-action-social-care
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East Devon Watch

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19 Nov 2019

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Accountability, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

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Devon Clinical Commissioning Group £66 million in debt and heavily criticised

“One of England’s largest clinical commissioning groups has increased its planned deficit by nearly £40m.

Devon CCG, formerly part of a “success regime”, is now forecasting a £66m deficit in 2019-20, despite initially targeting ending the year £27m in the red.

The £1.2bn-income CCG broke even for the first time in its history in 2018-19, after it achieved a £25m deficit which unlocked £25m of commissioner sustainability funding.

Devon’s problems are compounded by the “increasing expectation” that several of the county’s providers are at risk of missing their control totals, according to the CCG’s latest finance report.

Additionally, Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust, which was not part of the success regime, has expressed concern about a “top-down approach” by Devon’s sustainability and transformation partnership over the creation of a long-term financial plan.

It comes just two months after HSJ revealed external consultants reported a culture of “learned helplessness” and “crisis mentality” among Devon’s NHS leadership, with individual chiefs “retrenching” back into their organisations when faced with difficult decisions.

Savings plans

Devon’s STP initially forecast a deficit of £115m for 2019-20 against a control total of £43m. However, the area then went through an “intensive programme supported by NHS England/Improvement” to reach an “acceptable position”, according to Devon CCG’s board papers.

This resulted in the forecast deficit being reduced to £70m and was based on “accelerating” transformation programmes across Devon, with the CCG tasked with finding the extra £45m of savings required to hit it.

This meant the CCG’s savings plan rose from £36m to £81m.

The revised plan is yet to be approved by NHSE/I, but the CCG now says it cannot find savings worth £39.5m, leading to the rise in the deficit forecast.

Asked what transformation programmes the CCG had hoped would yield savings, a spokesman said this included:

Revising down the level of forecast demand growth so it was “more closely aligned” with national benchmarking;

Managing demand for hospital services by accelerating planned improvements in productivity; and

Updating “projected increases” in additional funding.

But, according to the CCG’s board papers, it will not be possible to deliver the proposed savings due to pressures within “continuing healthcare, prescribing and independent sector contracts”.

Control totals

The CCG’s finance report also warns Devon’s providers are increasingly at risk of missing their control totals.

Torbay and South Devon FT has moved its forecast deficit from £3.8m to £18.8m after missing out on expected income in relation to social care services provided to Torbay Council, failing to deliver savings schemes such as reducing outpatient follow-up appointments, and spending more money than planned on agency staff.

The trust also reported sickness levels in “key specialties” — such as emergency, respiratory and stroke — adversely affecting the organisation.

This autumn, the trust hired KPMG to review its finances, but the “draft” report has not yet been published.

Additionally, the trust’s finance committee has heard concerns from members about a “top-down approach” being adopted by STP chiefs in charge of preparing a long-term financial plan for the health economy.

According to the committee’s minutes, the approach “does not take account…of the unique position of Torbay and South Devon as an integrated trust which carries the risk of adult social care”.

The minutes went on to state that members felt it is “imperative” the trust “challenges the modelling approach” used by the STP to avoid financial targets which “lack credibility”.

The trust did not answer when HSJ asked it to clarify what the problem was with the STP’s modelling approach.

Asked for a response to the allegation of a top-down approach, Devon STP’s finance lead John Dowell said: “All partners across the Devon system… are fully focused on solving the performance and financial challenges we face.”

Elsewhere in Devon, University Hospitals Plymouth Trust did not comment when asked if it was on track to achieve its finance plan to break even. However, its latest board papers stated it faced a “forecast shortfall” against its £25m savings programme which — alongside other finance pressures — means the trust is facing a “significant challenge to deliver its financial plan”.

Both Northern Devon Healthcare Trust and Royal Devon and Exeter FT are on track to hit their targets (breakeven and £8.6m surplus respectively).

Devon Partnership Trust, which provides mental health services, is also reporting being on track to deliver its planned £1.6m surplus, according to its latest board papers.”

Source: Health Services Journal

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

13 Nov 2019

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Accountability, EDDC, Environment (local), Health and Social Care (local), Jurassic National Park

Mental health benefit of national parks – nearly £5 TRILLION

That doesn’t seem to matter to our TiggerTory councillors who prefer to keep their tight personal hold over their planners and their cordial relationship with developers rather than thinking about the benefits of a Jurassic Nationsl Park on residents and visitors. Curious that.

“You can’t put a price on nature. You can’t quantify the uplifting effects of a walk in the Peak District or the way your soul soars at the sight of a stormy Cornish cliff.

Except, it turns out you can: it’s worth almost £5 trillion a year. Economists have calculated the mental health benefits of the world’s national parks, and concluded that on this measure alone they provide services amounting to a significant proportion of global GDP. And that is before you consider all the other environmental services they offer.

From the smooth cliffs of Yosemite to the jagged glaciers of Chamonix to the wild fenland of East Anglia, protected spaces improve our mood, reduce our work absences and keep us well. By quantifying the magnitude of this effect in Australia then using the tools of health economics to place a monetary value on it, researchers were able to extrapolate what they called a “conservative” global estimate of £4.67 trillion.

“Nature exposure improves human mental health and wellbeing,” the team from Griffith University, Australia, wrote. “Poor mental health imposes major costs on human economies. Therefore, parks have an additional economic value through the mental health of visitors.”

As unromantic as it sounds, economists believe that until nature has a value on a balance sheet it can be depleted and exploited without penalty. In recent years researchers have looked to calculate the value of the natural world in, for instance, flood protection, pollination and climate control.

The analysis, published in the journal Nature Communications, extended this further to consider mental health. The researchers looked at the improvement in wellbeing in 20,000 Australians that was attributable to visiting national parks, then translated this into quality adjusted life years, which is a measure of how easily people can live their lives. Finally, they extended the calculation to the world.

Dieter Helm, a University of Oxford economist who was appointed by the government to value Britain’s “natural capital”, has said in the past that figures such as these are by necessity imprecise, but not considering them in natural accounts is “precisely wrong”. He welcomed the new research.

“This is another bit in the mounting pile of evidence highlighting the huge health benefits, both mental and physical, from nature,” he said. There are great economic gains from investing in natural capital . . . It should be a major priority for the Treasury. It is not just concrete infrastructure that matters: green infrastructure has some of the highest returns.”

Source: Times (pay wall)

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East Devon Watch

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20 Oct 2019

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Economy, Education (local), Health and Social Care (local)

Bigger problems than Brexit?

“Lord Mervyn King calls for general election to provide mandate for either Leave or Remain.

Brexit is stopping Britain from addressing deep problems with its economy, a former Bank of England governor has warned.

Mervyn King called for an election and a new parliament to resolve the current impasse, claiming that “most people think that this has gone on for far too long and just have the view – ‘just do it’”.

He added that it did not matter whether people voted to remain or leave the European Union.

Lord King was speaking after MPs voted to delay a meaningful vote on the prime minister’s deal, forcing Boris Johnson to write to the EU to ask for a further extension to the Brexit process.

“It’s frustrating parliament can’t make up its mind and hasn’t been able to vote but let’s hope they do,” Lord King told Sky News after his speech at the International Monterary Fund’s annual meetings in Washington.

He warned the all-consuming nature of Brexit meant politicians were not looking at the UK’s underlying economic challenges.

“We have one of the lowest savings rates in the British economy of any country in the G20 save perhaps for Argentina. We’re not saving enough to finance our pensions or care for the elderly, or to finance infrastructure.

“These are the big challenges. What do we do about the education of 50 per cent of people who don’t go to college or university? It’s a great shame [Brexit] has dragged on so long.”

Although he claimed that Britain was “in the middle of the worst political and constitutional crisis for arguably several hundred years”, Lord King downplayed the impact Brexit could have on the UK and world economies.

“The decision to leave the EU is not likely to have a major impact on the UK economy in any way… I think there’s an awful lot of bogus quantification going on to justify positions held for other reasons,” he said. “I don’t honestly believe that Brexit has any great significance even for the rest of Europe, let alone the rest of the world. I don’t think the long-run economic consequences of the UK leaving the EU are particularly large.”

But he warned the global economy was in “great stagnation”, having grown more slowly and for a longer period than before the Great Depression of the 1930s, with levels of debt higher than they were before the 2008 financial crash.

Lord King, who governed the UK’s central bank for a decade until 2013, asserted the global economy would not be likely to suffer another financial crisis in the next 12 months.

But he warned of a global low-growth problem that wouldn’t be solved by another cut in interest rates, exacerbated by “extraordinary uncertainty”, and admitted “no one knows” whether another financial crisis is on the cards.

“We need a much wider set of policies to get out of this,” Lord King said.

The UK economy unexpectedly shrank 0.2 per cent in this year’s second financial quarter – its first contraction since 2012.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-economy-mervyn-king-bank-england-election-recession-debt-a9163531.html

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East Devon Watch

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18 Oct 2019

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Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Developers/ Development, Health and Social Care (local), Housing (local)

Abbeyfield care homes in Budleigh and Axminster under threat of closure

Owl says: The tip of a very big iceberg … with the Titanic speeding towards it.

“Devastated residents and families of those living at a care home which is under threat of closure fear it could result in the deaths of those who are very old and vulnerable.

Long-established Abbeyfield Shandford in Budleigh Salterton provides nursing and personal care for 28 people, and of those five are aged 100 or over. It employs 35 staff.

In January it first announced it was reviewing the service and then stated it would continue to be provided.

However, in September it began a consultation into the future of the home which will run until November.

Abbeyfield Society, who own the home, have said it will carefully consider all submissions from residents, relatives and staff before a final decision is made.

It has confirmed if a decision is made to close the home in Station Road, no residents will be expected to leave until January 2020 at the earliest.

The consultation has resulted in a petition being launched which has already been signed by hundreds of local residents. …

… “Abbeyfield have made out it’s a failing care home and needs huge upgrading and expenditure, but it doesn’t. The last inspection by the Care Quality Commission was this year and it was rated good.” …

[Abbeyfield spokesperson said] “In the case of Shandford, we carefully considered a number of factors, including whether the increasingly complex needs of residents can continue to be well served in a building which requires significant renovations to bring in it line with best-practice standards. …

“”This situation is further compounded by the long-term recruitment challenges we have faced, meaning that we have often relied on agency staff – despite the best efforts of the local management team. This not only places significant further financial pressures on the home at a time when the wider funding of social care is under strain, but also means we cannot always provide the continuity of care that residents deserve. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/deaths-feared-care-home-closed-3438701

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East Devon Watch

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19 Sep 2019

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Accountability, Cranbrook, EDDC, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

BREAKING NEWS: “GP provider abandons Cranbrook Medical Centre”

And this in a town which has got grants to become a “Healthy New Town”!

Home

“Hundreds of residents could be without GPs if a new provider is not found for Cranbrook Medical Centre by March next year.

Access Health Care (AHC) has revealed it will not be extending its contract which is due to expire in March 2020.

The firm, which operates from the Younghayes Centre, has cited staff recruitment and retention and Cranbrook’s location as reasons to pull the plug on operations.

The medical centre has experienced low patient numbers, adding to AHC’s burgeoning financial pressures.

NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which is responsible for planning, paying for and monitoring GP practices in Devon, said its priority is to make sure that the population of Cranbrook continues to have access to a full range of GP services and care.

Mark Procter, director of primary care at the CCG, said: “We have a number of options to explore and are committed to finding the right solution for Cranbrook.

“All services continue at Cranbrook Medical Centre and patients should attend appointments as normal.

“We are writing to patients with further information this week and will keep them up to date with developments.”

Three drop-in sessions have been arranged at the centre so the CCG can hear people’s views on the process.

The first two will be held on Tuesday, October 15, from 10am to noon, and 2pm to 4pm.

The third will be staged on Wednesday, October 16, from 6pm to 8pm.

Mr Proctor said: “In the meantime, please be reassured that there is no need for you to take any action and all appointments and services continue as normal at Cranbrook Medical Centre.”

https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/gp-provider-abandons-cranbrook-medical-centre-1-6278291

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

13 Aug 2019

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Health and Social Care (local), Hinkley C

Mental health crisis at Hinkley C

“Hinkley Point nuclear power station, Britain’s biggest construction project since the second world war, is grappling with a mental illness crisis, with several attempted suicides since work began in 2016, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

More than 4,000 workers are on site delivering the vast decade-long building project, a central plank in Britain’s future energy strategy.

But according to union officials, there has been a surge in suicide attempts this year, a rise in the number of people off sick with stress, anxiety and depression, and an increase in workers suffering from mental distress.

Officials from the Unite union say they have been told of 10 suicide attempts in the first four months of 2019. The Guardian understands at least two workers connected to the project have taken their lives since construction started in earnest in 2016. …

… The main causes of the distress appear to be loneliness, relationship breakdown and the struggle of being sometimes hundreds of miles away from family.

Électricité de France (EDF), which is in charge of building Britain’s first new nuclear power plant for more than 20 years, disputes the figures, acknowledging two suicides – one of those a former worker who had left the project.

Executives say that a number of workers have said they are suicidal, but point to a wide range of measures to address the problem, including 200 mental health “buddies”, “time to talk” rooms, an on-site GP, and plans to recruit a chaplain.

“I’m aware of people who have said they have felt like committing suicide,” said Angie Young, the site health and wellbeing manager. She said the figure of 10 was a “total exaggeration”. “We do have people say life is not worth living but we’re getting in there and helping.”…

… At Hinkley, workers live on special campuses in nearby Bridgwater, or else in converted digs in the town. They work a variety of shift patterns and are shuttled to and from the site on scores of buses. Some contractors work as much as 11 days on with three days off, including an extra weekend day for travelling home. …

… Socially there are reports of increases in drinking, gambling and prostitution in Bridgwater, which has been upended by the huge construction site on its doorstep. One source in a local betting shop told of some workers spending up to £3,000 a week and others “self-excluding” from the premises in an effort to arrest the development of a financially detrimental habit.

Such is the concern among EDF management that, together with Unite union, they have stepped up efforts to tackle the crisis, including bringing in the former boxer Frank Bruno to talk to contractors about his own mental health condition.

Bruno, who has spoken about being sectioned after a mental health crisis, hosted three sessions with more than 200 attending each.

“People were talking about it for a while after. It energised people because they thought if someone like Frank Bruno can have mental problems, anyone can,” said Jonathan Davies, another union official.

EDF is also implementing an impressive mental health programme on the site, with posters urging troubled contractors to open up and one in 20 workers now trained as a mental health first aider, or “buddy” as they are known.

“We are seeing 12 people a month, mostly about relationships, some of them about gambling and being unable to cope with being away from family for a long time,” said Malcolm Davies, who has led the talks to get mental health top of the agenda with management.

“Construction is a very macho industry. We have the highest amount of mental health issues of any sector. People can be very upset over something but they won’t tell you.”

“Men are doing very physical work, with manual handling of heavy objects every day and if you’re the big bloke and you say you can’t cope or you are seen crying you get ridiculed,” he added. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/13/revealed-suicide-alarm-hinkley-point-c-construction-site?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Posted by

East Devon Watch

Posted on

19 Jul 2019

Posted under

Accountability, DCC, EDDC, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Rural communities

“Councils in country have far less to spend on elderly than those in cities”

“Councils in rural areas like Dorset have five times less than to spend on care of the elderly than those in cities, new analysis reveals.

The study by the Salvation Army warns that areas with lower house prices are unable to properly fund social care, because they cannot raise enough from council tax and business rates.

Experts said the findings were evidence of a “dementia lottery” which meant the chance of receiving help were a matter of geography.

The analysis suggests that typically councils in Dorset would have around £5,762 a head to spend on elderly care – while those in Lambeth in London could have more than £31,000 at their disposal.

Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Somerset, East Sussex, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire were among other areas with the most limited resources, according to the analysis.

All the councils which fared best were in London.

The trends also show an increasing gulf, with “spending power” in rural councils falling, while it is rising in urban areas.

The organisation said it was now having to subsidise places in its own care homes, to the tune of an average £302 per person were week.

Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant, of The Salvation Army, said: “Rural local authorities have been set up to fail with this flawed formula and it urgently needs revision.

“People are living longer and the population is ageing, the adult social care bill is rising but the local authority funding streams aren’t enough to cover the demand, especially in areas where there are not many businesses or people to tax.”

“The Government must prioritise its spending and properly fund adult social care. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/18/councils-country-have-far-less-spend-elderly-cities/

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In a dire warning the IFS added: “even in 2023–24 day-to-day spending on public services outside of health would still be almost 15 per cent lower in real terms that it was at the start of the 2010s.”

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