Sunday, February 28, 2010

The £8000 Tory Elderly Care Scheme

“People can for £8,000 or thereabouts as a single premium at retirement meet the future costs of their residential care .”
Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary, BBC Today, 12 February 2010

Under their plans, anyone opting to pay £8,000 upfront when they reach retirement age would in exchange be guaranteed free residential care, if they need it later.

The Conservatives say the scheme would pay for itself and require no public cash, no matter how many, or how few, people take it up.

They’ve worked it out like this: on average, one in five people needs residential care costing £25,000 annually for a two-year period at the end of their lives.

According to the Tories, five people need to pay into the scheme to cover the cost of one person claiming on it.

It sounds simple in theory – but unfortunately experts we spoke to thought it just wouldn’t work in practice.

First, there’s the problem of take-up. For the sums to add up, and to get the economies of scale, you need a lot of people to pay the optional £8,000. For example, more women than men end up needing residential care, so if too few men paid into the scheme, that could leave a funding black hole.

But as we found earlier this week, if insurance of this kind is voluntary not compulsory, many people don’t bother taking it out.
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But Would You Trust This......... Remember The Last Time The Tories Encouraged
A "Get Rich Quick" Insurance Scheme..... Well Endowment Mortgages......
YES.... Mis-Sold Many and their mates got fat on it and very wealthy

And Will They Pay Out..... Well they will find a way of NOT to.....
Mr Cameron is only 2 point ahead if Mr Brown as I write this.......let us hope now that the next Government is Hung.....so the parties have to work together in a common
consensus and get rid of stupid NHS schemes, Data Collection and get realistic.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Why Are We Here?.............

£40 million in perspective...................

The reason used by the Commercial Director or by layman's terms.....the Outsourcing Manager to Privatise the NHS for East Anglia, was that because Hinchingbrooke was labeled as a "failing" hospital due to it's £40m deficit, nothing more. We know they hospital is highly rated by the Care Quality Commission and is one of the countries Top 40 hospitals....
Now, what they don't say is how that deficit came to be, well it was due to the Government changes in policy and the boundaries of the Strategic Heath Authorities and the Primary Care Trusts. In basic terms, Hinchingbrooke was promised activity by nearby PCT's to commission work for the hospital so they decided to manage this promised work then they would build a Treatment Centre, via the preferred at the time, PFI model.
In essence the Trust accrued this Historic deficit and in reality there is NO WAY that this will ever be repaid, whoever manages the Trust. With the 3.5% reduction in the tariff each trust receives as of 1st April 2010, then ALL trust will have to make savings on that basis alone........yet alone the 3rd year of the NHS staff pay agreement to fund too.
ALL Local NHS Trusts are looking at savings as I write this, none of them are immune, so how will a profit making organisation make a profit for their shareholders?....... they wont..... Unless there are swinging cuts to services.
But the SHA claim that Hinchingbrooke's assets will remain in the NHS, the Staff will remain in the NHS, the A&E will be open and so will Maternity and Cancer services........so why would you want to privatise the management of Hinchingbrooke....... well it's a political pawn....nothing more and a dangerous move.

In 2006 we marched through the town to Save the Hospital, I said at the time even if we keep the Trust open then something else will emerge from the shadows.
We had a PCT consultation from where the ill fated and unworkable Option 2 emerged. Yes we were right once again......it has failed miserably.
Where is the Care In The Community that Dr Denis Cox promised us.....No where, the elderly are now back in Hinchinbrooke and we have reverted back to pre 2006 times again....Well done Hinchingbrooke....again

The PCT need to get real....very real..... they have split up their operation to have a Commissioning arm and a Provider arm....and it still doesn't work.....they have several operating bases.....WHY...there should be one central county base....in or around Huntingdon......cut staff in a big way too, this will reduce their debt too.
The main issue locally is that we get a lower allowance per person than in other areas, in fact it is half what other areas get, so in an expanding area we are short of funding before we even turn a light on........
The PCT claimed that too many people were being referred to Hospitals, now their latest plan is to have clusters of GP's who will be given capped funding and they would "police" who will be referred to which Hospital (this goes against Patient Choice) and therefore how many will NOT be referred as the money is tight?....
But where is the community care that was promised......no where..... still as it was......
Why is the Oak Tree Centre......yes the one where some minor surgical procedures would be done in the primary care setting........ having the treatment rooms used for offices?...... Only Dr Cox and his PCT colleagues can answer that...... and how will they make savings....?

So Back to £40m........... it is not such a big deal........

THE GUIDED BUS (WHICH IS STILL NOT OPEN FOR BUSINESS) .......

IS NOW £40M OVERSPENT.....

SO DO WE NOW PRIVATISE LOCAL GOVERNMENT?........ on the basis of Hinchingbrooke then we should...............

COME ON ........STOP THIS EXERCISE TO PRIVATISE HINCHINGBROOKE NOW.......

KEEP MARK MILLAR AT THE HELM....

WRITE OFF THE £40M DEBT.....

RETHINK LOCAL SERVICES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE......

LOBBY GOVERNMENT FOR THE CORRECT FUNDING LEVELS......

KEEP YOUR HOSPITAL AND NHS.........PUBLIC......

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Thank You

We are having to say goodbye shortly to the Saviour of Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Mark Millar , as his contract is coming to an end, which is a crying shame

This is a pity during the process to PRIVATISE Hinchingbrooke, as that is what it is is, contrary to what
Dr Stephen Dunn claims.
We must Thank Mr Millar for his vision and leadership, since the previous interim Chief Executive was sent
in to close Hinchingbrooke for good

I still think there is time to keep Mr Millar at Hinchingbrooke and the SHA need to be told that we want
him to remain at the Helm and the Private deal is dead........
Pathology Services is next..........

Now the SHA want to have a Pathology model for the East Of England.....yep you got it........ Another Privatisation exercise....... the rub with this is that the interim Chief Executive of Hinchingbrooke had a hand
in the review of services......what will it mean.....probably not much at the Hospitals, but you will find
a big central lab somewhere for the G.P and non essential work......How many samples and results will be
messed up then..... I would think the Horse Lab at Newmarket will be having another punt at this one like
they did in 2007..... shame on you EOE SHA and shame on you the Department Of Health
It will be interesting times.....as out friends in Cambridge have been empire building......but will the
empire strike back?...... depends how much cash they have

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Addenbrookes Pull Out..........

Well that is one less bidder for the Franchise......... Now we need the others to follow suit

We will be ramping up the Campaign against the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke from 22/02/10
We say privatisation as this is what it will be, although the Assets and Staff will remain in the NHS
BUT and the big BUT is how will savings be made to make a profit for the Private companies......

Well it will be Selling off the Support Services..... Porters, Catering, Radiology, Pathology and Pharmacy
....and it goes on........... just to try an save cash..... but it won't, it will cost more
AND
the effect of a service like Pathology goes deeper than Hinchingbrooke............
It will reflect on the community as a whole....Hinchingbrooke process the Majority of the GP
blood samples locally on an agreed service level and most bloods are complete within 24hrs of
being taken by your GP, this will no doubt suffer as a consequence

Join us to make this a General Election Issue.............

Not just locally But Nationally too..........
It is a chance for you to challenge your MP and the candidates for their seats..........
Ask them where they stand, where their convictions are.....the shadow health minister
accepted a £21,000 donation from Care UK one of the interested parties.........
Do you think that is the right thing to do?.........

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Let's Hit The Streets Again...........

Lets us tell them we want OUR Hospital IN the NHS not Run for profit..............


Your Health, Your Money, Your Say............