Save Hinchingbrooke Hospital

2012-02-01T07:50:00.002Z

A NEW DAY DAWNING....

One has to wonder how Hinchingbrooke staff will greet patients, one tweeter has suggested "tongue in cheek" .....Welcome to Circle Hinchingbrooke Ltd... but who knows.

My inside sources as well as my meeting attendance keeps me "ahead of the game" when it comes to news and news to me comes easier than in 2006 when Hinchingbrooke was threatened with closure.....
Many people now use Twitter and I follow @NHSspy and @circlebrooke who I am led to believe work "within the walls".
If Twitter was about in 2006....things at Hinchingbrooke would not have got this far....twitter pushes news and campaigns in real time, mostly faster than BBC/SKY etc.
We could have stopped this nonsense on 21st September 2006 if twitter was born back then.... but it wasn't so we are here....

I still continue to get emails from staff and patients and letters stuffed through my letter box......

I shall not say my job as campaigner is done here....because it isn't.....

I promise to blog at least weekly even if not much is happening at the Hospital and even if it is commenting on the local health economy such as the PFI doomed Peterborough Hospital which has more debt than Hinchingbrooke yet only open for 18 months......

One thing staff at Hinchingbrooke can be well assured..... they have worked 110% over all the years and the debt was NOT their fault....
If successive Political meddling had not got in the way then they would not have the debt, Tories have their Neo Liberal Private good, Public bad views and Labour wanted to be seen to be doing something....
We all know that Hinchingbrooke has had a tough life, Locals donate much time etc. and even the land it is built upon was donated and hence why the 2006 sell off and ideas to sell land to the rear where scuppered.
You see D0H and SHA number crunchers only care about what they can make or cut in budgets NOT about Patients.....sadly

We have suffered 50% per capita funding since 1982 due to Baroness Blatch and the Tyrant Thatcher's "deal" which deemed the area as not requiring a 100% funding ratio.
We have suffered Health Rationing on a massive scale and it has shaped the Health care map locally. Failures in Tory Councils to provide infrastructure have helped Hinchingbrooke stay open as the road network locally is appalling.

Recently as Christmas 2011, Hinchingbrooke's activity for A&E has been running sky high, good for Hinchingbrooke of course but you have to wonder why that is.....

In the main it is down to the Private Run "Urgent Care Cambridgeshire" who are responsible for Out of Hours GP.....they tend and personal experience confirms this to tick the box take the money and A&E pick up the case....hence why many just opt to go straight to A&E....and the SHA/PCT as now and DOH wonder why we do that...
Private companies like UCC and Harmoni making cash for doing little...

It's a new dawn today for Hinchingbrooke, staff and buildings and ALL building work and facilities are NHS.... the pen pushers at the top taking the financial risk are Circle Health....they are sadly "doing a tory" and shifting responsibility to staff for Profit & Loss,which means when it fails and it surely will...the Staff are at fault and Circle walk away unscathed and with knowledge of the NHS for another assault somewhere else a little easier

Thanks to all Hinchingbrooke supporters....The Fight Goes On Until Hinchingbrooke is finally back in the NHS .....AND run by a true Social Enterprise....The People of Huntingdonshire.....

2012-01-31T07:50:00.004Z

Goodbye NHS

Today is Hinchingbrooke's Last Day as an NHS run hospital, for now anyway.

It is a sad day for Campaigners who fought not just to keep Hinchingbrooke from closing but indeed fought to get the hospital built and moved away from the old County hospital on Brampton Road. Locals remember that the land Hinchingbrooke is built on was DONATED to enable the facility to be built, but that's for another day as the foundations to the NHS to Andrew Lansley mean nothing as all that matters to him is lining his pocket from Tory health care donors

It was revealed by Circle yesterday that the Circle Health Hinchingbrooke will be run as 20 or so "Clinical Units" of 50 to 100 staff and ALL Staff members are responsible for Profit & Loss of those units......see I WAS correct PROFIT before patients and staff are Coerced into this scam too.
Building works are being done too, new windows and now frontage and atrium roof as well as the new rear car park carved up to make way for a new back up generator..... Customers of Hinchingbrooke will obviously think these are being paid for by Circle.....WRONG...paid for by the Taxpayer and yes ....all these items were identified by Hinchingbrooke long ago, the windows 15 years ago.....Circle arrive and get what they want, when they want it.....

"Magic" Ali Parsa has sorted some Near Patient blood machines for quick testing, they don't do it all but it makes a good show, what he forgets is the Lab staff will spend 90% of their days quality controlling these machines....

I end this post albeit a brief one, with some thoughts......

Now Circle Health have announced that Staff are responsible for Profit and Loss, you have to ask a) What actually are Circle Health doing?...not managing that's for sure b) Will they finally admit their LIE that they are a Social Enterprise as Profits don't go with non profit Social Enterprises c) the Treatment Centre and Hospital have a recruitment campaign as of tomorrow....yes because the activity will be up by 100% to what the Treatment centre was designed for.....

Today at Hinchingbrooke NHS you are a Patient....as of Tomorrow you are a Circle Hinchingbrooke Ltd Customer with a Price on your head.....

Ironic how....in 2006 they were going to run down and close the Hospital...we campaigned and kept it open....so they hand the "management" to Circle Health in the private sector and they throw money at it.....and it will be a bottomless pit.....as this ROTTEN TORY Government will do their worst to make this "work", well on paper anyway......

The Staff will be the ones who are blamed....when it all goes wrong...but we know different, don't we.....

2011-11-13T08:43:00.003Z

THE REVELATIONS KEEP COMING

Since the announcement of the Circle Health Hinchingbrooke NHS "deal" it seems that more comes out daily to show my warnings have been vindicated.

One local Tory biased propaganda weekly paper call me a scaremonger and fall just short of calling me a liar, but as they dine and meet with our local and "dodgy" MP, who has been berrated for his expenses claims and recently brought to book over share dealing and a possible conflict of interest with his government office.

I warned that this "deal" was Profits before Patients and today it is revealed just that they are not a social enterprise
One thing you will notice is the debts that Circle Health made a pre-tax loss last year of £44.3m and yet they claim to be able to pay off Hinchingbrooke's historic,government induced debt of £38m. This does sound dubious as with this years £10m losses in 10 months added then the prospect for this to fail are high

On top of this we find that Patient Care is to fall this was again, Highlighted by me and again I was brandished a scaremonger and all but a liar and yet again I will be vindicated.

The other issue is the motives of Circle and how they can manage to turn a profit, even a small one.
One of the largest liabilities for a Hospital is staff pay and lets be fair we are paying for highly skilled people here,from x-ray, blood testing,porters and the like right up through Nursing staff to Consultants. All are trained to high standards to provide there service to the patient.

Under the Circle "deal" all the staff are to be retained using the Retention of Employment model, which means they are seconded from the NHS to the new company while retaining their NHS employment status, terms and conditions.
However, I know what Circle are going to do, they are going to, through slick presentations, going to offer to staff the chance to opt out of the NHS ROE model and choose to TUPE to their Terms & Conditions with an offer of shares that will never be worth the paper they are written on.

The outcome for those who choose the TUPE route will be devastating as Circle will not bat an eyelid when it comes to culling staff as these poor souls will be cast to the wilderness without a care and yes the shares will be worth nothing.

Under the current management team, Hinchingbrooke makes a small surplus, enough to keep it in the black but not enough to eat into the Historic debt that was caused over the years by successive governments and their relentless top down reorganisations.
So, who will Circle make any more cash to really eat into the debt and as the architect of this dubious deal the non clinical "Dr" Dunn claims?....they wont.

Unless the PCT and the forthcoming CCG's favour Hinchingbrooke Hospital for treatment,(I hazard a guess DOH "guidance" will "encourage" this) and the upcoming health bill's "Bung Tariff" (higher than normal payment)used then they wont make any more surplus than they currently do.
If this happens, having more activity(patients through the door) and a higher tariff(payment for work) then this is unfair and again I said this would happen if/when Circle or anyone else was handed the Hinchingbrooke Management to make it work,or seen to work.

The only other means to save cash is for staff numbers, already cut to the bone, to be further reduced.
I know of managers who have already been "encouraged" to consider early retirement and the TUPE crowd as I have already explained will also be fair game for the Circle axeman.

I also wonder, not as so much as to who pays, but should something go wrong in the hospital that requires repair. I ask this as the back up generator at Hinchingbrooke is now a little suspect and was noticed during last Friday's power cut. We all know the NHS will have to pay for this to be repaired or replaced BUT how will Circle react to a failure like this and what procedures are in place for such an occurance?....

There will be more to follow on from this but remember......under the terms of the "deal".... Circle Health can get out of the contract at any time.....

My words to them is.... Get out now, while you can or you will regret it...

2011-11-11T08:23:00.002Z

Remembrance Day

Today we remember our Troops that have given the ultimate sacrifice at 11:00 please spend a minute to remember them......

Sadly we need to apply the same to the NHS in England,as of yesterday...the ultimate treason took place.... RIP..

2011-11-11T07:22:00.003Z

The Day After.....

Yesterday was very busy, I did a quick interview on the radio and said that I think the Circle Health "deal" will be a Flash in the Pan.

My reason....they won't make cash out of it under the Health & Social Care Bill structure, if it gets passed along with the huge NHS cuts that the CCG (commissioning groups that take over from the NHS Cambs PCT) face.

CCG's will ration Hospital referrals and our healthcare locally, way more than was forced upon the local Health Board in the 80's.

As the majority of patients know,especially the elderly ones, how their Health Care has been rationed over the last 30 years with us have 50% of national funding instead of being afforded the full funding other areas get and now we are going to get even less and with an expanding and ageing population....is that fair?..NO
But then is this rotten government fair.....NO..and the 80's Government who reduced the health care funding was of the same ideology as today's

Pre 2006 Hunts PCT had a deal with Hinchingbrooke where the Hospital got paid under tariff, so more patients were referred and referred earlier.
The result being balanced books everywhere and Patients conditions were treated at an earlier stage and better outcomes achieved.

Post 2006 and Labour's top down creation of Cambs PCT and EoESHA things got tougher, especially because the Treatment centre was to handle referrals from a large area yet during the build the goal posts changed....and hence Hinchingbrooke's debt...likewise PBR was introduced too compounding the debt.
Post 2006 led to the SHA suggesting the hospital may close.....well that's history as we kept it open......however, the number of "interim" Chief executives of the local trusts came and went and took their £1000 + per day and nowt changed.

Cambs PCT as it was before renaming to NHS Cambridgehire, said that Hinchingbrooke would have 25% less activity and more will be done in the community.
They built Oak Tree Centre a Darzi type unit, where minor procedures could be done and grandstanded a £2m investment in community services.
I said that £2m was only enough to provide vehicles and phones and maybe offices but not services....and I was correct.
Over the past few years NHS Cambs was formed and Cambs Community Services formed and CCC is funded by PCT and Cambs County Council and this is where things get complicated.
Social care is allocated by the County council and Community Services has taken on that service with some former county employees now in community services and they are house.....in the Oak Tree Centre...the Darzi type unit where the treatment rooms (still with sinks and cupboards etc are used as meeting rooms and offices)and not providing healthcare.

It's all in a mess really but then things have got more stable where you visit your GP and he may or may not refer you to a hospital of your choice, in the main with the rubbish road network we choose Hinchingbrooke as it is close by.

Out of Hours care is another story and post Dr Ubani scandal,most go straight to Hinchingbrooke and bypass the GP route. This is being discouraged but the 2004 choices made post GP contract led to Private companies running OOH GP's and failed.

Is Circle the answer or retribution for keeping Hinchingbrooke open?

Circle is just payback for keeping the hospital open, and a political opportunity to get the Private Sector parasites into the NHS, nothing more.
When you see the local political structure and how it got to this then you have the answer to why Hinchingbrooke was a soft target.

In the post Marching and Save Hinchingbrooke fall out, the Hospital restructured and has made annual surplus's and the hospital has been refurbished too.
Everything has been done to make the Hospital run efficiently and Circle wont make anything like the changes they want to without sacking staff...

Magic Ali said yesterday they they want to reduce red tape etc....that is a DOH issue and about data collection, any clinical procedures have parameters that cannot be changed to prevent errors, although Addenbrookes the wonderful have made grave surgical errors recently.

Circle Health take over next February, in my last post I said January but there you go.....and how will they make money...they wont unless there is more activity (bodies through the door) I do know the intention is to run the Theatres 24/7 and I would hazard a guess many will be shipped from Circle's other units to keep throughput up.

Under the Health Bill, this is a failed and old model that is not sustainable.

Magic Ali is going to use Hinchingbrooke's Support services, for FREE,for his other units....sterile services, Blood Labs,Catering and X-ray to save cash at the other units and we pay for it.....

Only Transparency will show that this is not going to happen and his other business's will pay the going rates,but of course we know that we will never find out....but yes I will...an insider who tweets,as well as staff members who send me anonymously information to share.

Circle will also be getting rid of middle managers, in fact I know of 3 who have been "encouraged" to retire early so that they then will not be replaced.
Circle have had their "pink and fluffy" orchestrated stunt filled staff meetings all this week, before the announcement yesterday and they only like sessions which do not question their motives.

Lastly, the contract is watertight in Circle's favour....they can get out whenever they want.... so that gives me and the community no faith in the deal which in fact isn't worth the paper it is written on

2011-10-31T14:52:00.003Z

The time has finally come

It has been a while since I have posted here, mainly due to Hinchingbrooke NHS being
still run as well as ever by the current efficient board and staff members.

However, things have moved on for the NHS, with the Secretary of State, Mr Lansley froma neighbouring constituency pushing to part privatise the system,well he claims different but we all know that is far from the truth.

He and his rotten politics want to allow "Any Willing Provider" to be able to do NHS work.

We all know Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust...OUR...Local hospital, many of us marched to keep open in October 2006, has been gifted by the Stakeholder panel of 40, no member properly representing the public and any public events being held at awkward times so non one attended as well as NO public consultation.

Mr Lansley, yes the Secretary of State for Health was a panel member when Circle Health were chosen to manage Hinchingbrooke in November 2010. As yet, this contract has not been signed and Mr Lansley has now distanced himself from the process, even though he was part of the selection process. I believe he should have restarted the process as soon as he was placed in office as Secretary of State for Health as being part of the selection process makes it a conflict of interest.

Needless to say, the Contract for the so called "Franchise" is signed on 1st November as a Transition period takes place until Circle Health get their grubby, parasitic hands on OUR hospital on January 1st 2012

Circle Health claim to be a Social Enterprise, when in fact they are a Hedge fund bankrolled, for profit, offshore company which in fact is a totally different definition and they have mislead the public and been economical with the truth
Circle Heath are also £38m in debt and so far for 2011 they are £9m in debt...for me not a good basis for someone to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

One bonus with this "deal" is that Hinchingbrooke will be afforded some protection, protection from A&E closure and Maternity Closure as well as keeping the Hospital fully functional.

During the next couple of years Andrew Lansley is making ALL NHS Trusts into Foundation Trusts or close, Hinchingbrooke is exempt from that process due to the Circle Health "franchise".
My other concern, although not as large for this area as others in the UK is GP commissioning, for us and our 30 year of Healthcare rationing we will see little change yet for those areas who have been afforded 100% funding, unlike our 50% funding they will find rationing of care difficult to deal with.

I have been informed that there are proposals for each GP to only refer 4 patients per week to secondary care (Hospital) which is outrageous and should be stopped.
The largest issue, and this has been ongoing again for 30 years, is social care.
Social Care budgets are provided at Local Council level and they then place the care to the elderly population that is in need.

In recent years the Primary Care Trust, as it has been, and the County Council have merged 2 budgets to get a fund that is somewhere near the bottom of the need requirement for Cambridgeshire. This fund really needs to be 200% larger today and rising 10% each year to cope with the elderly population alone.

Currently we hear horror stories that the NHS Nurses in hospital are not caring for our parents and grandparents properly. In reality the Council & PCT are not doing their jobs due to funding and the NHS is picking up the pieces.

Community Care as outlined in the PCT's Hinchingbrooke plan and agreed by the now Commisioning groups Chair Maureen Donnelly has failed and failed miserably as I predicted in 2007. The 25% less activity for Hinchingbrooke, also part of the plan has failed and failed miserably due to patient choice and of course Fuel costs and the awful A14.

As I write this, Addenbrookes, the Rosie and Hinchingbrooke are at full capacity and winter is not yet upon us. I for see that we will be having to make do or haul up to the struggling Peterborough City Hospital.

Cambridge & Peterborough Mental Health Trust are also in huge financial trouble, recently the excellent Acer ward at Hinchingbrooke has been closed to a huge outcry. The Mental Health Trust has recently become a satellite employer where in the main their services are provided a more expensive way by other organisations and charities. If you feel you are able please take part in their consultation

I can see a reasonably "settled" future for Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust as Circle Health will have to maintain services there and we really should not see too much difference to healthcare and staff. Staff are still NHS employees but will be seconded to Circle during the "franchise" period, however long this ends up being.
Current projections are that Circle Health will not make any profit from the Hinchingbrooke management "deal" and will end up funding the payments themselves to reduce the Hinchingbrooke historic government induced debt. Again this will not be good for Circle Health as they have also recently lost 2 big NHS contracts worth £54m.
I predict this "franchise" will last a maximum of 2 years, the timescale for all NHS Hospitals to become Foundation Trusts, then the Government will fund Hinchingrooke to Comply with this system upon Circle's exit from the contract.

My prediction is based upon the lack of profits to be made by Circle and the poor option for Hospital expansion as well as the PFI Treatment centre and the need to meet the repayments for that building.

I will be posting more frequently from now on, keeping you up to speed with what is happening at Hinchingbrooke, in fact I am there tomorrow too....

There is another plan afoot as I raised in 2007, this pertaining to the Blood test service. GP's currently have blood tests done at a local hospital and Huntingdonshire GP's are afforded the excellent 24hr blood test turnaround by Hinchingbrooke.

In fact all the days bloods from all the surgeries are processed by 20:30 each day and are available by GP's the following start of the day.

This is now in crisis as the stupid Strategic Health Authority, once East of England and now Its MidlandsEast, have decided that a "Hub" & "Spoke" system is way to go.

The Hub is a central lab and each hospital has a "hot" lab on site to process Hospital bloods. GP bloods will go to the Hub and be processed over 3 days...not within the 24 hrs they currently enjoy....

The A14 and Fuel costs won't help the scheme and the proposed PFI/NHS funded building is proposed on the Addenbrookes site, what a surprise.

Rearing it's head too is the Horse Blood lab again as it is rumoured that they will be running and taking over the spoke within 2 years and taking the service out of the NHS....for good.
Something for us to monitor and put to media.

2011-01-25T08:34:00.004Z

Conflict Of Interests

It now is shown clearly that "Dr" Lansley has a conflict of Interest, he and his Tory government have recieved "donations" from Care UK and as if by magic.....Care UK "win" an NHS contract for the Prison service in the North West. Even though the NHS was the best Value and Clinical, the "responsible" adjudicators for the tendering process awarded the work to Care UK. So it was on Price alone.....?.... YES... Cheaper bid...the result will be ....Profits before Prisoners....Who cares they are only prisoners you say.....but those prisoners will soon be NHS patients....if this sham of a white paper is implemented.
Locally, we have suffered the indignity of have 50% less capitation budget and as such our health care is compromised and many services are simply, either not there or only just provided. Local G.P's and hospitals just manage to cope with this shameful level of funding they recieve and everything is cut to the bone and offices run very lean.
The same applies to Local Councils too with their grant.....shamefully and not surprisingly the Coucillors and Health Chiefs have done nothing about these funding issues and been good little tories and got on with it. My reasons for the last comment is due to the fact that the Tories introduced the 2 tier funding in the 80's which is often called the "Post Code Lottery", when in fact it's full funding or half funding.
Our Local Tory MP does not give a hoot for his constituents as he lives in London all the time apart from odd days when he stays at his country investment up here, so no good writing to him as he will sit on the fence and tow the party line and support "Dr" Lansleys Evil English Experiment.

My main issue with Lansley's plans are that the inequalities of the captitation figures and the PCT debts need to be in balance, we need FULL funding and then the PCT's leave the GP consortia with an in balance account.....while we are at it, Mr Lansley.....Make sure the NHS has the extra 14% payment for services like the sweetner that the Private sector enjoy.....lets have the level playing field and not one based on "You drop me some cash and I will see you alright" deals
Circle Health will be managing Hinchingbrooke Hospital from June, so in effect will be "safer" from much of this meddling, they will be 14% better off before they even do any work, the staff will be NHS as will the buildings....for now...
I read that Circle are applying to be listed on the stock market as they have now had some £120m of investment from Hedge funds and venture capitalists, you don't invest like that unless your expecting to get a return....a huge one...Parasites

A little bird also tells me that Circle have declared that they will be running the Hinchingbrooke Treament Centre 24/7 and running the Theatres tight too....maximising slots....Hinchingbrooke have been denied this level of activity, and when challenged the PCT/SHA claimed that "if a preferred bidder managed Hinchingbrooke, they would not be treated more favorably".....indeed they will be....as to achieve this "Factory" healthcare, you will need a) to be guaranteed the work and b) be able to cherry pick the proceedures to suit your business model....
It is a shame that the Current Excellent Hinchingbrooke management were not afforded the same status and access to this activity.
It is also a pity to see that the No 1 Maternity unit in East Anglia (achieved by NHS management and staff with low capitation funding)is to be handed over to the private sector to manage, I watch with interest.

This is outrageous for all Patients and tax payers and the level playing field will not be there........it will be okay to a degree for NHS staff members as they will have a continuous cycle of work and the support services like Sterile services and Pathology will be running at full capacity...

If Mr Lansley wants his Great experiment to work properly with no bias and no conflicts of interest, then Mr Lansley needs to fund all areas equally, clear any PCT debts, and have equal funding for NHS/Private treatment....and then we will see which is the winner.....and it won't be the Private Sector.....

2011-01-20T07:35:00.000Z

NHS REFORM

NHS “reform” or rather back door privatisation is being proposed by the government, and we all know that Hinchingbrooke hospital is to be run by a private company from June this year for a set number of years. Many of us know this is a privatisation and will be proved correct as time goes on unless it fails miserably
The government are new expecting our own G.P's to run the NHS from local level and include in that the commissioning of service, or buy treatment for you and me. Up to now this has been done by PCT's but they will cease by 2013 and many of them will leave huge debts like NHS Cambridgeshire. Needless to say this debt will be passed onto the G.P consortium’s who will have to operate with the debt, which will obviously mean that they are behind before they start, rather that starting with a fresh start and balanced accounts.

The government also will keep the unfair price per head of capita, which was meddled with by Lady Blatch & Mrs Thatcher and reduced Huntingdonshire,Cambridgeshire and a few other unfortunate areas to a shocking £1000 per person, yet leaving other parts of the UK at £2000 per person for their health care.
This needs to be equalised to remove health inequalities and give our local G.P's a fair chance along with any PCT's debt also to be absorbed and written off too, to make the NHS reforms work fairly for all.
Mr Cameron says we are all in it together, well lets see shall we and please contact your MP or local councillor and candidates to make sure this is fair. I know the local MP will tow the party line and sit on the fence but you can all write to him or do something to save your healthcare locally and stop it's erosion any further. We are a poor relation as it is, same applies to local councils too, please don't sit on your bottoms and let them get away with it, do something. There will be some local meetings and other activities to save the NHS run by ordinary people and open to all. If you have visited a doctor,dentist or optician in the last 60 years then you need to be involved, maybe it should be the NHS society, please join in before your saddled with a huge Healthcare Insurance policy or no healthcare.

2011-01-19T13:09:00.003Z

P.M on back foot

Cameron was on the back foot at PMQ's, he cound not answer questions on the NHS

He could not answer whether the "reforms" oops Privatisation, would reduce waiting times, well WE all know the answer to that..... NO... all there will be will be a reduction in treatment and Private firms cherry picking the easy work from the NHS and charging top whack after a year into any contract they negotiate with the G.P commisioners who will be "roughed" up by these scum....all they want is Profits before patients.
I asked my G.P yesterday about his views, in principle, like me....he thinks it is okay, what is missing is the "link" between G.P and Secondary Hospital care......
I guess we are lucky locally as the G.P's have a good relationship with Hinchingbrooke, but I fear for others where the releationship is not there as there will be a void, a void in which the G.P will be like a fish out of water.....then a "kind" company will come along to "assist" with his commissioning.....to their Hospital/medical unit...under a sewn up tight contract....

Well...... we have 2 choices......

Fight back

or

Accept this and buy Health Insurance as we will be like the U.S in 5 years if we don't fight for the NHS....OUR NHS.....

2011-01-19T06:35:00.002Z

Been just a Summer and Autumn

but I am back, the Tories have left me little choice but to start up my campaign again

As many of you know Circle Health have been "gifted" the Management or rather "ownership" of Hinchingbrooke hospital from June 2011. I for one are not happy with this but as I was not invited to be one of the 40 members of the Stakeholder Panel then the blame for this fiasco lies soley with the 28 MP's and local authority members plus the Union representatives from the regions and the groups that were supposed to have been the voice of the people ........ NOT

I guess you know why I was kept out of the discussions.....

The Tory Local Press Rag, the Hunts Post, has done nothing for this and in fact is merely a voice and free press for the Local Tory paper and the MP
While on the subject of the local multi millionare MP..... Anyone seen him recently?
The last time I recall was at the Huntingdon Rememberance Day service, mind you that was the 1st time for 5 years.......shameful

SO......where do we go from here..........?
We ramp up and support all NHS campaigns, we inform the public,Patients etc about what is happening..........and join in...it works.
This will be Lansley & Cameron's poll tax and we can bring them down.......

I like the idea of G.P's being involved with mu care...BUT and a big BUT is how much involvement and the relentless speed the Secretary of State and Prime Minister are going to try and push this through.
Their(and Thatcher's - see a theme build) Policy Maker........Oliver Letwin, did, as you now prime U.S healthcare firms at the very same time as Cameron told the millions watching the election debate thaat the NHS is protected. I think if you scroll down this blog you will find that I have already covered that and a link to the news article too. The main issue with handing the commissioning to G.P's is the huge pressure this will place on them, then the result will be that they will need some "assistance".....but the PCT won't be there....but the U.S healthcare vultures will be to offer "help" and they will obviously commission their companies to care for the G.Ps patients......in comes the privatisation...... Letwin's Baby...

All I can say is (and using today's Mirror headline) BLOOD MONEY.....

especially as you must recall Lansley's £21,000 donation from a health company...

WATCH THIS SPACE........ THE FIGHT GOES ON.....

2010-07-12T08:36:00.002+01:00

Franchise......

Under the Lansley plans this should be dead and buried by now.....it is a project that has NOT been signed off, so is dead in water under the Laansley announcements in May 2010.

I guess they have to let due process take it's course and the 3 provider to 1 provider choice has been postponed from September 2010 to February 2011......
This means that it WILL not start from April 2011 but I would think that by then the last bidder will have withdrawn from the process....
The SHA dies from 31 March 2012, so if any Franchise is put into place to begin 1st April 2012 (due to delays) then WHO will police this..... No One.......

The best way forward is to scrap the process NOW, and when the SHA/PCT are sorted any balance can pay off the Historic debt that was induced by these 2 bodies in the 1st place......what goes around....comes around....

2010-07-12T08:30:00.002+01:00

PCT's....... You Die Today

The SHA's are dead, Now (Thankfully) the PCT's die from today......

I can see the idea of a GP link with local hospital's and surgeons, but can the GP's cope with commisioning?.....

I guess that they will need to employ some commissioning admin folks from the PCT's when they are made redundant, but what if they cant cope........ I can see the PRIVATE heathcare providers "offering" commissioning services and choosing their own private hospitals and medical units to perform proceedures and ignore local NHS hospitals.....which is corupt.....

The "NEW" idea....not really....back to old health board days and use local hospitals, should work.....The Market has NO place in UK healthcare...

2010-07-01T18:00:00.002+01:00

Thanks

Well I have been campaigning since 2006 and now is the time to say goodbye.....

I have Saved Hinchingbrooke from closing, with the help of colleagues and also YOU the public.
What we need to make sure is the we KEEP this Jewel in the Crown ....the only way is to use YOUR choice as a patient and go there for treatment.....Plus keep speaking out even at GP level.....

I am now taking a back seat.....my work is done.....You CAN all have a say and make people accountable.....go out there and do it.....

Goodbye All & will take a rest from Campaigning......for good....

Mike

2010-05-22T17:54:00.002+01:00

Mr Lansley Says...

IT IS ALL HERE.......

2010-05-22T17:50:00.002+01:00

Mr Lansley Says......

Of course, the NHS has to make changes as opportunities arise and new technologies and medicines emerge. But we cannot have change for change's sake.

Some of these closures, or reconfigurations, of local services are based on disputed or flawed evidence, and do not pay due attention to clinical opinion. Some have lacked real public engagement beyond a cursory consultation. Most do not reflect the choices that patients or GPs would make if they were in control.

Unfortunately, I cannot re-open previously concluded processes nor halt those that have passed the point of no return, with contracts signed or building work started. But the majority of cases are ongoing and we have an opportunity for a new approach.

As of today, I am calling a halt to the current process. I have asked Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the NHS, to inform the service of this immediately and to signal a complete change to the way we deal with these issues. This moratorium will provide a chance to reset every proposal, to reconsider every decision and to ensure that in each case they are consistent with the following key criteria.

First, there must be clarity about the clinical evidence base underpinning the proposals. Second, they must have the support of the GP commissioners involved. Third, they must genuinely promote choice for their patients. Fourth, the process must have genuinely engaged the public, patients and local authorities.

This will not merely be another tick-box exercise – it will be a tough test, which every proposal must pass if it is to proceed.

WE SAY>>>>> TELL THE SHA TO END THE PROCESS AT THIS WEEKS STAKEHOLDER PANEL>>>>

TIME TO PUT THIS PRIVATISATION PROCESS TO BED>>>>
IT HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED>>>> IT HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY CONSULTED WITH THE PUBLIC>>>>
AND IT IS NOT CLINICALLY BASED>>>

2010-04-21T17:32:00.001+01:00

Leaflets

Mr Salt the Independent candidate is looking for help with leaflet delivery - if you can help in St Neots or St Ives area feel free to phone me 07984 413839

2010-04-21T08:19:00.002+01:00

Hustings

Well it's the Hunts Post hustings tomorrow and how it has all changed....

It is not a Tory rally to put down Labour and Lib Dems as originally planned, poor ticket take up has led for the organisers to invite the other candidates along.

Perhaps now we will get a proper debate and also get the answers we need about the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke and where the Candidates stand, before you vote.

The doorstep visits have highlighted the Peoples disgust and outrage at the process to Privatise Hinchingbrooke and the NHS , they are disgusted at Labour for instigating it under their watch and the Tories as it is their Policy too.

Please try and go to the Hustings tomorrow.....

2010-04-13T16:03:00.003+01:00

We say Thanks.... We WILL run the hospital..... AND kick out the Private Sector...We will put the current management in charge and go forth and run Hinchingbrooke for Huntingdonshire... Bring It On

2010-04-12T18:49:00.002+01:00

Labour Manifesto

Today, Labour set the Manifesto today on health......

the points in it are

ON HEALTH

* Patients in England guaranteed to get results of cancer tests within a
week
* Maximum 18-week wait for treatment after initial GP consultation or private treatment will be offered
* Routine health checks for those aged 40 to 74, aimed at preventing heart
attacks and strokes
* National Care Service to ensure free care in the home for those with
thegreatest needs and a cap on the costs of residential care
* Every hospital to become a foundation trust, with more freedom to run its
own affairs

SO MR BROWN...... STOP THE PRIVATISATION OF HINCHINGBROOKE, WRITE OFF THE GOVERNEMENT INDUCED DEBT AND SET HINCHINGBROOKE FREE TO BECOME A FOUNDATION TRUST AND DO IT NOW.....

2010-04-12T17:35:00.003+01:00

Why is the Hospital not mentioned?

I note from the former M.P, now Conservative Party Candidate for Huntingdonshire his website....he asks

As you go to the polling booth on 6th May, I ask that you consider the last 13 years and ask yourself the following questions:

* Are my family’s savings, pensions and jobs more secure?
* Are we as internationally respected and do we support our armed forces?
* Have our civil liberties improved?
* Am I less likely to be the victim of violent crime?
* Have we got a good deal in Europe, signing up to Lisbon with no referendum?
* Are our borders more secure and immigration controlled?
* Is our economy stronger and more competitive?

If you believe, as I do, the answer to these questions is no – there is only one political party that can reverse our nation’s slide towards failure, the Conservative Party.

So where in the above 7 questions does it refer to Hinchingbrooke Hospital or the NHS...It doesn't
One of the questions should be "Do You Want Hinchingbrooke Privatised?" ...but that is not there.... I wonder Why.... probably because Privatising the NHS is Tory Health Policy...

Vote Wisely......

2010-04-12T07:30:00.002+01:00

Who do I vote For

Good question, who do you vote for.....

For me, the Hospital is under the threat of Privatisation, yes Privatisation it is no matter what the candidates say to you..... A Franchise is a means for an entrepreneur to make money by using a successful business model....

So lets look at the candidates......and consider that the "franchise" idea came from a Labour government, Bevan must be turning in his grave.... The Tories health policy is to "open up the NHS to other providers" ...again Privatisation of the NHS.... Lib Dems have not committed themselves yet to an answer.... Greens,the Loony Party are agreeing that it should be public as does Jonathan Salt. In fact, the A14, Guided Bus and Pathfinder house were the Election issues....until Jonathan Salt came along to support the Hospital and our campaign to keep it public.
Nick Clegg like Jonathan Salt, calls for the Strategic Health Authorities to be scrapped and needless to say we agaree and should that happen then the Privatisation, by this unelected Quango , of Hinchingbrooke would stop....

So, Who do you vote for..... Well if you want Hinchingbrooke to stay in public hands.... Not Labour or Conservatives.... If you want to keep it public..... vote for any of the others.... if you think the parties are corrupt..... Vote Independent.... BUT whatever you do..... Vote... a Vote not cast is a wasted Vote

2010-04-12T07:17:00.002+01:00

Guided Busway

The Truth behind the bus way and what a waste of Tax payers money it is......

And it still Isn't running yet

They were obviously hoping that it would be there or almost there before the local and General Elections - for whatever reason, other than incompetence the Tory Councilors must be disappointed that their work on the doorstep is going to be very difficult this time.

I have delivered leaflets for the Lib Dems and I am also working with the Independent candidate at the General Election as Save Hinchingbrooke is A-Political and not affiliated to any party.
I was with Mr Salt, Independent on Saturday and he was in Huntingdon town centre.
In the main he got a good reception but there were many people who were NOT going to VOTE..... the main reason..... The Expenses and no Trust in the Tories locally and to top that the old "Tories always get in here" argument. Needless to say I always urge people to vote..... the ONLY wasted vote is one that is not cast.

Guided Bus Article

Report To County Council

make your own minds up whether the Council are incompetent and should, now £40m in the red because of the guided bus.....should ,like Hinchingbrooke, be put out for Franchise.....?

2010-04-09T21:46:00.002+01:00

Election issue

a month ago I was speaking to Keep Our NHS Public and they said that Hinchingbrooke should become a General Election issue..... I agreed but was a little unsure how we could achieve it.
I was called up by Jonathan Salt to discuss the Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign and he was interested as to how the historic debt came about

We discussed at length and he agreed also that the Hospital should be an election issue too.
Since then Jonathan has chosen to run for the Huntingdon seat and I have agreed to work with him on this journey.
The Campaign is still strong and we are having an awareness day on the 24th April 2010 so that the People of Huntingdon know the TRUTH about the Privatisation, I say privatisation as our local M.P see's fit that this is played down, however it is the truth. Now Conservative policy is to open up the NHS to outsiders...or rather Privatise it all, so the conservatives buddies can put their noses in the NHS trough to cherry pick the goodies.
Interestingly, Nick Clegg of the Lib Dems has the same view as Jonathan Salt.... Scrap the Strategic Health Authorities.... unelected bureaucrats....a Quango and waste of Tax PAyers cash and meddling with the likes of Hinchingbrooke...... lets start making savings NOW...... Scrap the SHA & Stop the Hinchingbrooke Privatisation.

2010-04-07T15:15:00.001+01:00

I wonder how many feel the same?

2010-04-07T15:08:00.002+01:00

Lobby Your MP

To stop the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke and the NHS all from your seat

Here is the Lobby Form

Fill in the form

2010-04-07T10:34:00.002+01:00

Opinions

We all have our opinions and we will all have the chance to use that opinion to vote in the upcoming election.
Now before you vote consider what candidates say......

Mr Salt is campaigning against the Privatisation of Hinchngbrooke end of, clear and concise, yet Mr Djanogly, the sitting MP, is saying that he “simply did not buy” the union view that this would lead to the privatisation of the hospital.
Now we all know from debates in the house that Mr Djanogly was confronted by a member claiming that "The hon. Gentleman clearly has a jaundiced view of trade unions."
This probably is why Mr Djanogly is playing down the issue of Privatisation, lets face it the staff at Hinchingbrooke might be NHS staff under the Privatisation plans yet they WILL be working for the PRIVATE sector.
SO what part of this process is not PRIVATISATION?..... none of it
And with Conservative Health Policy gunning to Privatise the NHS as a whole the election is about your health care.... Free or do you want a service that is destroyed for profit, like the Gas/Electric/Trains/Buses/Cleaning in Hospitals.....

2010-04-07T07:18:00.002+01:00

If these are the answer

See the link to open the document, this will inform you of how the bidders to Privatise Hinchingbrooke are NOT fit for purpose

Here is the Document that tells all you needs to know

2010-04-06T12:15:00.000+01:00

Circle Health

Circle Health claims to be a different type of company, and has been proclaimed as basing itself on the “John Lewis” model of “partnership”, with 2,000 clinicians. But half of the company is owned by big financial institutions, and this is the source of the funding for a planned network of 30 new hospitals at a cost of almost £1 billion (Times Online).
Its brand new £30m showpiece hospital in Bath, lavishly spacious, designed by Lord Foster ‘s team and feted by the media for its innovative design, has just 28 beds – less than 10% of the capacity of a very different hospital in Hinchingbrooke, and of course has no facilities for emergencies or for patients with complex medical or surgical needs. And while Circle’s boss Ali Parsa, an investment banker, talks a good talk, there is no evidence that his company – accustomed to the generous budgets and relaxed, stress-free environment of private medicine – is capable of managing anything on the scale of an NHS general hospital.
Their website also confirms that Circle has no real grasp or experience of a busy and pressurised hospital environment. The company is aiming to open”surgical clinics and GP centres” where its surgeons can perform consultations and procedures that do not have to happen in a hospital setting in specialities such as dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT and plastic surgery. This, claims Circle, “drives down the price of healthcare by avoiding the unnecessary infrastructure of a hospital”. In addition, Circle says it will offer “services such as diagnostics, chronic disease management and post-operative homecare” through a mobile infrastructure and in peoples' homes. Again no evidence of appropriate experience in running a large and complex hospital.
Nor does Circle’s track record with NHS care inspire any confidence: in 2007 Circle Health took over Nations Healthcare, a company running three “independent sector treatment centres” with NHS contracts (Eccleshill in Bradford, Burton and Nottingham). Nations had been the company in charge of Eccleshill when a patient, Dr John Hubley, died after surgery because the centre did not keep any emergency supplies of blood on site. The scandal was exposed on BBC’s Panorama, and the coroner said at the inquest on Dr Hubley that he would most probably have survived if his operation had been carried out at Bradford Royal Infirmary, describing the centre’s policies as “Mickey Mouse”.
The takeover by Circle may have changed the management structure, but it has not substantially increased the performance of the treatment centres, which have delivered well short of the level of treatment stipulated in their £324m worth of NHS contracts. According to the latest official figures (April 2009) the Nottingham Treatment Centre was running at just 72% of contract, Burton at 76% and Eccleshill at 87%, leaving Nations 25% below contracted activity – equivalent to £82m of taxpayers’ money for treatment not delivered.
But at the end of last year, the local paper reported that Circle’s Barlborough Treatment Centre had delivered just £41,000 worth of operations in exchange for guaranteed payments of £791,000 in 2009, and had delivered just £4m of work for a £9m contract, to expire this year. (Nottingham Evening Post November 13).

2010-04-06T12:14:00.000+01:00

Ramsay Health Care

Ramsay is Australia’s largest private healthcare provider. It is part of the NHS Partners Network group of private health providers that challenged the procurement process at NHS Great Yarmouth & Waveney (along with Acevo).
Ramsay operates nine “Independent Sector Treatment Centres”, and is the fourth largest provider of private hospitals in England, having bought 22 small hospitals from Capio UK for £193m in 2007.
Ramsay’s managing director Pat Grier told the Guardian that his group had been attracted to Britain because of “significant growth upside due to the shift towards outsourcing NHS services to the private sector” (Guardian 28 October 2007).
More recently the company has been reported in Healthcare Europa as bragging over the way in which it has increased profit margins in the UK hospitals it took over from Capio, with Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) increased from 20% to more than 25% in the first year and again to over 30% in year two. (http://www.healthcareeuropa.com/articles/20100322)
Ramsay’s ISTCs may be generating guaranteed profits for the company, but the latest official figures show that they are delivering as little as 66% of contracted activity in one unit, with five out of nine delivering less than 80%. Of the total of £244m it is being paid for contracts, Ramsay’s ISTCs are being paid almost £56m for operations that are not delivered.
In Southampton the Ramsay-operated ISTC has been so unpopular that GPs have been directed to over-ride the principle of “patient choice” and refer elective patients only to the ISTC where services were running well below contracted levels, and not to the local University hospital where most patients had chosen to have their treatment (BMA News Review October 10 2009).

2010-04-06T12:12:00.001+01:00

The Truth Behind the companies involved in the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke

Serco

Serco is a large multinational corporation, employing 40,000 staff and turning over more than £2 billion. It appears to be even less appropriate as a potential management of a complex and busy general hospital than the other two shortlisted firms since it has no experience at all of any kind of hospital management.
Its own website claims that Serco employs just 300 “doctors and nurses” – a tiny fraction of the Hinchingbrooke Hospital workforce – in “a range of primary and community settings”. These turn out to be “'Out of Hours' Care, healthcare in prisons, nursing support as well as many major new health initiatives such as the Department of Health's programme to evaluate telehealth.” So the company itself effectively admits to having no experience of managing clinical services in a major hospital.
Instead it is best known as a services company that runs the Docklands Light Railway, operates speed cameras, electronically tags young offenders, and has contracts with the Ministry of Defence, Home Office and Department of Transport.
Its most prominent involvement in the NHS includes its involvement as a partner in various Private Finance Initiative consortia, some of which have been “successful” in completing new hospitals (Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital and Scotland’s Wishaw General Hospital) while one other (Leicestershire) has ended in an expensive failure, with the project cancelled as a result of spiralling and unaffordable costs, and Serco joining with its partners to sue for compensation.

2010-03-31T21:32:00.002+01:00

An NHS Burning and in Chaos

Although the rhetoric of ‘choice’ implies patients having a greater variety of health care options from which to choose, the reality is that patients and communities are experiencing a range of closures, cut-backs and disruptions to their local services

This reveals an NHS in a state of shambles and disorder. No one can argue that the
various assaults upon the NHS are the result of patients’ choices or the culling of inefficient services (as claimed by the prophets of market competition). They are the result of a transition from an NHS based on rational, needs-based health planning towards a health service that will increasingly be run by private
companies and guided by a capricious and unforgiving market. Centrally imposed demands to meet government targets prior to the last elections have also aided and abetted the disastrous organisational reforms to the NHS.

The Secretary of State for Health is quick to blame financial deficits on individual hospital trusts and PCTs.
But a proper analysis of the deficits and their widespread nature clearly points to problems inherent in the government’s own reforms.

The crisis in the NHS, reflected only in part by the list of closures, cut-backs and disruptions, appears to be veering out of control, and is in danger of bringing the NHS to a point of collapse. It is not inconceivable that this is the desired aim of government policy – the more avid supporters of marketisation feel that a proper market will only be established when the NHS disappears.

2010-03-31T21:20:00.002+01:00

Profits Before Patients

Under John Major.s Conservative government in 1996-97, after 18 years of Tory rule, the NHS was spending just £200 million a year on buying in treatment from private hospitals and clinics.
By 2007, if the Labour government.s current proposals are carried through, this will have increased tenfold.

New private hospitals and treatment centres are being built, with more planned, and in some cases existing NHS facilities - built with taxpayers. money, or expensively funded through the Private Finance Initiative at the expense of the NHS - are to be handed over to private sector operators as part of the new arrangements.

Private sector preference
The government plan to funnel new money preferentially into the private sector rather that adopt the cheaper and easier policy of expanding NHS provision, has led to a dramatic expansion of commercial medicine. The private health care sector in the UK has always been a relatively small and marginal operation, feeding off historic NHS waiting lists, poaching NHS staff, shunning emergencies and complex cases, and focusing exclusively on acute (short stay) services: but until recently it was running with only around half of the beds occupied in its (generally very small) hospitals. Now a massive increase in the numbers of NHS patients being
treated in private beds means that the traditional paying patients will only represent just over half of the caseload in private beds, with as many as 45% paid for by the NHS.
This is effectively a huge cash subsidy to enable the expansion of a private sector which will inevitably draw on the same pool of human and financial resources as the NHS, but divert a percentage of those resources from patient care to pay dividends to their shareholders.

To foster an expansion of private care to enable it to develop a sustainable market., ministers have set out to bring in commercial health care companies from around the world, and also offered private hospitals very generous contracts, paying up to 40% above the prevailing costs within the NHS, lavish subsidies towards start-up costs for new private hospitals, and guaranteed payment even for those private providers who treat fewer patients than planned.

Far from delivering new and expanded services and capacity the private sector is
increasingly competing to capture existing NHS caseload, diverting vital funds from
NHS to the commercial sector.

2010-03-31T21:12:00.001+01:00

What exactly is Serco?

Serco is one of a new breed of company that could be termed a ‘public sector corporation’ as approximately 98% of its turnover and revenue are derived from contracts outsourced by public bodies. These projects include operating speed cameras, electronically tagging offenders and running the Manchester Metrolink. Serco has governmental links at the highest level.ii It is involved in controversial PFIschemes, and has PFI, PPP and joint venture contracts with the MoD, Home Office and Department of Transport. It even runs airports in Iraq for the US and has counter-terrorist contracts including detecting radiological substances coming into the UK. Serco’s revenue in 2005 was £2.26bn, up 38% from the previous year, with profit before tax up 28.5%.

2010-03-31T19:18:00.004+01:00

Political Debate

There is to be a Political debate in Huntingdon during the General Election Campaign, yet only 3 of the candidates have been invited, not a democracy then?

The shameful thing is, that when the organiser was challenged by one of the other uninvited candidates, he was told in no uncertain terms that it was "a private event" although it is ticket only and the telephone was slammed down on him....

It seems to confirm that the publication that is "organising" this charade is being run so it indicates that they are indeed supporting or even maybe bank rolling the sitting M.P.
In the last few years we have heard very little from the said M.P but of course he will come out of the woodwork now it is time to get re elected.

With having a local publication inviting the M.P to a debate that clearly will be weighted in the M.P's favour and only having Lib Dem and Labour candidates to debate with, clearly it is nothing more than a rallying call to the party faithful and nothing more.
It is a shameful attempt to prevent other candidates in being recognised by the electorate and in all honesty, being that one issue to be debated is the Hospital, None of the 3 candidates are supporting our campaign.
I find it also a damning indictment that this debate subjects are just the subjects that the Independent Candidate is campaigning on. They must be concerned that the Independent Candidate will take votes away

Shameful and outrageous actions and there must be some very scared people out there if they cannot campaign cleanly so the voters can make an informed choice, not a co erced choice

2010-03-31T19:10:00.003+01:00

The Time is Near

I think the time is near, where we will be on a countdown to a General Election.
We will all need to search our souls this time we vote.
There is NO clear water between Labour and the Tories, they are one and the same.
Tory health policy, no matter what they say to your face and how they claim to be the party of the NHS, they are clearly not
While Mr Cameron was in the UK, smiling and telling voters what they wanted to hear, the author of Thatcherism was doing his usual in the USA.
What he was doing was giving the U.S based companies notice that the Tories were going to give away Public Services to the highest bidder...or Rather Sell off the NHS.
I quote
"We will implement a very systematic and powerful change agenda where hospitals compete for patients, schools compete for pupils, welfare providers compete for results in getting people out of welfare and into work." and they also offers a powerful advocacy of introducing transformational free-market principles into Britain's public sector.

PRIVATISATION.......TO YOUR NHS....NOT JUST HINCHINGBROOKE BUT THE NHS
CAN YOU AFFORD HEALTHCARE?....
VOTE FOR FREE HEALTHCARE OR VOTE FOR TORY PRIVATISATION...YOUR CHOICE

REMEMBER.....THATCHERISM IS STILL ALIVE...IT NEEDS ENDING FOR GOOD

2010-03-19T04:06:00.004Z

What's in a Title

Quite a lot in fact and some titles can be misleading.
If you listen to Radio 5 overnight you will hear a slot where Dr Karl answers listeners questions, Dr Karl is an Australian Scientist mainly Physics and in conversation he referrers to callers as "Dr" in fun.

On a more serious note, the main lead who is in fact the Commercial Director at the Strategic Health Authority or in lay terms ......the person that is charged with the task of PRIVATISING THE NHS IN EAST ANGLIA uses the title of Dr too.
Now Dr Stephen Dunn is a Doctor in the finance sector BUT NOT a Doctor of Medicine......

This obviously is MISLEADING and MAKING IT ACCEPTABLE to believe that as his title is DR then what he says is right, when in fact and like the majority of the MP's on the stakeholder panel DO NOT have the interests of Hinchingbrooke and the people of Huntingdonshire and the surrounding are, in mind

This obviously indicate that the influence of the Conservative state of Cambridgeshire has now leached and poisoned further into the local infrastructure than should be allowed.

MR DUNN, appears to be following the Conservative parties Health Policy which clearly states "Opening up the NHS to new independent and voluntary sector providers" which in lay terms is PRIVATISING THE NHS and Hinchingbrooke is the 1st one of this dangerous experiment, an experiment with OUR MONEY, OUR HEALTH AND WE HAVE NO SAY
THEY ARE HOLDING PUBLIC MEETINGS AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY MATTER, THIS SATISFIES THE NEED TO CONSULT WITH THE PUBLIC, BUT NOT THE PUBLIC WHO ARE REALLY AFFECTED BY THE OUTCOME OF THE PRIVATISATION OF HINCHINGBROOKE.

THE PROCESS STINKS....IT IS NOT TRANSPARENT....IF IT WAS THEN THE PUBLIC MEETINGS WOULD BE HELD IN EVERY MARKET TOWN AND EVERY 2 WEEKS.......AND MORE IMPORTANTLY

MR DUNN WOULD NOT BE USING THE TITLE OF DR TO COERCE THE PEOPLE OF HUNTINGDONSHIRE INTO ACCEPTING THE PRIVATISATION OF HINCHINGBROOKE........

We need to go a new way........The only way is to choose the right person to vote for in the General Election and there is ONLY one who cares about local issues.
This man is JONATHAN SALT..... a Local man, Like myself and one who cares and is prepared to fight for MORE FUNDING FOR POLICE/FIRE/EDUCATION/HEALTH & LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE - putting right what the Tories took from us in the 1980's with their swingeing cuts.....Lets be honest the Local Tory MP's have done nothing to raise this issue to fight the Labour party in the 13 years that Labour have been in power........
Let us stop the 30 YEARS OF NEGLECT - the Tories started Broken Britain, Greedy Britain, Selfish Britain & Labour carried it on, even though they pledged to return to values of old......they made new laws to combat behaviours yet did nothing to return family values and integrity.......

Vote wisely...... Vote for Independent....Vote for Jonathan Salt

2010-03-17T07:05:00.002Z

Hospitals 'should axe thousands more beds'

is what I read this morning........
A think tank....no doubt being paid outrageous sums of money claim "Reform says the NHS's focus should move away from hospital treatment as more people suffer from conditions, such as diabetes, which can be treated at home.

It says a quarter of beds could be axed to fund more personalised treatment.

The government said local health chiefs could decide, while the British Medical Association said cuts made for purely financial reasons would be "immoral".

The hospital bed count has been falling for decades, but Reforms's call represents a more rapid programme than has been seen in recent years.

There were just under 300,000 beds in 1987, but by last year that had fallen to 160,000 as advances in treatment have meant patients do not need to spend as long in hospital."

SO THAT OUTLOOK IS OKAY IN PRINCIPAL...... BUT...... BEFORE YOU CUT HOSPITAL BEDS YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH SUPPORT IN THE COMMUNITY.
IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE THIS IS NOT THE CASE AND UNDER THE CURRENT FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
EVEN IF YOU HAVE CLUSTERS OF G.P'S TO "POLICE" REFERRALS TO HOSPITALS, WHERE WILL YOU SEND THOSE WHO NEED TREATMENT?..... YOU WONT BECAUSE THE INFRASTRUCTURE DOES NOT EXIST. WE WERE TOLD IN 2006/07 THAT OPTION 2 WOULD PROVIDE CARE IN THE COMMUNITY -- AS WE SAID ---- IT DIDN'T --- SURPRISE SURPRISE....
IT APPEARS THAT IT WAS CLEARLY A SYSTEM OF SOUND BITES TO "ENCOURAGE" PATIENTS - THE TAXPAYER - NOT TO BOTHER USING THE NHS AND TO USE YOUR PHARMACIST INSTEAD.....YET THE GOVERNMENT HAVE GIVEN A CLEAR MESSAGE THAT NHS TREATMENT IS A RIGHT AND YOU WILL BE SEEN BY A GP AND IF REQUIRED YOU WILL BE TREATED WITHIN 18 WEEKS.....

THIS WILL NOT CHANGE, IF THE CONSERVATIVES SHOULD GET INTO POWER THEN THE NHS IS DOOMED, THEY HAVE PLEDGED TO
"Opening up the NHS to new independent and voluntary sector providers"

WHICH MEANS THEIR USUAL ETHOS OF PRIVATISATION ---IN OTHER WORDS A GIFT FOR THEIR CHUMS AND DONORS.....
BEFORE YOU VOTE CONSIDER THIS...... IF YOUR NHS OR PARTS OF YOUR NHS ARE PRIVATISED....WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE AFTER 10/20 YEARS?....
TO GET THE ANSWER.....LOOK AT THE ROADS,RAILS,WATER.ELECTRIC/GAS....WHAT KIND OF SERVICE DO YOU GET FROM THEM NOW.... VERY POOR...IF YOU CAN GET ANYWHERE,CHEAPLY AND WHEN YOU WANT TO AT THE PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD...
THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE NHS IF THE TORIES GET THEIR WAY....STOP THEM FROM RUINING YOUR HEALTH CARE......
THEIR 1ST ATTEMPT WAS CONTRACT CLEANING....THEN WE GOT SUPER BUGS DUE TO SHORTCUTS & LACK OF CLEANING MATERIALS, SO THAT SHAREHOLDER CAN BE PAID BONUSES....THE REAL SCANDAL IS.....THAT THE RECENT DEEP CLEAN OF HOSPITALS WAS PAID FOR BY US....WHY WASN'T THE BILL FOR THIS SHARED AMONGST THE CLEANING CONTRACTORS THAT CLEARLY HAD NOT DONE THE JOB PROPERLY FOR MANY YEARS?...
IN SCOTLAND THEY HAVE TAKEN CLEANING BACK IN HOUSE AND THEIR HOSPITALS ARE NOW CLEAN, THOROUGHLY CLEAN....
THE NHS IS THE POOR COUSIN, IT GETS THE RAW DEAL AND IS USED FOR EXPERIMENTATION.
CAR PARKING IS FREE IN WALES AND SCOTLAND....WHY NOT ENGLAND TOO....PRESCRIPTIONS ARE FREE IN SCOTLAND AND WALES- WHY NOT ENGLAND...?

2010-03-09T18:36:00.003Z

Serco

This company is in the running as possible Franchisee to run Hinchingbrooke
This company have run Yarlswood Detention Centre since 2007, they cannot run that properly so what mess would they make of Hinchingbrooke

In April 2009, the Children's Commissioner for England published a report which stated that children held in the detention centre are denied urgent medical treatment, handled violently and left at risk of serious harm. The report details how children are transported in caged vans and watched by opposite sex staff as they dress.

A demonstration organised by Detainee Solidarity London Network was held on 12th February 2010 outside the Serco office in Holborn, London where a number of supporters and activists gathered to protest against the detention of women at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre.
The peaceful demonstration was staged in response to the treatment of women in detention at Yarl’s Wood who began a hunger strike on 5th February in protest against their prolonged detention.

The Testimony Project was represented at the protest, joining individual protestors and other organisations showing solidarity with Yarl’s Wood’s women. Among the organisations represented were No Borders London, SOAS and King’s College Detainee Support Groups, Feminist Fightback and Worker’s Liberty.

An activist from No Borders London commented on how important it is for detainees resisting on the inside to know that people are resisting in solidarity with them on the outside.

According to Feminist Fightback and the Campaign against Immigration Control, the hunger strike was called off on Tuesday, 9th February in the afternoon when officers broke up the strike and arrested four women who were the supposed leaders of the movement. These women have not yet been returned to Yarl’s Wood.

Outside the offices of Serco, the private company that manages Yarl’s Wood on behalf of the UKBA, supporters spoke of the conditions that the women on strike had been subject to. Some were trapped in a corridor for long hours without amenities whilst others were trapped outside in the snow. Women also say they were verbally and physically assaulted, racially abused and denied medical assistance.

Is this what we want for our Family members and fellow citizens......?

No if course we don't- Yet the Serco managers have allowed this to happen

If we don't oppose this proposal then we could have this at Hinchingbrooke

Stop the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke and the NHS.......

2010-03-03T14:39:00.003Z

Cambridge congestion charge plans on hold
Another Cambridgeshire mess up......

Plans for a congestion charge in Cambridge have been put on hold after the government announced it was scrapping a scheme set up to fund it.

Cambridgeshire County Council had bid for £500m from the government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) to pay for congestion-cutting projects.

AND........ With £40m overspend on the guided bus, this puts the Hinchingbrooke historic debt into perspective......
The Process to Franchise/Outsource or whatever they want to call it....should stop new.
Mr Cameron says Reform......he means Privatise.... He says Co-operatives of Public Sector staff ca run some services.....he means Privatise....
The last 2 Tory Governments Privatised Public bodies.....you now pay more for worse services.....Your Gas/Electric/Trains/Buses/Water/Telephones to name a few have all suffered the fate of Privatisation......
So should they now Privatise Cambridgeshire County Council?....But then they wouldn't would they....They are a Tory Council......
Double Standards again......

2010-02-28T20:04:00.002Z

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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

2010-02-26T13:30:00.002Z

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......

2010-02-25T18:37:00.002Z

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........

2010-02-25T12:36:00.002Z

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

2010-02-18T21:24:00.003Z

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?.........

2010-02-17T17:23:00.001Z

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............

2010-01-17T10:12:00.003Z

Mr Lansley and the £21,000 donation

Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign heard of this yesterday and read the article in the Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243579/Andrew-Lansley-embroiled-cash-influence-row-accepting-21-000-donation-Care-UK-chairman-John-Nash.html

Needless to say, we are very concerned by this news.........and it needs to be put into context.....

The latest plan from the SHA is as you all know......to try and get another party, either an NHS Trust
or more preferable to the SHA a PRIVATE HEALTHCARE COMPANY with links to the USA or
Canada, to manage the hospital. There have been some issues and it has been decided that the Staff,
Buildings and capital will remain in the NHS, only the management will change, however there are still
issues with this as any new management could still outsource departments to one of their other
companies under a Retainment Of Employment model.
Now Mr Lansley is a member of the Stakeholder Panel along with 39 others, we were not invited to
be members, I wonder why?.
The Stakeholder Panel began their work last October 2009 and the usual introductions and aims were
shared. Now Mr Lansley accepted a £21,000 donation in November 2009, this was from Care UK.
The Stakeholder group have let the Expressions of Interest advertisement be placed and expressions have
now been tabled by 6 organisations, one NHS Trust and 5 Private health companies all mainly based in
the USA and Canada (surprise surprise). One of these was.....Care UK.......
With Care UK making a donation to a member of the Stakeholder panel, we at Save Hinchingbrooke are now calling for the Chair and the SHA to STOP THE PROCESS NOW.....
If the SHA is determined to press on with the process then we suggest that Mr Lansley resigns from the panel forthwith and Care UK withdraw their expression of interest. There should also be a full review of how the stakeholder panel was made up and any expressions of interests fully declared.

This does prove, before any general election has taken place that the Conservative party are going to
press ahead and break up the NHS for their friends and business..........
Just like they did for finance/buses/rail etc in the 80's/90's ...
look what happened to those industries.....we are suffering today....service is worse and pockets are lined

Leave the NHS alone.........KEEP IT PUBLIC

2010-01-17T09:53:00.002Z

Its been a while.........

Since I have posted and that is because not much has occurred at Hinchingbrooke Hospital,
other than the re opening of the wards to the rear of the hospital.
Yes these are the wards that were threatened under the PCT's great Option 2.....where
care was going to be provided in the community........clearly...as we said
IT DOESN'T WORK.......IT WONT WORK.....WITHOUT INVESTMENT
hence why there is a need to provide facilities for the elderly in hospitals or locally
funded public care homes.
The Stakeholder panel have met and expressions of interest in taking on the management of the
hospital and as you all know, Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign, oppose this stupid format.
This is only a means for the East Of England Strategic Health Authority to see if the private
sector is a means to assist the NHS and to give Dr Dunn's position sone credibility in the mean time
The end game, should another management team be chosen, will be that they will make money and
the historic debt will never be paid off.......AND the SHA will then write off the debt, claiming that
they have tried to but matters have not worked out as planned.......and ruin the Hospital as a consequence

The PCT have exhumed their Option 2 ideas again, suggesting that Care In The Community is the way forward
Dr Cox was used as the "face of NHS Cambridgeshire" in December suggesting that it is a radical plan that will
assist NHS Cambridgeshire to reduce it's historic debt and also added that to many of us were still using
hospitals..........Well Dr Cox and NHS Cambridgeshire....savings are closer to home....
NHS Cambridgeshire should centralise their Administration base in Huntingdon rather than having sseveral
local offices with duplicated staff. Localised community services could be run out of GP surgeries among other
things Option 2 doesn't and will never work in the format that was proposed in 2006 and again in 2009

2009-10-05T16:45:00.002+01:00

3 Years On

It is 3 years tomorrow when we all marched to Save Hinchingbrooke Hospital and I fear
that we will be doing the same again.
This time it will be to stop the Franchise and ultimately Privatisation of
Hinchingbrooke Hospital..........
Our local MP is for the Franchise although he claims that the process should be carried
through, however that is a sit on the fence approach, rather than a this is where I stand
approach.
His party has pledged to offer "free" social care if you pay one of their pals in city, £8000 "up
front guv" so you can have heathcare in your old age..... WHAT..... that is akin to NHS Cambs
Option 2........ you can have care........perhaps, possibly, maybe or then as Option 2 maybe NOT....

The main issue with the 2 old firm parties is that they love to collect statistics (this was started by
the Thatcher government and carried on since by Blair and Brown) as a means to "bash" the other
party with figures, now the Lib Dems want to stop this pathetic data collection scenario and
with the £50m per year saving invest in Healthcare..... which would you choose?.......

Lets fight to keep Hinchingbrooke in the Public Sector and not allow it to be sucked into
the Private sector by stealth........

2009-09-10T07:30:00.001+01:00

Tory MPs back expansion of private sector role in NHS - read here -

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4123494&c=2

So this would mean 8 of the 40 member Stakeholder on the Panel are in agreement before
the process is underway - shame on you - You came out to support
the Save Campaign as it suited your purpose at that time
Now is the time to do it again, revisit your principals and
not the party line.......

and support Local People NOT National or International
Profits instead of Patient Care......

2009-09-10T07:21:00.002+01:00

From the Guardian -

The NHS is about care, not markets

Downsizing the workforce is a business response to loss of profit – but it doesn't account for the

NHS goal of universal healthcare

Read Here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/03/nhs-business-markets

2009-09-03T08:22:00.002+01:00

NHS workforce cuts plan rejected

On the news today NHS workforce reductions have been rejected following a report
by yet another firm of Management Consultants at high cost to the Taxpayer.
McKinsey and Company tell how 37,000 clinical and admin posts can help the
NHS to save £20Bn
Not being one not to have an opinion on this, I have to add that CUTS are
not an option, with the population getting even more elderly and with older
people being accepted for Transplant donors, we need to keep spending
on staff and patients.
One means of saving is to streamline some services to G.P's but that would need
more funding in that area to release Secondary Care providers (hospitals) to
be more efficient.
This is what Option 2 for Hinchingbrooke was suppose to go somewhere to achieve
BUT it was never funded properly and was probably as poor funded as the Care
in The Community for the elderly too, that was given £2.2m token to provide a
service, needless to say, The Campaign said that £22m would be needed to achieve
that plan and we were right, Care in The Community is on it's knees and joint budgets
with the County Council are the order of the day, that together gives the Commissioners,
NHS Cambridgeshire, to fragment the service they provide to the Private sector.

The best way to save NHS resources is to cut the Target culture, reduce the need for
many of the Targets, which have been with us since the Thatcher era as a means for
each Political party to score points against each other, this must stop NOW.
With Targets going then admin and managerial jobs will go, but with some Foundation
Trusts looking to go to 7 day working then those staff could "shift" across to another Trust.
Private Contactor's are not the way forward, recently Sunlight, the Laundry provider for
some local Trusts have been cutting back on the collection of dirty laundry and in one
case bags containing soiled laundry were left on the ground and not in cages, awaiting
collection.....in the hot sunshine which weakens the plastic bags leaving them vulnerable
to be investigated by rodents and other vermin. Again Profit before Patients
and providinga service, this is why Private Companies should be OUT of the NHS.

Privatisation has not worked with the Railways, it is a shambles and recently National Express
decided to pull out of their contact as they couldn't make enough money from the East Coast Main line........

Will Private companies jump ship from the NHS?.... of course they will
The aim of Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign in conjunction with Keep Our NHS Public and
the Hinchingbrooke Staff Unions, is to

Keep Hinchingbrooke in Public Hands, run by
Local People For Local People...........

2009-09-02T12:26:00.004+01:00

Stakeholder Meeting 1

Campaign members will be at today's show meeting to launch the "Franchise" of Hinchingbrooke

Needless to say it will be a P.R exercise at this first meeting,
we will be presenting our Anti Franchise
petition ,which was signed by the people of Huntingdon and surrounding area,
at a later meeting

With the Franchise mechanism meaning that this will be a Transparent and Scrutinised
process then it will be doomed to fail and a waste of taxpayers money and NHS resources...
...a bit like PCTOption 2 for Hinchingbrooke that was put in place in 2007..........
will the instigators please stand up....

All in all the Franchise exercise is a slap in the face and betrayal of the
Hinchingbrooke staff and the Huntingdonshire people....Again........
This is nothing but a political pawn so the Tory's show that they support Private
Healthcare, I am not a supporter of the Tories nor the Labour party nor indeed of
any of the Political parties.
Care UK and the Private Healthcare bodies have already rejected the idea of
the Franchise as the scheme is not flexible enough for them OR in Private Health
Care speak, they wont make enough money.
The Hinchingbrooke deal will mean that the Assets and Staff will remain in the
NHS so that means Private companies Can't cut the staff salaries nor sub contract
parts of the hospital for Private use.......

We wait and see the process begin........and during this time we will have a
General Election.....But which of the parties will be brave enough to stop the process
and who will be brave enough to attend a Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign Public Meeting
....watch this space for dates/times

2009-09-02T06:58:00.000+01:00

Today is the day

The Stakeholder Committee meets today, the Favoured 40, now with 40 People on the panel how can they make a decision?......

I have been asked by others "How can I join the Panel", that is asked when they see the list of members of the Panel

They haven't even invited me on the Panel, the man who started the campaign to keep Hinchingbrooke from
closing, enough said............

2009-08-27T18:44:00.001+01:00

Sent to me today by e-mail..........

Why 9 MP's?

14 (count them) councillors

And Half a dozen Health Service Senior managers....

Quite obviously NOT a decision making committee then!!!!

40 people, me wonders how often we'll see them all?

2009-08-26T18:27:00.002+01:00

Here is the list.....................
BUT WHO WILL REPRESENT LOCAL PEOPLE...............NO ONE

Hinchingbrooke Stakeholder Panel – Membership List

1. Dr Andrew Wright, Chair of Hunts Comm (Practice-based GP commissioning
consortium)
2. Dr Catherine Hubbard, Chair of Medical Advisory Committee, Hinchingbrooke Hospital
3. Mr Hisham Abdel-Rahman Chair of the Local Negotiating Council (LNC),
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
4. Ann Seeds, Chair of Trust Staff Council and RCN representative, Hinchingbrooke
Hospital
5. Chris Marshall, Trust Staff Council member, Hinchingbrooke Hospital
6. Phil Green (Unison), Regional TU Officer for Hinchingbrooke hospital
7. Tracey Lambert (Unison), representative Full time TU officer for Social Partnership
Forum
8. David Monks, Chief Executive, Huntingdonshire District Council (Panel Chair)
9. Cllr Steve Criswell/ Cllr Ian Bates, Huntingdonshire District Council
10. Tim Pilsbury, Chief Executive, Fenland District Council
11. Member of Fenland District Council
12. Greg Harlock, Chief Executive, South Cambridgeshire District Council
13. Cllr Ray Manning, Leader of the Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council
14. John Hill, Chief Executive, East Cambs District Council
15. Member of East Cambs District Council
16. Rod Craig, Executive Director: Community and Adult Services, Cambridgeshire
County Council
17. Member of Cambs County Council
18. Karen Cameron, Town Clerk, Hunts Town Council
19. Member of Hunts Town Council
20. Antoinette Jackson, Chief Executive, Cambridge City Council
21. Member of Cambridge City Council
22. Ian Dewer, County Executive Officer, Cambs and Peterborough Association of Local
Councils
23. Alistair Burt MP – North East Beds
24. Jonathan Djanogly MP – Hunts
25. Malcolm Moss MP – North East Cambs
26. Shailesh Vara MP – North West Cambs
27. Andrew Lansley MP – South Cambs, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
28. James Paice MP – South East Cambs
29. Sir David Howarth MP - Cambridge
30. Patrick Hall MP – Bedford
31. Nadine Dorries MP – mid-Beds
32. June Griffiths, Chair, Friends of Hinchingbrooke Hospital
33. Patrick, Chair of Huntingdon Community Group
34. Mrs Ruth Clapham Cambridgeshire LINk representative contact for Hinchingbrooke
Hospital
35. Jessica Bawden, Director of Communications, NHS Cambridgeshire
36. Tom Dutton, Assistant Director Strategy and Delivery, NHS Cambridgeshire
37. Andrew MacPherson, Director of Strategic Projects, NHS East of England
38. Mark Millar, Chief Executive, Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust
39. Anita Pisani, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change,
Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust
40. Julie Farrow, Chief Executive, Hunts Forum

2009-08-26T13:23:00.002+01:00

Well done Hinchingbrooke....... but why did you need to help ?

My mother takes a Cancer drug and up to recently has had no problems in obtaining this via prescription
from the pharmacies in Huntingdon.
2 months ago, matters got so that one pharmacy could not get her required medication, so she went
elsewhere and then the drug was unobtainable there too, so she tried another and was informed that
"we can't get this anymore, go back to your G.P.........
So she did and the result ended where the prescription was raised and dispensed at Hinchingbrooke
hospital, so a big thank you to all at Woodlands and Pharmacy.

BUT......... WHY and WHO is responsible for the medication being unavailable at local pharmacies......

Is it the PCT or Drug Companies...........?

My mothers drug is expensive so perhaps it is the PCT saying NO.............OR
Could ot be the Drugs companies, refusing to supply branded drugs in small quantities to
pharmacies on the back of the "Generic Drugs" policy of the PCT.........

I will be writing to the PCT to get their feedback on this issue..............

Today...........26th August 2009...........My Father was also told a drug he takes for his Eyes is
unavailable, same scenario as my mother, he is now awaiting a call from his very helpful G.P

SO WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE ?

2009-08-21T13:51:00.001+01:00

Who is on the "Stakeholder Panel"?

I have been asked this by many members of the public who have called me to find out the answer to the
question............

So will the Stakeholder Panel members.......Please Stand Up and identify themselves........!!!!!

I have not been invited to a member of the Panel.....so as the leader of the Campaign which stopped the closure
of Hinchingbrooke Hospital & opposed to the Ill Fated Option 2 (started but clearly proved not workable or
sustainable).......... my input in the process is not welcome

2009-08-20T07:08:00.000+01:00

From The BBC Website

"Before the process starts, an independently-chaired Stakeholder Panel is being set up to represent the interests of local people and Hinchingbrooke Hospital staff at every stage"

UNTIL THE SAVE HINCHINGBROOKE CAMPAIGN IS ON THE PANEL, LOCAL PEOPLE
WILL NOT BE REPRESENTED..........

2009-08-20T06:58:00.002+01:00

We Have Never Been Away

Well the Campaign has not stopped, we have been busy, waiting in the wings for the Franchise process to be
announced.

We are now on Twitter to so follow us - http://twitter.com/SaveHinchNHS

We also have an Anti Franchise Petition which was signed by the people of Huntingdon to deliver to the Panel, with
a copy to No 10.....

There will be Public Meetings, where Panel members and M.P's as well as other speakers will be invited to
attend and these will be of the "Question Time" format.

2009-05-23T07:33:00.004+01:00

New revelation.....

"Shadow business secretary Jonathan Djanogly's £5,000 claim for a set of automatic gates to his home" was published today by the Telegraph, now under the rules there has been no wrong doing, it has to be argued that are/were the rules right?......And should these people be given the right to be M.P's?

Use your vote on June 4th..... Vote the sitting MEP's and Councillors.....OUT....new blood and new support for the NHS and the Campaign...

2008-10-16T06:50:00.002+01:00

This says it all..................

Information for patients

Our assessments look at how well healthcare organisations perform in a number of different areas of interest to patients and the public. The scores below show how many of our assessments were met for Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust.

Safety and cleanliness: 12/13
Standard of care: 8/9
Waiting to be seen: 11/12
Dignity and respect: 9/10
Keeping the public healthy: 5/5
Good management: 16/17

LOOK AT THE MANAGEMENT RATING....................

It has got to be a NO.................. to the ill conceived franchise scheme & write off the debt

Lets be frank look at the mess all the privatised utilities and companies are in yet alone the Thatcher deregulated industries like buses and BANKS...............

2008-10-15T09:26:00.002+01:00

Well Done

Hinchingbrooke Hospital do it again................top marks from the Healthcare commission but still a black mark over the historic debt.

Our stance is vindicated that the current board does NOT need replacing by a franchise

What is needed now is for Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson to do the decent thing...........

Help Hinchingbrooke out like you have helped the irresponsible banking "industry", but not to the
tune of £50bn but to the tune of £38m, wipe out the debt your policies caused .

DO IT NOW........................................YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE............

2008-09-30T09:41:00.005+01:00

NEXT..........

The next event for the Stop the Franchise will be a public meeting in Huntingdon.

The campaign is to organise a "Question Time" type meeting where members of the Public, all NHS users, can come and ask questions to the assembled panel of where they and their Party/Organisation stand on the Franchise/Privatisation issue.

Watch this space for a date and the panel members, we are hoping to have members from all of the political parties, local politicians, NHS staff, Union leaders and one special speaker for the night.

2008-09-30T09:18:00.003+01:00

UP FOR GRABS..............

its published, the report that TELLS IT AS IT IS.............................

This detailed report tells you the ludicrous idea the Government & SHA have
to Franchise out Hinchingbrooke and why this is wrong and unworkable.

READ IT AND ASK YOUR MP where he stands on this issue................

Maybe next time you get the chance to vote you will choose differently?

Click on the link in the side bar for UP FOR GRABS..........

2008-09-27T17:45:00.002+01:00

The Countdown

October 4th is almost with us and this is the start of the main campaign

to STOP THE PRIVATISATION & FRANCHISE of HINCHINGBROOKE HOSPITAL

The body Keep Our NHS Public has been working for sometime on this issue and the
mainstays of the local group are Unison branches along with other Trades Council members.

The main focus is to let the public know and to understand what this "Franchise" will mean for them and for their NHS.

It recently came to light that our Strategic Health Authority in their wisdom decided to follow a Department Of Health led initiative and suggest that due to the financial position of Hinchingbrooke Hospital it would be a candidate for the Government's ill conceived "Franchise" system
This would mean that Hinchingbrooke Hospital could be managed and run by a local Foundation trust or a Private company.
Now many of us have reservations about Private involvement in health care whether you are political or not and our Hospital was in threat of closure in 2006, until that is the local people signed petitions and walked the streets.

The latest idea as I have said is to look at the franchise system, however what they not said is that when they happen to decide to go to a Consultation there will be ONLY one choice, what they are saying is that they will choose who will run Hinchingbrooke and you have to agree with as there is no other option, not only that they have already said that the "preferred" bidder for this franchise will get MORE ACTIVITY AND A LARGER TARIFF, that means in the last 2 years they have taken work and money from Hinchingbrooke they are going to give the
people who they give the franchise to MORE WORK AND MORE MONEY than
Hinchingbrooke get................

WE SAY - STOP WASTING PUBLIC MONEY, WIPE HINCHINGBROOKE'S DEBT
AND PAY THEM THE CORRECT TARIFF..............................

AND LEAVE THE HOSPITAL ALONE.......

Dont forget to join the March on the 4th October 2008 and please sign our Petition
we need your names as we are going to submit this to the SHA and copy it to the
Department Of Health and take it to N0 10 Downing Street...........

2008-07-24T08:22:00.004+01:00

Be There

OCTOBER 4th 2008.......................

Be There if you care.............

Be There if you want Your NHS to be the best.............

Be There if you want NO More Local Health Cuts..........

2008-07-19T08:09:00.002+01:00

Another "Preferred" bidder messes up............

Well yet another Government initiative has messed up, this time it's Education.

The up coming Students have not received their sats results...........they should not be paid for

this debacle and their contract should be made void.

Again it is Government cost cutting that has failed and a Private Company who are just seeing the pound signs and NOT delivering the goods.

We would expect the same if we allow Hinchingbrooke to be "Franchised" off without a FULL public consultation and why don't the SHA & PCT want a public consultation......

Because they know what the public want.................

Hinchingbrooke in the NHS and run by the NHS and not by the PCT another Trust or some fly by night Private company........

2008-07-17T08:53:00.002+01:00

Thanks to the Hinchingbrooke Staff & the Other NHS staff

I just want to add a personal note here, something I do not normally do.

My father underwent a Heart Valve operation at Papworth Hospital on the 3rd July 2008, he was

sent home on the 8th July 2008..........yes 5 days later.........

On the 12th July 2008 he suffered a Stroke, I happened to be with him when this happened and

thanks to the Switchboard and the Ambulance crew he was admitted quickly into the care of the staff at Hinchingbrooke.

Subsequently he ended up on MAU under Mr Borland's care and was diagnosed as having a stroke, he is now recovering on the Magnolia Ward and is doing quite well.

Can I just express my thanks to all that have dealt with my father over the past few days and thank goodness that we saved Hinchingbrooke from closure

2008-07-17T08:48:00.002+01:00

The OSC agree with us................

They agree that any Consultation that is put to the public is a Sham..........let's be honest here

the SHA and PCT want to give us a choice of a "preferred" bidder, which means they are going

to tell us who they want to run Hinchingbrooke........that's a franchise then..........and then we get

consulted on it.............mmm.....that stinks.

There is ONLY one way to have a fair consultation...........let the public decide

And there is really ONLY one PREFERENCE..........KEEP IT IN HOUSE...........

2008-07-01T10:52:00.002+01:00

Quality is the key........Alan Johnson says...........

Tell us the Truth and what you really want Mr Johnson, lets face it you keep sending mixed

messages.

3 weeks ago you claimed that there could be a "Franchise" arrangement for "Failing Hospitals"

and how unfortunate was it that Hinchingbrooke was used as an example.

It is a Top 40 Hospital in the UK and is in the Top 5 for Patient satisfaction so they meet the

QUALITY criteria that was laid out yesterday.

Let me broaden the argument, 3 weeks ago it was Hinchingbrooke bashing due to the Government induced historic debt which moves Hinchingbrooke to fill a "Failing" criteria

yet on the 30th June 2008........Hinchingbrooke would qualify for £7-9m extra funding due

to the quality of its services...............so in essence, if Hinchingbrooke were given say £7m this year 2008/09 and kept the performance to receive the same amount in 2009/10 that would

in effect clear the £14m historic debt..............

So why do we need a "Franchise" or Takeover?.................er we don't.............

ON FRIDAY 4TH JULY, THERE IS A MEETING BETWEEN THE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE AND HINCHINGBROOKE.............

IN THE PAPERS FOR THE MEETING THERE IS HIDDEN THE CASE FOR THE "TAKEOVER" BUT AND THIS IS A BIG BUT...............THERE WILL BE A CONSULTATION BUT NOT A FULL ONE AND AFTER THIS "ARRANGEMENT" HAS BEEN SORTED OUT

IT IS LIKE BEING IN ZIMBABWE ..........ONLY ONE OUTCOME.................

WE NEED TO ACT NOW..........

2008-06-30T15:57:00.002+01:00

Quality ranking key to NHS funds

Patients' rating of the quality of their NHS care will affect hospitals' and GPs'

funding in England in the future, ministers have announced.

Information on service quality is also set to be displayed on "dashboards" in hospitals, GP surgeries and on the web.

For example, quality-linked funding could make up between £7-9m of the average district general hospital's budget of around £250m within a few years.

COME ON THEN MR BROWN..........HINCHINGBROOKE IS IN THE TOP 5 FOR QUALITY IN THE PATIENTS

SURVEY............COUGH UP NOW AND CLEAR THE DEBT......STOP THE STUPID FRANCHISE PLAN

2008-06-27T11:47:00.002+01:00

The NHS will be 60 on the 5th July...............

Will it be a Happy Birthday ?

The NHS was born on 5^th July 1948 and was the “child” of Nye Bevan and at the time a sorely needed service to the Welfare state.

Much has evolved over her 60 years and most of the , some say unwelcome, changes have happened since the 1980's, mostly due to more administration and targets and less to do with patients. Many NHS staff and supporters think that these changes are merely political interference and the NHS being used as a political pawn.

That aside there have been many new surgery techniques, drugs and working practices adopted and there have been many Department of Health enforced changes to staff roles in the 60 years.

So all is looking rosy for the elderly lady then?

It was not until the 1980's when the then Thatcher government managed to get is hands on the NHS did we see the foundations of the current NHS problems start and the beginning of Targets and G.P fund holders and these were also accompanied by some staff changes, at that time some staff posts were ended such as Matron's and not much fuss was made.

Mrs Thatcher used the targets to beat the opposition in Parliament for some years with the “we can run the NNS better than you” message. Meanwhile she was planning to Privatise the NHS by the back-door, under the noses of the Patients who were wrapped up in their tax cuts, high interest rates (17%) and getting a job (3 million unemployed).

She did begin privatisation by introducing the Compulsory Competitive Tendering system which affected both the NHS and Local government, as can bee seen even today we are still suffering from this legacy, some Councils still have contract Bin men and many NHS hospital’s have Contract cleaners. This idea was sold to the people on the basis that it would be cheaper and would promote efficiencies, in reality we know the results, MRSA and other superbugs due to shortcuts and poor cleaning methods and also it isn't cheaper either in the long run, How much has it cost the Taxpayer for the recent “Deep Clean” exercise? And why were the cleaning companies not penalised and forced to pay up for the bill from their unearned profits they have already banked?.

This system has allowed certain companies to get in the door of the NHS to milk the NHS finances, putting profits before patients and nothing more.

When the Labour party won in 1997, many thought that Mr Blair would be the saviour of the NHS and he did have a good start by injecting more funding into the NHS.

But and there is a big BUT............ The Labour party and indeed Mr Blair himself wanted to follow some of the Thatcher principles and he used the Target culture against the Conservative opposition and he made sure there were over 200 more targets to meet.

The effect of this has been more data collection and the increased investment in the NHS has been wasted on more Administration and Management, rather than to Patient care to satisfy this unending greed for statistics to enable more political clout in parliament and for nothing more.

There have been many new treatments and drugs pioneered and with the imbalance of the weighted head per capita funding a “postcode lottery” has been introduced so that many patients cannot benefit from these treatments. This imbalance is nothing short of criminal and should be addressed as should future projections for the ageing population.

There have been many reorganisations at the Strategic Health and Primary Care levels and these have seen on the Strategic Health area redundancy payments from the 2006 reshuffle, which amounted to £80m yes £80m, what a waste of NHS funds.

Another idea that the Thatcher government introduced in the 1980's was the Private Finance Initiative, when they were in power it was just an idea and on the face of it, it does appear to satisfy the requirement to build new Hospital's but when it is assessed fully it is another waste of NHS cash.

A local example is the Treatment Centre at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, super building, modern, clean and easy to access, the original costs were set as £19m but rose to £22m, this will in fact lead to a final cost over the 30 year contract to the building alone costing £93m yet alone the extra “soft fm” costs of domestics and porters on top. This is just but one example and there are many more across the NHS.

What Next?

The Government have now got a marketisation agenda for England and this is not aimed directly at the Secondary sector (Hospital's) as many are of Foundation Status, but at Primary care level, the level most of us use.

Your G.P, community services and your healthcare is at risk from this attack, with these plans the “son of PFI”, LiFT, will surge forward and linked to the Darzi report, which sees the new Polyclinic scenario; where there are many G.P's and other services are provided in a “one stop shop”.

Some provided by private healthcare companies such a Virgin (What they know about Healthcare is beyond me, they are well known as company who see an opportunity and then take it and then when the profits are not as projected they pull out – like they did in the Power provider and Music shop sectors) .

These centres will probably work in certain areas where there are few G.P's and in a city environment but when in rural areas it will be to the detriment of patients.

There is a current campaign going on locally to Save Papworth Surgery, it is threatened with closure and the people of Papworth, home to the famous Heart hospital will have to travel 8 miles to see a G.P, that is outrageous.

Lord Darzi would do well visit Cuba where they have effective Polyclinics and they also have G.P's working in the system too, and see how that model works.

There are also other areas where the private sector try to ease their way into the NHS, Support Services, by this I mean Sterile services and Pathology labs and the like, locally again there was proposed a “network” of NHS trusts to have a Private company run a “centralised” Sterile service in Thrapston to serve some local trusts with decontaminating surgical instruments, this has now been shelved as Trusts pulled out of the process one by one, you only have to look at the current transport costs and other cost factors to see why.

As for Pathology, there was a proposal in 2007 to have ALL of Cambridgeshire's community blood tests done at Newmarket in Suffolk by a Horse Racing lab, a company was going to be set up of which Addenbrookes in Cambridge would have had a large interest, this would have led to increased blood test turnaround times(from hours to result to days to results), with extra traffic on the roads and now with increased transport costs an increase in the tariff collected would have already been passed onto the G.P's and PCT's. Not cost effective at all and again to the detriment of patients.

This is a big issue with letting Private companies in on the NHS, they as has been proved before with cleaning contracts, only there for PROFIT, they do not care for Patients one iota.

There are some Government ministers and the CBI who claim that the Independent Treatment Centres provide value to the NHS, when in fact they cherry pick easy procedures which give maximum profit and it is well known that for 10 procedures done in an ISTC, 11 are performed for the same cost in the NHS. The other complicated cases are left for the NHS to mop up.

Lets be brutally honest, look at the mess the railways are in, the contract cleaning and other privatised services they are not run efficiently or are cost effective, just a means to satisfy a shareholder profit and blow the service they provide to us the “customer”.

To monitor the performance of these companies it is left to Public companies to have their own system to check on their contractors, again another necessary financial burden.

If the Government get their way here the NHS will be like the Royal Mail, it will bankrupt itself. It will left be that the NHS will only having funding for the complicated procedures and Private companies who the rest of the work, this will result increased costs for the NHS and boom....bust and yes this will happen if they are allowed to get away with it.

The final part of this issue is the latest Government idea, to Franchise out “Failing Hospital's”. They haven't yet said what the definition of a failing hospital is, but on the day of their announcement saw fit to use Hinchingbrooke Hospital as an example.

Naturally the terminology “Failing Hospital” seems unkind as Hinchingbrooke are in the UK's Top 40 hospitals and in the Top 5 for Patient care, so why are they considered to be failing? I understand that naturally, Hinchingbrooke are unhappy about this unfortunate terminology.

It would appear, for Hinchingbrooke that it has been categorised as Failing because of the Labour government caused, Historic debt. The government is solely to blame for this due to the way their policy and strategy changes they have implemented along with their constant reorganisation of the NHS since 2000 which has caused hardship for All District General Hospital's in the UK and given the Foundation Trusts more freedom to go for a market based environment should they choose to.

Now to make sure that the NHS continues to provide free healthcare and be sustainable too, we need to remove necessary targets, remove Private involvement, stop PFI, fund it equally across the UK and argue the case for this valuable Public service

Nye Bevan said 60 years ago “ The NHS will only survive while there are people willing to fight for it”, this is not just a Trade Union issue, not just a Local councillor issue, not just a Politicians issue it is a Citizenship issue, one we ALL need to embrace and fight for this service before they take it away from US, it's OUR NHS...........leave it alone and in public hands

2008-06-06T15:56:00.002+01:00

SHA statement regarding Hinchingbrooke

Well our friends at the SHA, in a statement to Radio Cambridgeshire

claim that the replacement of the Hinchingbrooke Trust board

was agreed at last years PCT consultation...................

WELL, I AM SORRY TO INFORM THEM THAT BEFORE

THEY ISSUE STATEMENTS THEY GET THEIR FACTS

CORRECT............

THE CONSULTATION CONTAINED A CAVEAT THAT

SUGGESTED THAT CONSIDERATION COULD BE GIVEN

TO DISSOLVE THE TRUST BOARD IN 2009 NOT THE

"DONE DEAL" AS HINTED BY THE SHA.

We believe that the Government should also revisit their

statement and clarify a "failing" hospital..............

Hinchingbrooke is a Top 40 hospital in the the UK in

the Top 5 for patient satisfaction and under the patient

choice system more people including former senior

staff members are using this wonderful facility............

The fight goes on to keep this Hospital in the NHS and not

farmed off to a.n other to try and pay off the government

induced historic debt................

Please read "Caught in the Crossfire" it shows clearly

how Hinchingbrooke was "bullied" into it's current financial

situation by Government policy changes.................

The NHS is a month away from being 60 and its founder said

"The NHS will only survive for as long as people fight for it."

and by golly we will fight for it.................

2008-06-04T11:37:00.003+01:00

New Government Plans

We said this would happen.............in 2006

The government have now a crazy plan to allow private companies and or Foundation Trusts to take over "failing" Hospitals and run them...........

So with Hinchingbrooke, where will they go?

Is it a failing hospital?............well it's in the Top 40............so, No then

MRSA a problem.............NO..............so, no problem there then

Finance................yes a Historical debt that needs to be sorted out......but,

WHO CAUSED IT.........................The Government, the very ones who want to sort out

the failing hospitals, how about sorting the failing government policies?

We say leave Hinchingbrooke alone and let them carry on with their current board and

organisation and negotiate a way to sort out the debt

2008-05-13T18:31:00.002+01:00

Well at last!!

The East of England Strategic Health Authority agree with us...........................

on 12th May 2008 they claimed...........that.....

Ensure all 17 Acute Trusts will keep an obstetric unit, with a co-located midwife-led unit
Guarantee one-to-one midwifery care in established labour by recruiting at least 160 more
midwives

Maximise care for ill babies by increasing level 3 intensive care cots, increasing
the number of level 1 special care units and reducing the number of level 2 high
dependency units

Ensure all 17 Acute Trusts will continue to have an A&E department

Make access easier by creating a new memorable telephone number for urgent care and
ensuring consistent triage across all services

Create a series of Urgent Care Centres

Work towards providing 24/7 access to a fuller range of key acute services

There is too much unfairness in health -

There is a region wide life expectancy difference of 10 years across the region, looked after
children tend to have very poor health compared to the rest of us and there are other sections
of our society that are marginalised.

We are not meeting the expectations of those we serve - Many people across the
east of England have some dissatisfaction with NHS services.

They want more attention on basic services and standards, easier access to services, less
waiting and to be treated as an individual with respect.

and it also says and confirms what we have said since 2003 onwards..........
people want routine services closer to home rather than in major acute hospitals

2008-04-22T07:10:00.002+01:00

Prioritise patients, not privatisation

(09/04/08) UNISON is calling on NHS trusts across England to refocus on patients, after the government’s health watchdog revealed the findings of its latest staff survey.

The poll of 156,000 NHS staff shows that fewer than half think caring for patients is the top priority in their workplace.

Karen Jennings, UNISON head of health, said: “It seems obvious that patients must be the top priority for trusts, but the Healthcare Commission survey shows that less than half of NHS staff feel this is the case in their hospital.

“Trusts must refocus attention on their patients and away from competition and privatisation,” she warned, adding: “The growth of the private sector, marketing and financial targets are having a damaging impact on the way hospitals are run.”

Around three-quarters of staff said they were not valued by their trusts; this was the most common reason given for wanting to leave their jobs.

The survey also throws up disturbing levels of violence –urgent action is needed to stem the attacks, said Ms Jennings.

“Once again, the number of staff reporting physical violence and harassment remains depressingly high. The frankly shocking figures show that there has been no real decrease in those who have personally experienced being attacked by patients or their relatives.”

FROM UNISON....................IT TELLS IT AS IT IS.............NOT A POLITICAL SPIN WHICH IS RIFE

IN BOTH THE TWO MAIN PARTIES MANIFESTOS

2008-04-17T15:03:00.002+01:00

OFT issues statement of objections against 112 construction companies

The OFT formally alleges that the construction companies named in the SO have engaged in bid rigging activities, and in particular cover pricing. Cover pricing describes a situation where one or more bidders collude with a competitor during a tender process to obtain a price or prices which are intended to be too high to win the contract. The tendering authority, for example a local council or other customer, is not made aware of the contacts between bidders, leaving it with a false impression of the level of competition and this may result in it paying inflated prices.

1. A. H. Willis & Sons Limited
2. ARG (Mansfield) Limited
3. Ackroyd & Abbott Limited together with its subsidiary Ackroyd & Abbott Construction Limited
4. Adam Eastwood & Sons Limited together with its controlling party the Sir John Eastwood Foundation
5. Admiral Construction Limited together with (for alleged infringements from 31 October 2003) its ultimate parent company A C Holdings Limited
6. Adonis Construction Limited
7. Allenbuild Limited and Bullock Construction Limited together with their ultimate parent company Renew Holdings plc
8. Apollo Property Services Group Limited formerly known as Apollo London Limited together with its former ultimate parent company Apollo Holdco Limited formerly known as Apollo Group Holdings Limited
9. Arthur M. Griffiths & Sons Limited
10. B & A Construction (Leicester) Limited
11. Baggaley & Jenkins Limited
12. Balfour Beatty Construction Limited, Balfour Beatty Refurbishment Limited, and Balfour Beatty Group Limited (for alleged infringements from 2000 onwards) and Mansell Construction Services Limited (for alleged infringements from 19 December 2003), together with their current ultimate parent company Balfour Beatty plc. For alleged infringements involving Mansell prior to 19 December 2003, Mansell and its former ultimate parent company Mansell plc
13.Ballast Nedam N.V. as the ultimate parent company of its dissolved subsidiary Ballast plc
14.Beaufort Construction (S-in-A) Limited together with its ultimate parent company Beaufort Holdings U.K. Limited
15.Bodill & Sons (Contractors) Limited
16.Bowmer & Kirkland Limited together with its subsidiaries B & K Building Services Limited and B & K Property Services Limited
17.Bramall Construction Limited and Frank Haslam Milan & Company Limited together with their current ultimate parent company Keepmoat Limited, formerly known as Keepmoat plc
18.C. J. Ellmore & Company Limited
19.Caddick Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Caddick Group plc
20.Carillion JM Limited
21.Chase Norton Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Chase Midland plc
22.Clegg Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Clegg Group Limited formerly known as D E Clegg Holdings Limited
23.Connaught Partnerships Limited together with its ultimate parent company Connaught plc
24.Crown Point Maintenance Group Limited as the ultimate parent company of its dissolved subsidiary Greenwood Building Contractors (Mansfield) Limited, for Greenwood's alleged infringements after 11 June 2002
25.Davlyn Construction Limited
26.Derwent Valley Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Chevin Holdings Limited
27.Dukeries Building Company Limited together with its ultimate parent company Gavco 159 Limited
28.Durkan Pudelek Limited together with its ultimate parent company Durkan Holdings Limited
29.E. G. Carter & Company Limited
30.E. Manton Limited
31.E. Taylor & Sons (Southwell) Limited, trading as Carmalor Construction
32.F. Parkinson Limited together with its ultimate parent company Mowbray Holdings Limited
33.Francis Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Barrett Estates Services Limited
34.Frank Galliers Limited together with its former ultimate parent company Frank Galliers Holdings Limited
35.Frudd Construction Limited
36.GAJ Construction Limited together with its current ultimate parent company GAJ (Holdings) Limited
37.G Carter Construction Limited
38.G. F. Tomlinson Building Limited together with its ultimate parent company G. F. Tomlinson Group Limited
39.G G Middleton and Sons Limited
40.G. & J. Seddon Limited together with its ultimate parent company Seddon Group Limited
41.GMI Construction Group plc together with (for alleged infringements after 6 February 2005) its current ultimate parent company GMI Construction Holdings plc
42.Geo Houlton & Sons Limited together with its ultimate parent company Geo Houlton & Sons (Holdings) Limited
43.George Law Limited together with its ultimate parent company Bosworth & Wakeford Limited
44.Greswolde Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Mantisson Limited
45.Hall Construction Group Limited
46.Harlow & Milner Limited
47.Harold Adkin & Sons (Sutton-In-Ashfield) Limited
48.Harper Group Construction Limited and J. Harper & Sons (Leominster) Limited together with their ultimate parent company Harper Group plc
49.Haymills (Contractors) Limited together with (for alleged infringements prior to 26 May 2004) its former ultimate parent company Corringway Conclusions plc and (for alleged infringements after 26 May 2004) its current ultimate parent company Haymills Group Limited
50.Henry Boot Construction (UK) Limited together with its ultimate parent company Henry Boot plc
51.Herbert Baggaley Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Baggaley Group Limited
52.Hill Bros. (Nottingham) Limited
53.Hobson & Porter Limited
54.Holroyd Construction Limited together with (for alleged infringements prior to 30 March 2005) its former ultimate parent company Holderness Investments Limited and (for alleged infringements after 30 March 2005) its current ultimate parent company Holroyd Construction Group Limited
55.Interclass Public Limited Company together with its ultimate parent company Interclass Holdings Limited
56.Interserve Project Services Limited together with its ultimate parent company Interserve plc
57.Irwins Limited and Jack Lunn (Construction) Limited together with their ultimate parent company Jack Lunn (Holdings) Limited
58.J. Guest Limited
59.J H Hallam (Contracts) Limited together with its ultimate parent company J H Hallam (R & J) Limited
60.J. J. & A. R. Jackson Limited
61.J. J. McGinley Limited, together with its former ultimate parent company McGinley Holdings Limited
62.John Cawley Limited
63.John Sisk & Son Limited together with its ultimate parent company Sicon Limited
64.K. J. Bryan (Builders) Limited
65.Kier Regional Limited together with its ultimate parent company Kier Group plc
66.Lemmeleg Limited together with its ultimate parent company Rok plc
67.Lindum Construction Co. Limited and Lindum Homes Limited together with their ultimate parent company Lindum Group Limited
68.Linford Group Limited together with its ultimate parent company F. & E. V. Linford Limited
69.Loach Construction & Development Limited
70.Lotus Construction Limited
71.Milward Construction (Belper) Limited
72.Morgan Ashurt plc formerly known as Bluestone Plc together with its ultimate parent company Morgan Sindall plc
73.North Midland Construction plc
74.P D H Developments Limited (formerly trading as G. Hurst & Sons (Contractors) Limited) together with its ultimate parent company G. Hurst & Sons Limited
75.P. Casey & Co. Limited together with its current ultimate parent company The Casey Group Limited
76.P. Waller Limited
77.Pearce Construction (Midlands) Limited together with its former ultimate parent company Crest Nicholson plc
78.Peter Baines Limited
79.Phoenix Contracts (Leicester) Limited
80.Piper Construction Midlands Limited together with its ultimate parent company Piper Securities Holdings Limited
81.Propencity Group Limited together with its wholly owned subsidiary companies, ISG Jackson Limited, ISG Regions Limited formerly known as ISG Totty Limited, ISG Totty Building Limited and Propencity Limited
82.Quarmby Construction Company Limited together with its ultimate parent company St James Securities Holdings Limited
83.Quarmby Construction (Special Projects) Limited together with its ultimate parent company Justgrade Limited
84.R Durtnell & Sons Limited together with its ultimate parent company R Durtnell & Sons (Holdings) Limited
85.R. G. Carter Limited, R. G. Carter Building Limited and R. G. Carter Construction Limited together with their current ultimate parent company R. G. Carter Holdings Limited
86.Richardson Projects Limited
87.Robert Bruce Construction Limited
88.Robert Woodhead Limited together with its ultimate parent company Robert Woodhead Holdings Limited
89.Robinson & Sawdon Limited
90.Shaylor Construction Limited
91.Simons Construction Limited and Wrights Construction (Lincoln) Limited together with their ultimate parent company Simons Group Limited
92.Sol Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Barkbury Limited
93.Speller-Metcalfe Limited
94.Spicers (Builders) Limited
95.Stainforth Construction Limited
96.Strata Construction Limited (formerly trading as Weaver)
97.T. & C. Williams (Builders) Limited
98.T. Denman & Sons (Melton Mowbray) Limited
99.Thomas Fish & Sons Limited together with its ultimate parent company Fish Holdings Limited
100.Thomas Long & Sons Limited together with its ultimate parent company Radford Holdings Limited
101.Thomas Vale Construction Plc together with its ultimate parent company Thomas Vale Holdings Limited
102.Thorndyke Limited
103.Try Accord Limited and Galliford Try Construction Limited together with their ultimate parent company Galliford Try plc
104.W. R. Bloodworth & Sons Limited
105.Wiggett Bros & Co Limited
106.Wildgoose Construction Limited
107.William Sapcote and Sons Limited together with its ultimate parent company Sapcote Holdings Limited
108.William Woodsend Limited
109.Willmott Dixon Construction Limited together with its ultimate parent company Willmott Dixon Limited
110.Wright (Hull) Limited together with its ultimate parent company T. Wright & Son (Holdings) Limited
111.Wygar Construction Co Limited together with its ultimate parent company Wygar (Holdings) Limited
112.York House Construction Limited

THESE ARE WHY PFI CONTRACTS ARE SO EXPENSIVE AND OUTRAGEOUS AS WELL AS COSTING

THE TAX PAYER MILLIONS - NOTE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WHO BUILT THE

HINCHINGBROOKE TREATMENT CENTRE - KEIR - ARE ON THE LIST - THEY ARE THE

MAIN REASON FOR THE HINCHINGBROOKE DEBT - KEEP HINCHINGBROOKE IN THE NHS

SAY NO TO PRIVATE COMPANIES......

2008-04-16T16:23:00.002+01:00

Unmissable Read -
The NHS & the Market - The TRUTH

The NHS after 60

For patients or profits?

Sixty years ago, in 1948, Aneurin Bevan’s bold nationalisation of private, voluntary and municipal hospitals swept away a failed market system, and created the most popular of all the public services, the NHS.
New Labour reforms are reversing this historic modernisation, and spending more money to create an artificial ‘market’ in health care which could never exist without government subsidy.

In The NHS After 60, John Lister takes a fresh look at the origins and evolution of the NHS, emphasising the ‘reforms’ which, in its sixth decade, have begun to transform the NHS into a European-style social health insurance fund, purchasing services from a variety of private- and public-sector providers.

Lister also examines the NHS in an international context and discusses recent tendencies of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments to follow alternative lines of policy.
The conclusion looks at the alternatives for the future development of the NHS.

Will ministers roll the wheel of history further back towards a more radical market system?

Or will they move forward to a public service based on greater accountability and responsiveness to the needs and wishes of local people and those with greatest health needs?

AN ESSENTIAL READ TO THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR NHS AND HAVING IT
FREE AT THE POINT OF DELIVERY - IT TELLS THE TRUTH FROM THE AUTHOR
OF HINCHINGBROOKE - CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

2008-04-16T06:58:00.002+01:00

Defend the NHS at 60

The first session of the Unison health conference has agreed to
organise activities to defend the NHS from privatisation throughout this,its 60th year. We have also agreed to campaign against marketisation in primary care, and to respond assertively to the Darzi Report.

Some very good speches from branch delegates with experience of fightingoutsourcing of admin and clerical jobs demonstrate that on the ground unionreps are having some significant success in this area.

2008-04-15T16:06:00.001+01:00

Unsion Health Conference News

Call for cleaning staff guarantee

Minimum cleaning staff quotas should be imposed on hospitals to
help in the fight against infections, unions say.

Unison, which represents a range of staff including cleaners,
nurses and porters, said hospitals should have two cleaners
for every 30 patients.

Hospitals should be cleaned from 8am to 9pm every day to
tackle bugs such as MRSA,
Unison's annual Health conference in Manchester was also told.

But the government said cleaning was too complex to have specific quotas.
The union complained there were no minimum staffing levels for cleaners
or times for hospitals to be cleaned.

Officials also pressed for committees to be established in every single hospital
in the UK, made up of cleaners, domestic supervisors, nurses and managers.

Karen Jennings, Unison's head of health, said: "We need to use the whole
hospital team if we are going to fight off these superbugs.

"Cleaning staff are frustrated because they know which cleaning products
are effective, what equipment they need, how many staff it takes to really
clean a ward well, but they are rarely consulted or listened to.

"It should be a requirement that all NHS organisations have safe minimum
staffing levels for their cleaning services that are based on quality, not cost,
and with staff receiving proper, up to date training and equipment."

Ms Jennings said the recent deep clean exercise in hospitals was worthwhile
but was only a starting point because regular, targeted cleaning would
"significantly cut" the instances of MRSA.

Some delegates described situations where staffing was so short that if a
cleaner had a day off there was no-one to cover for them

2008-04-13T12:47:00.001+01:00

Brian Smith - R.I.P

Who passed away 11 April 2008

When I first met Brian it seemed very odd, you see he stood out from the
other members of the congregation at that particular Church service as
a “scruffy individual”. I don't mean that it a discriminative way but it was
so obvious like a sheepdog in a field of sheep.

I could always approach Brian as we were always on a similar
wavelength and although we pushed and fought for many different
campaigns there were many in which we fought for or joined in with.

Brian supported me with my Save Hinchingbrooke Campaign
and likewise I did with his Save the Library one, however with
Christian Aid and the annual water campaigns we had the same ideals.

Brian was a tireless campaigner for many issues, Global as well as local
ones and had a passion for each and everyone of them, to the point when
he cared more for others through his campaigning than his own health,
I know how having a passion for a campaign subject takes you over.

Brian will be sadly missed by me and I am sure by many others too,
it is a pity that he never got recognised by one of the higher authorities
in the UK for his charity work and campaigns, although I am sure that
his work is being recognised now by the lord.

2008-04-12T16:18:00.002+01:00

From Cambridge Evening News -

Rise in bullying by hospital workers

A QUARTER of hospital staff have been bullied, abused and harassed at work.

The figure from a staff survey is described as a "worrying increase"
on the previous year when 18 per cent of staff at Hinchingbrook Hospital
had complained of bullying behaviour by workmates.

The research showed nearly half of hospital staff witnessed a potentially
harmful incident in the preceding month.

But the survey, conducted nationwide by the Healthcare Commission,
showed that Hinchingbrooke was also in the top 20 per cent of similar
NHS trusts for job satisfaction.

This figure was reported despite concerns over the hospital's future
and job losses caused by spiralling debts and a review of services.

AN NHS STAFF MEMBER WHO WAS ABUSED AND BULLIED
IN 2007, THEY GAVE INTO THE BULLIES FOR FEAR OF
REPRISALS, BROKE THE RULES TO STOP BEING HIT AS
THERE IS NO SECURITY AT HINCHINGBROOKE

THE STAFF MEMBER LOST THEIR JOB AS A
CONSEQUENCE - MANAGERS NEVER BACKED THE
STAFF MEMBER - SHAME ON YOU

2008-04-11T13:22:00.002+01:00

WE SAID THIS WAS RIFE IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE BUT
THEY DENIED IT

Care cost changes 'not working'

Government attempts to end the postcode lottery in who gets
continuing NHS healthcare in England are having little impact,
a charity has claimed.

Age Concern said figures for the three months after new
guidelines came in showed the differences remain huge.

Tens of thousands of older people with serious
health problems were paying for care that should be free
, it added.

The government said the guidelines needed time to take
effect and that there would be a review in the autumn.

Continuing healthcare is given to people who have long-term
health needs but do not need to be in hospital - most live in
nursing homes.

However, a person's eligibility for NHS funding is determined
by the local primary care trust, and the way that funding is
allocated has long been criticised as unfair.

Age Concern said an analysis of Department of Health statistics
showed there were still "real disparities".

It warned tens of thousands of older people with chronic health
conditions were paying for care that should be free.

Gordon Lishman, director general of the charity, said:
"Frail older people should not be denied the care they
are entitled to because of where they happen to live.

"PCTs need to iron out these inconsistencies or face more claims
for compensation."

2008-04-10T16:48:00.002+01:00

Hospital bosses to explain £40m debt - From Cambridge Evening News 10 April 08

BOARD members at Hinchingbrooke Hospital could be hauled before councillors to explain a scathing report into its finances.

Liberal Democrats are calling for an extraordinary general meeting of Cambridgeshire's health scrutiny committee after Hinchingbrooke's auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said it had
"serious concerns" over the hospital's near £40 million debt.

Lib Dems on the committee want to grill board members such as Mark Millar, the hospital's
chief executive, and insist the meeting must be held in public.

Councillor Lister Wilson, chairman of the health and adult social care scrutiny committee,
told the News that members will hold a "fact-finding meeting" with the Hinchingbrooke
board before deciding whether to hold a public session.

But Cllr Geoff Heathcock, Lib Dem spokesman for health on the council,
said there must be no closed-doors meetings "over a cup of coffee" with
senior management. He added: "We won't rest until we get this public meeting."

Auditors at PriceWaterhouseCoopers issued the public interest report on March 18,
highlighting their belief that the trust will need "significant" cash support on top of
£27.3 million of temporary Public Dividend Capital it was given in 2006/07.

They say the trust is unlikely to achieve its statutory break-even duty for the
five-year period ending in March next year and have sent their report to
Alan Johnson, the Secretary of State for Health.

WE WILL BE AT ANY PUBLIC MEETING, SHOULD ONE GO AHEAD
WE ARE OF THE THINKING THAT THE TRUST WILL BE IN FINANCIAL
BALANCE BY 1 APRIL 2009 AS THERE ARE PLANS AFOOT
TO PASS THE RUNNING OF THE TRUST TO ANOTHER BODY

ONE BEING MUTED JUST NOW IS A SO CALLED SOCIAL ENTERPRISE -
ON READING THEIR SPEIL IT SEEMS MORE LIKE AN EX-GP & NHS
MANAGERS RETIREMENT FUND..................
WE SAY NO TO A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE..................

2008-04-10T08:28:00.002+01:00

Return out-of-hours care 'to GPs'

GPs should reclaim responsibility for out-of-hours care in England,
an influential group of NHS staff says.

The NHS Alliance said patients had lost confidence in the care,
often provided by private firms since the GP contract
saw 90% of family doctors opt out.

It said GPs should club together to take charge of night and weekend care,
although this could mean buying in nurses, paramedics and doctors.
Under the terms of the 2004 GP contract, family doctors were allowed
to opt out of out-of-hours care.

The changes have led to a surge in complaints and have prompted the
Tories to call for GPs to take back responsibility in a similar way as the
NHS Alliance is suggesting.

The group, which represents NHS professionals working outside hospitals,
including some GPs, said there was confusion over the complex arrangements
now in place.

NHS Alliance chairman Dr Mike Dixon said patients were often presented
with several choices, including NHS Direct, walk-in centres, A&E and
out-of-hours providers, and did not know when to go where.

"We have a system whereby there is a void when GP services
close for the day.

"I think many doctors are concerned about this."

2008-04-10T08:21:00.002+01:00

From Cambridge Evening News 9th April 2008

200 motorists caught on mobile phone

A SHOCK 12-day crackdown saw 200 motorists caught using a mobile phone while driving.

The alarming figure points to a huge increase in the number of drivers flouting the law -
which has already been toughened up.

If these figures were applied to a whole year, it would mean that an average of more
than 6,000 people could be putting lives in danger.

This would triple last year's shock figures of more than 2,000.

The action was part of work to crack down on those who continue to ignore
the laws in relation to mobile phones.

IT IS A PITY SOME NHS STAFF ARE AMONG THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO
IGNORE THE LAWS - THERE SHOULD BE ZERO TOLERANCE AND IT BE
TREATED AS GROSS MISCONDUCT WHILE IN OFFICE

2008-04-10T07:29:00.000+01:00

Infection sees hospital ward shut

A ward at a Cambridgeshire hospital has been closed to new admissions after patients developed symptoms of the winter sickness bug.

An outbreak of diarrhoea hit six patients in ward 10 at Peterborough's Edith Cavell Hospital on Friday.

Two further patients have shown symptoms since the weekend and the ward is due to be specially cleaned later, a hospital spokesman said.

The hospital said no staff had been affected by the outbreak.

2008-04-10T07:26:00.001+01:00

From Pulse................

March of the private sector

09 Apr 08

Pulse examines the threats and opportunities arising from private provision of primary care.

It’s little less than a revolution in primary care.

Private firms are bidding to run GP surgeries, open state-of-the-art polyclinics and walk-in centres, and even commission NHS services. Spending on private provision in primary care is set to triple, or even quadruple, over the next year.
But what do GPs think about it?

Our survey suggests few are enthusiastic, with only 18% saying they support the Government’s plans, while 57% do not believe private provision is capable of improving care.

But suspicion does not necessarily translate as opposition – and as ever, GPs are set to take a pragmatic approach. As many as a third would be prepared to work directly for a private company. And the offers are coming – 25% of GPs have already been approached.

GPs, it seems, are resigned to huge changes to the NHS – 71% believe major retailers will be running practices within five years.

Indeed, it is not clear whether doctors expect the NHS to exist at all in the medium-term future.

Only 16% of more than 500 GPs we surveyed said they expected ‘the NHS as we know it’ to be around in 10 years. Just 32% thought the NHS of the future, whatever it looks like, would be free at the point of use.

2008-04-09T09:00:00.001+01:00

DEEP CLEAN

A Sky News investigation suggests the controversial 'deep clean' of hospitals up and down the country is proving less successful than the Government claims.
Deep cleans are over budget

The survey of 51 National Health Service trusts reveals a fifth have failed to meet deadlines.

The £57m programme was due to be completed by all hospitals by the end of March.

But only 37% of trusts that spoke to Sky News said they were "on track" with cleaning.

It comes as the Government announced that specialist inspection teams from the Healthcare Commission would be sent into hospitals to make sure their cleaning standards are stringent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW CAN YOU DEEP CLEAN WARDS IF THEY ARE FULL......................
OUR SCBU - YES SPECIAL CARE BABY UNIT- IS BEING HASSLED TO BECOME
PART OF THE DEEP CLEAN...............................SO WHERE ARE THE ILL BABIES GOING TO
BE SHOVED WHILE THIS DEEP CLEAN IS GOING ON...........THE CORIDOOR?

ALL FOR THE SAKE OF SPIN AND TARGETS.................IF THE CLEANING WAS IN-HOUSE
AND NOT PRIVATISED THEN IT COULD BE SHEDULED AND DONE PROPERLY
NEGATING A NEED FOR THE DEEP CLEAN

PATIENTS NOT PROFITS......................

2008-04-09T07:45:00.002+01:00

Care not top priority - NHS staff

Less than half of NHS staff believe patient care is the top priority for trusts, an annual staff survey shows.

The rest either did not believe their NHS trust saw it as a priority or neither agreed nor disagreed, the poll of 156,000 staff in England showed.
The Healthcare Commission report also revealed wide variations in infection control standards and no reductions in the number of staff being attacked.

Unions said some results were worrying, but noted staff seemed to be happy.

Three quarters said they were satisfied with their jobs, although only one in four said they felt valued by bosses.
One in four workers said they had been harassed, bullied or abused by patients or their relatives, while 13% said they had suffered physical violence, rising to 29% for those who worked in ambulances.

Ambulance staff were also critical about the condition of the vehicles with half saying they were in a poor state of repair.

Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, said the results about care being a priority were worrying.

"Trusts must refocus attention on their patients and away from competition and privatisation," she said.

And she added there were still "disturbing levels of violence".

ENOUGH SAID - PATIENTS NOT PROFITS & PRIVATISATION

AS FOR BULLYING & ABUSE - IT IS RIFE AND GOES UNRECOGNISED
OR IS CHOSEN TO BE IGNORED BY MANAGERS

2008-04-08T09:17:00.003+01:00

Workers Memorial Day 28th April 2008

More people are KILLED at WORK than in ANY wars around the world

Please take a minutes silence on the 28th April 2008 for those

Who have Died doing their JOBS............

Sadly another colleague was killed at work yesterday in Lancashire

Philip Ellison was KILLED just doing his JOB, maybe his employers

will learn from theirs and the Government's mistakes and the never

ending quests to make swinging CUTS

We send our condolences to Philip's Family and Friends as well as work colleagues

Join a UNION and Transform the Workplace

2008-04-08T08:11:00.002+01:00

Patients "more ill"

We also said this would be the scenario when the consultation was being banded about as the next best thing.
We said at that time, on good authority - From a Ward Sister - that Patients were at that time being kept out in the Community by G.P's on the orders of the PCT to save money, and therefore when the finally were admitted to Hinchingbrooke their condition would be worse so they were more ill than they needed to be.
This was borne out in the "Black" alert figures for ALL of the local NHS trusts, not just Hinchingbrooke.
With these crackpot ideas then other parts of the service do indeed suffer, there needs to be better policies for the transfer of a patient from Primary Care to Secondary Care than the "leave them in Primary Care until they are on their death bed........then pass them on to Secondary Care (Hospital) and let them take the blame for the deaths............Shame on you PCT, Shame on you Alan Johnson, Shame on you Gordon Brown.

Maybe when thee Targets and Advice was sent from the Politicians and DOH they did not expect the scally wags to interpret the policies in this way..............

But Nu Labour.............They Have and they are then Blameless...........

2008-04-08T08:05:00.002+01:00

Care worker stabbed

Social worker Philip Ellison, 47, was stabbed and died in the attack during a home visit to a house in Fulwood, Preston, on Monday.

A 51-year-old man was arrested at the scene and is being held under the Mental Health Act.

So...........this is how we said it would be when the consultation was out.............When will one of the staff in Cambridgeshire suffer a similar fate?..............

BUT..............WHO is responsible.................bet it won't be the decision makers who are sending workers into the community to work and put themselves at risk!
It isn't cheaper to work this way..............there is NO price for a Life

2008-04-08T08:02:00.002+01:00

Facebook

We are now on Facebook, so if you are on there add us as one of your friends.

The profile is only laid out just now and we are to add more content later this week and as we add more news on the blog we will will add links to that too

2008-04-05T17:25:00.002+01:00

The Coming Week

In the coming week we will be pushing forward the Campaign to
STOP the Privatisation of Hinchingbrooke in April 2009
So watch this space over the next few weeks

Our intention is not to hinder the Sustainable Hospital Plan
but to keep the Hospital..........In House............

2008-03-28T08:46:00.003Z

Well...............A New post at last...............

The site has been quiet for a while as the Sustainable Hospital Plan is underway and things are looking up for Hinchingbrooke.

Wards are being refurbished, staff seem happier and the Hospital is not going through a bashing from the media.

There was a suggestion last week that there were issues with historic finances but the Chief Executive put those suggestions down..................However.................

It was played out in one of the local papers headlines suggesting that the Trust Board should go.

As the Campaign said in 2006 and again after the Consultation was publicly aired the next hurdle would be the "possible dissolution of the board" which would be in 2 years.

Now you don't need to be a maths wizard to see that this equates to 2009 and 1st April to boot.

With this in mind and with some suggestion that the Trust would be at "break even" point then there will be interested parties queuing to take over the Boards activities.

The amount of savings, at the time of the 2006/07 consultation was put at £1,000,000, so quite a saving some would say.

BUT...............

should another Trust take over the Board's roles, and there are 3 Foundations Trusts in Cambridgeshire, what percentage of the £1m are they likely to need to perform such activities? and with that in mind and with there being an "open market" for Foundation Trusts, I would suggest they would be looking at the £1m for their remuneration.

So , there are 2 other alternatives...........................

One, To allow a Private/Community body to take on the Board's responsibility and be accountable to the people and the above still applies, how much of the £1m would these bodies want for renumeration, I guess with a Private Company the £1m would suffice and the other caveat is "would they run the Hospital to how the local people expect it to be"? and "will it be for patients or as is the norm for Private companies FOR PROFIT"?

I suggest on the basis of the ISTC (Independent Treatment centres) which are run by Private companies, they would cherry pick the work and if the current situation is maintained they would get paid for work they haven't done and would not represent good value for money and would NOT add value to healthcare for the people of Huntingdonshire.

I bring this to light as there has already been a proposal by a joint venture which is backed by a Canadian Healthcare company, this company has only experience in the UK with 2 orthopaedic ISTC's and nothing else.

It has credentials in other parts of the world in places such as Quatar, so you see where this is heading.

They will do work that they get paid for and if you have money then you jump the queue - -

- PROFITS BEFORE PATIENTS - more about this in a later post

OR the final scenario is the Status Quo, keeping the Trust Board who have turned the hospital around and brought it back into balance, that makes the most common sense of all

So when the time comes...................VOTE FOR THE CURRENT BOARD.............

2007-07-11T07:37:00.000+01:00

IT'LL BE ALRIGHT ON THE DAY...................OR WILL IT

The PCT got their way with the help from certain newspapers and a poorly action consultation which was nothing short of a sham.
With just short of 100 written responses and 500 leaflets I sent in, out of 165,000 people in Huntingdonshire this shows the level of response.
So don't blame me when your service gets worse and you have to travel to get treatment.
I was at Hinchingbrooke yesterday and while waiting for blood tests there were complaints that treatment was done at Addenbroookes or Peterborough and bloods were taken at Hinchinbrooke but the bloods taken get lost when at the oother 2 hospitals, clearly not a Hinchingbrooke fault.
So why are these folks not going direct to the other hospitals for their tests? or why are the tests not being done at Hinchingbrooke? and why are these samples being transported countywide and at what cost?.......................makes no sense and typical of the "it'll be alright on the day" attitude, muddle along etc.

The same is happening with the Community based services, clearly the PCT wont have spent the £2.3m set aside for the community services by this winter so they have set aside £37,000 to keep the elderly and vulnerable in Hinchingbrooke.
The £2.3m will be speent to set up the service with offices, managers, cars, phones etc. there might be some money left to find anyone bonkers enough to become a Social Care worker and to provide some care.
The Social Care worker will be a Homecare Plus worker, but not a Nurse.
Obviously this raises concerns and also there are other issues with their personal safety as indicated in the news this last week and health workers being attacked and abused.
As for health issues, at what point would a person who is being cared for in the commnuity be admitted back to hospital?should they need it.................
Who makes that decision?
A community midwife who was on call had to go out last week to a lady after she had been sent by the Labour ward, this midwife is very experienced, the midwife then sent the lady straight into Hinchingbrooke. This was a wasted journey and it is not isolated, this was supposed to save money but in reality it wastes it and the main reason for sending the community midwife out was because of short staffing levels.
So..........will it be alright on the day............................

as it stands.................NO...............the PCT is a fragmented organisation with small offices scattered around the county and the main HQ on the Suffolk border.............DOH! as Homer Simpson says.
Time to relocate to the Hinchingbrooke site to save money..................
No Ida Darwin, no Priory, no Scott House etc. just one Hinchingbrooke HQ, centre of the County, access to secondary services on site..................job done and with this in place it could be allright on the day...............

2007-07-11T07:28:00.000+01:00

Fears over revamp of London NHS

London needs a revamp of its health services to meet demands on the modern NHS, a government review has concluded.

Professor Sir Ara Darzi wants polyclinics - super GP surgeries - to support specialist hospitals, but critics say it will lead to closures.

The report, commissioned before Sir Ara was appointed a health minister, has prompted concerns this may become a blueprint for the rest of the NHS.

Sir Ara is in charge of carrying out a major NHS review for Gordon Brown.

Sir Ara was asked by NHS London, the body responsible for overseeing health trusts in the capital, to carry out a review on the future of healthcare in London.

It will act as a guide to London health chiefs who are planning a shake up in services as part of a wider reconfiguration of major hospitals across the country.

The clinics would incorporate a GP service alongside diagnostic tests, social care, mental health services and some minor surgery.

The review said that by 2017 a network of polyclinics throughout London could provide up to 50% of outpatient treatment currently carried out in hospitals.

He also said more care should be carried out at home, including rehabilitation and chemotherapy.

Wider ramifications

He said the blueprint would provide better care as evidence suggests specialist centres for serious conditions - such as strokes - save more lives than traditional district general hospital models.

And he estimated it would save an estimated £1.5bn a year as it is cheaper to provide care out of hospitals.

But Geoff Martin, of the union-funded pressure group Health Emergency, said it would pave the way for the closure or downgrading of nine hospitals.

"This review of services by NHS London is a package of cash-led cuts to local services dressed up as a rational planning process."
But doctors are also warning the review could have wider ramifications.

The national review Sir Ara has been recently asked to conduct was hailed as a "once in a generation" opportunity.

He has been given a wide-ranging remit, but some fear it could be used as a basis to justify cuts.

CUTS CUTS CUTS, ONCE AGAIN, THIS WILL BE PLAYED OUT ACCROSS THE UK

CLEARLY THE 30 YEARS THE HUNTS POST CLAIM FOR HINCHINGBROOKE ARE NOT WITH ANY SUBSTANCE UNLESS THEY MEAN THE TREATMENT CENTRE

THE REALITY IS THAT IN 2009 THE TRUST WILL BE DISSOLVED AND IT WILL BE TAKEN OVER BY THE THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TRUST AND THEN EVOLVE INTO A POLYCLINIC WHICH WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR 4,500 BIRTHS PER YEAR AND ROUTINE PROCEEDURES DONE IN THE TREATMENT CENTRE - WHAT REMAINS IS A RUN DOWN, DOWNGRADED DISTRICT GENERAL HOSPITAL THAT THE PEOPLE OF HUNTINGDON FOUGHT FOR AND A 2ND CLASS UNDERFUNDED HEALTH SERVICE FOR THE PEOPLE OF HUNTINGDON, WITH M.P'S WHO ARE NOT FIGHTING FOR THIS TO BE KEPT OPEN AND RUN WITH FULL FUNDING........................

2007-06-06T11:21:00.000+01:00

NHS fears despite books balancing

Ministers have confirmed the NHS has balanced its books - although many hospitals and other parts of the service are still struggling with debt.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt staked her job on wiping out the debt in 2006-07, and the
figures show a surplus of £510m.

However, more than one in five NHS organisations were in the red.

The book balancing needed training and public health budget cuts. Extra cash due to the service was also held back.
In a speech on Wednesday, Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, will say the cuts have been "excessive".

"It takes weeks to cut, it takes years to rebuild trust. Morale is at an all-time low.

"The profession is angry because of this government's mishandling of the health service and has lost all confidence that the government can solve the problems it has created."

He will also warn ministers: "We will not stand by and let you decimate hospitals for purely financial reasons."

The latest figures show that the combined debt of the 22% of NHS organisations who failed to break even in 2006-07 was £911m.

In the previous financial year the NHS ran up an overall deficit of more than £500m, and the
gross deficit - the total of all those organisations which ran up deficits - was £1.3bn.

However, the NHS has only managed to balance the books in 2006-07 by taking money from elsewhere.

First of all, £1.8bn of the extra money due to the NHS in 2006-7 - about a quarter of the total increase - was held back.

And regional managers working for strategic health bosses have also made cuts to central budgets, such as training, to build up a £450m contingency fund.

'Excessive' cuts

That is on top of the thousands of job losses that have been forced on NHS trusts - 17,000 in the past 12 months, according to the NHS Information Centre.

And on the day the figures are announced the Times newspaper is reporting that it has seen a government memo revealing that more than half of patients are still waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment.

Ministers, due to publish full data on waits on Thursday, have pledged that by the end of next year all patients will be treated within this time limit.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Cutting education and training and plundering public health budgets is not the way to manage the future of our NHS.

"No other business would be run on boom and bust and neither should the health service."

WELL DO THEY LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD?
HINCHINGBROOKE HAS A £13.9M DEBT AND CAMBS PCT HAS A £51M DEBT, WE ARE UNDERFUNDED BY £1,000 PER PATIENT, HAVE AN AGEING POPULATION, WITH 1,300 HOUSES PLANNED FOR HUNTINGDON, 2,000 AT NORTHSTOWE, 10,000 AT OAKINGTON, 1,000 AT CAMBOURNE AND THEY WANT TO RUN THE HOSPITAL DOWN

THE 2 "LOCAL" WELL 20 PLUS MILES AWAY, FOUNDATIONS ARE BURSTING AT THE SEAMS AND IN ALL HONESTY ONLY WANT THE "GOLD STAR" WORK AND NOT THE RUN OF THE MILL STUFF...................

GET REAL AND INVEST IN HINCHINGBROOKE

2007-04-27T12:45:00.000+01:00

Blair 'will not quit next week'

Downing Street has strongly denied press claims Tony Blair will announce his resignation before Scottish, Welsh and English local elections on 3 May.

He has been widely expected to announce a departure date in the days following the poll but
some reports suggested he was planning to go earlier.

In a rare comment on his retirement plans, Downing Street said speculation he would quit on 1 May was "wrong".

Mr Blair has urged voters not to give him a final "kicking" next Thursday.

LETS WAIT AND SEE...........................AND WHAT A LEGACY TO HAVE.............

UNJUST WARS IN IRAQ & AFGANISTAN.............

A CARVED UP HEALTH SERVICE WITH A CARVE UP SECRETARY OF STATE IN CHARGE

PFI THAT IS COSTING US THE TAX PAYER BILLIONS AND IS GOING INTO FAT CATS
POCKETS..........

HIGH FUEL COSTS...........

EXPLOITED EAST EUOPEAN WORKERS.........

PENSIONS THAT ARE WORTHLESS..............

UNFAIR FUNDING FOR NHS & COUNCILS.........