Chorley A&E closure, super-hospitals, and NHS Privatisation

The A&E at Chorley and South Ribble hospital was recently closed due to a shortage of doctors which Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust say could lead to a breach of patient safety.

A picture of a big hospital

So imagine my surprise when today [16/08/2016], I read in the newspaper that Chorley’s hospital, along with its sister hospital in Preston, could be demolished to make way for a new ‘super hospital’.


 

 Apparently, Lancashire Teaching hospitals NHS trust have drawn up a 'master-plan' under its 'Our Health Our Care' programme which, amongst other 'options', includes removing emergency services altogether from Chorley & Preston and having one super A&E in the Bamber Bridge/Clayton Brook/Lostock Hall area.

According to a 'spokesperson' for the Our Health Our Care programme, work was undertaken by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with a range of stakeholders including members of the public, to consider possible models of care for the future.

Note the word 'was' and the aforementioned work included members of the public...

This would include an option of converting Chorley & Preston hospitals into elective surgery only with emergency services provided at the new super hospital.

h Our Care programme

Read more at: http://www.chorley-guardian.co.uk/news/local/new-super-hospital-shock-1-8071086

The 'Decision Makers'

Apparently, the 'Our Health Our Care' programme consists of representatives from NHS Greater Preston CCG, NHS Chorley and South Ribble CCG, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, local councils and NHS England specialist commissioners.

The Our Health Our Care programme consists of representatives from NHS Greater Preston Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Chorley and South Ribble Clinical Commissioning Group, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, local councils and NHS England specialist commissioners.

Read more at: http://www.chorley-guardian.co.uk/news/local/new-super-hospital-shock-1-8071086

The Our Health Our Care programme consists of representatives from NHS Greater Preston Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Chorley and South Ribble Clinical Commissioning Group, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, local councils and NHS England specialist commissioners.

Read more at: http://www.chorley-guardian.co.uk/news/local/new-super-hospital-shock-1-8071086

Our Health, Our Care, Our....

So I thought, that's quite a few programme representatives; surely there must be something in the public domain about this master-plan?


I thought I'd research info on the 'Our Health Our Care' programme, and see what these 'options' were. And guess what I found?

Nothing! Zilch, absolutely nada.

No 'work' undertaken with stakeholders and the public, nothing.

However, I did discover something very interesting...

1. Nobody in the public domain has actually seen the 'our health our care'  'masterplan'
2. The programme title 'Our Health Our Care' is taken from Labour's 2006 white paper which includes issues around placing large swathes of the NHS out to tender (private sector).
   The title?  "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say". 

 Sound familiar?

 Here's an excerpt from the King's Fund which offers some analysis of the white paper...

Another issue reflected in this White Paper relates to the optimal size and configuration of hospitals in relation to new technology and working practices. The size, location and function of hospitals had once been the object of considerable central planning,6 but the government’s early efforts on this issue were channelled into enabling the Private Finance Initiative to flourish and decisions about size and function were left at local level. The tendency to close small local hospitals continued on the grounds of clinical and economic efficiency...

So ask yourselves this question; how can a hospital trust with a current rating [for both its hospitals] of 'requiring improvement' from the care quality commission; take on such a huge amount of greater responsibility for running a super-hospital?

The answer is of course, it won't, since it won't be running the super-hospital.

Now add to this the fact that the health watchdog NHS Improvement investigated the Trust, which runs the Royal Preston and Chorley hospitals, found that it lacked "both the robust plans and financial management" needed to address a "deepening hole" in its finances.

Would you have confidence in a hospital Trust to manage a 'super-hospital' when that Trust is in serious deficit and lacked "both the robust plans and financial management" needed to address a "deepening hole" in its finances?

Chorley & South Ribble A&E was closed due a shortage of doctors to run both A&E's at Preston and Chorley. The Trust had enough to run the Preston A&E, but it won't say how many doctors are needed to run the Chorley site and how many on the Preston hospital site.

Doesn't fill you with much confidence now does it?


But let's not jump the gun here since the consultation on the 'Our Health Our Care' master-plan has yet to be formally put to the public.  Late summer apparently.

Now scroll back up this page and take a look at the paragraph titled 'The Decision Makers'. Remember them? All those public health representatives who have already seen this master-plan, remember those? They sit on the Our Health Our Care Joint Programme Board.

I didn't hear them running to the media when they got wind of such huge NHS service configurations.

I smell something fishy, and I'm not talking about the contents of Baldrick's apple crumble.

Why not leave a message below, maybe you know where the money will come from for all these proposed service configurations?  Think about it, NHS privatisation already accounts for £10 billion of the NHS budget, the rest is now up for grabs...

Related:

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, the county council’s Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, predicts such changes are possible as the county comes to grips with a health crisis which extends far beyond the recent closure of the Accident & Emergency department at Chorley’s Hospital.

Super hospital’ proposal to serve Morecambe

Read more at: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/health/super-hospital-proposal-to-serve-morecambe-1-6409130

Super hospital’ proposal to serve Morecambe

y’s hospital could be demolished to make way for a new ‘super hospital’.

Read more at: http://www.chorley-guardian.co.uk/news/local/new-super-hospital-shock-1-8071086

Chorley’s hospital could be demolished to make way for a new ‘super hospital’.

Read more at: http://www.chorley-guardian.co.uk/news/local/new-super-hospital-shock-1-8071086