NHS managers should listen to their critics
I WRITE in response to Brenda Worrel’s excellent letter of October 9 (“Get all the facts before sending in consultation”).
Our Leicester hospitals are the most capital under-funded in the NHS and the £450 million for the extensive building programme, Better are Together, is long overdue. Coventry’s new hospital cost £700 million in 2020 prices 18 years ago
My headline from Better Care Together is “our 1.1 million population builds three (five) new hospitals – including a new treatment centre on the General Hospital site”.
If you new build, you build one new on each site.
Now retired, I was a West Midlands NHS manager for 23 years and I believe the following:
In 2020, £450 million is an amazing achievement.
In 2020, hospitals are led by spacious intensive care beds in large numbers.
Future planning is key. The NHS plays catch-up planning. No health service plans for future pandemics – unless for permanent change. For example, the rate of video consultations will be 50 per cent or more for ever.
The three new hospitals plan is receiving criticism. Managers, I call on you to really respect the criticism you are facing.
Better Care Together has been “stop-go” for eight years and has created a very bad impression.
Managers, please answer every letter in the Leicester Mercury, quickly, respectfully, clearly. You have nothing to hide.
When you publish the result of the consultation, don’t trumpet how 99 per cent of your replies say “agree” or “strongly agree”. You have correctly included a huge number of “free text” boxes in the consultation – try and capture their content, publish and answer it.
You emphasise in the consultation people who have difficulties getting to central hospitals. What about an academic study following frail patients travelling to hospital or consulting online?
You should then publish the observations and see if you can develop solutions and a safety net.
The maternity decisions are the most difficult – you may need a follow up consultation.
Something sounds badly wrong if