Residents’ fury at big changes to local NHS
WEST Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper is urging health chiefs to listen to residents’ opposition to plans for local NHS services.
She has presented a petition to West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) oposing the privatisation of local NHS health services and the destabilisation of the Southport and Ormskirk hospitals.
So far, 4,088 residents have put their names to a petition, jointly promoted by Ms Cooper and 38 Degrees health campaigners, expressing opposition to the CCG’s decision to put community health and some urgent care services out to tender.
The MP said that she understood from NHS England that a decision on the new providers was due to be taken yesterday (Wednesday, November 9) by West Lancashire CCG in secret.
The bidders will then be notified.
The outcome of the procurement will be announced at the public board meeting on November 22.
Ms Cooper has presented her petition to West Lancashire CCG and is calling on the CCG board members to listen to residents.
She said: “West Lancashire CCG claims to have been consulting people.
“Instead, I have been doing my own consultation.
“The message is loud and clear. Local residents and many doctors don’t support the actions of the CCG taken in the name of West Lancashire residents.
“Given the strength of opposition, these residents deserved to be heard.
“They don’t want their NHS privatised. Nor do they want to see their local hospital destabilised by the decisions of local GPs.
“There has been a real lack of openness and transparency around this entire process, even though we are talking about taxpayer-funded health services.
“The people of West Lancashire, who fund these services, deserve to know the truth from local health bosses on why they excluded the hospital trust and on what evidence was their decision based?
“I don’t believe that West Lancashire CCG have properly considered the impact of their decision on the future of the hospital, or perhaps they just don’t care!
“Throughout this process, West Lancashire CCG have hidden behind commercial confidentiality to avoid answering questions and having their decisions scrutinised.
“Residents I have spoken to are disgusted by the plans to privatise NHS services. They are asking who stands to benefit. Residents are convinced it’s not them.”
On February 25, West Lancashire CCG announced that it had been liasing with potential providers interested in taking over some urgent care services – Ormskirk and Skelmersdale Walk-In centres, GP out-of-hours services and acute visiting services – and community health services, such as district nursing, from April 2017.
Following an evaluation of pre-qualification questionnaires, West Lancashire CCG excluded Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.
In doing so, the hospital trust will lose community services and urgent care service contracts.
Since the February announcement, Ms Cooper has been campaigning with local health activists in opposing the CCG’s decisions.
During this campaign, residents have been able to sign an online 38 Degrees petition, received a leaflet through their doors and a street stall action day was held on August 6 in Ormskirk town centre.
Ms Cooper has also raised her concerns about the changes with health ministers and regulatory bodies, calling for more scrutiny in this process of taxpayer-funded health services.