MP’s fury at ‘deceitful’ plans for NHS savings
AS local NHS bosses submit plans to the Department of Health to save millions of pounds across Merseyside, Southport MP John Pugh has expressed his concerns about cutbacks and potential closures of local services.
Dr Pugh has deemed NHS plans submitted to the Department of Health last week a “fundamentally deceitful process.”
Merseyside has been split into two areas for the review of local services including a central Liverpool area and an outer Merseyside ring.
According to the MP, the plans, which are aimed to be built around the needs of local populations, are “simply code for centrally-imposed cuts.”
Mr Pugh said: “It is obvious they have to come up with some draconian money-saving ideas!”
“The government continually claims in the Commons, when quizzed by MPs, that these are local plans but the reality is that they are cobbled together by NHS insiders with no democratic input from the public or their local representatives.”
Concerns of lack of engagement with local government have been expressed by all the local councils in a letter dated October 5 from the City Region lead for Health and Wellbeing Andy Moorhead, written on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Leaders and Mayor.
The letter regarding the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Plan states that “there has been little attempt to engage meaningfully with local government” and that the process for the plan has been very much “NHS led.”
It also states that the local government sector does not accept that the plan has been a process of joint working and that the voice of the City Region’s local authorities has been largely ignored.
It says: “the City Region’s local authorities have not been sufficiently engaged in the development of the proposals currently being made as part of the STP. Consequently, we cannot and will not sign up to them, particularly those which involve the redesign of the acute model of care.”
Despite attempts by the Mr Moorhead, the letter claims that they have yet to receive a response.
John Pugh added: “Outside the magic circle of NHS providers, who have kept their cards close their chest, no–one has been involved. We’ll be asked for our views when it’s too late to change the plans and the government by then will have rubber stamped what they will call “locally agreed” plans. It’s a fundamentally deceitful process.
The MP says that splitting Merseyside into two areas for the review of local services is “bizarre.”
He said: “This is not only not sensible, it skews outcomes to protect financially- exposed hospital trusts in Liverpool and puts at risk services ringing Liverpool.”
“No-one outside the charmed circle of NHS insiders knows how this is all being decided and they have no interest in genuine public involvement. What we will get is pseudo-consultation as the hard decisions get made quietly in NHS board rooms.”