Future of NHS in the balance

Cuts cloaked in secrecy are compromising the very promise of the NHS, campaigners have warned, calling for action over “critical” Government underfunding.

An investigation by this newspaper and its sister titles is uncovering the sheer scale of coming change –and what is already underway – has involved in-depth analysis of radical transformation plans.

The ambition for change to plug a £22bn black hole nationwide by 2021, branded a “cover for cuts” by the British Medical Association, will see hospital A&E downgrades, unit closures and a massive re-organisation of healthcare provision across Yorkshire.

The justification behind the Sustainability and Transformation Plans to meet £2bn deficit in this region alone, is to ensure the viability of the service while making essential efficiency savings.

But beyond the needs of the health service to meet its budgets, the BMA has said, is a fear that the core principles set out by the founder of the NHS are being undermined.

“We are being asked too much and are being deliberately underfunded,” said Mark Porter, BMA council chair, calling on Government to urgently address the emerging NHS crisis.

“What it means is our inability to deliver on our promise to patients of a comprehensive service, that meet the needs of everyone, when they need it, free of charge.

“They are fighting to simply sustain the NHS and with the scale of the underfunding, that battle has been lost.”

The NHS in Yorkshire is facing its biggest shake-up in a generation, with care from cradle to grave put through a wholesale overhaul. Already, Clinical Commissioning Groups are consulting on measures to change the landscape of local provision.

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