Close A&E and maternity units to save the NHS says think-tank

PATIENTS will be put at risk if the Government doesn’t back plans to close A&E and maternity units, a leading think-tank warns.

Local health managers are trying to redesign NHS services in their areas so they can be run more cheaply and offer a better standard of care.

But their ‘sustainability and transformation plans’ could lead to the closure of dozens of A&Es, maternity wards, specialist cancer units and even entire hospitals.

A report by the King’s Fund today urges MPs to back the proposals – even though they are likely to be unpopular with voters.

It warns that not supporting the plans would mean politicians were ‘ colluding’ to allow unsafe departments to remain open.

However, the think- tank’s appeal to MPs marks a U-turn on its position last year, when it was critical of the plans.

In a report in November, it highlighted widespread concerns among health managers, with one admitting the idea was a ‘recipe for disaster’.

The sudden about-turn has led to speculation that NHS bosses have put pressure on the King’s Fund to be more supportive of the proposals.

Although it claims to be independent, approximately a third of its funding comes from conferences and training sessions attended by NHS staff.

There are 44 sustainability and transformation plans in England, and managers have been working on them since the beginning of last year.

The details have yet to be finalised, but drafts suggest 24 A&Es face closure, along with 11 maternity units and three hospitals. The report states the level of support from politicians is ‘uncertain’ but their backing will be ‘crucial’.

Chris Ham, chief executive of the King’s Fund, said: ‘If you’re not willing to support plans of this kind, essentially you are colluding as politicians in the continuation of unsafe services.

‘Where there is a clear case that hospitals cannot continue providing safe, high-quality care because of a shortage of nursing staff, shortage of medical staff and other factors, then a reluctance to engage in difficult conversations about why the case for change is compelling means the public will continue to access services of a lower standard and quality.

‘Politicians need to step up to the plate and be brave.’

The King’s Fund said any plans that required the closure of vast numbers of hospital beds would have to be reversed because most hospitals have been more than 95 per cent full this winter and A&E units have been overcrowded, with patients queuing on trolleys.

Mr Ham said this meant any managers who had intended to close hospital wards would now be trying to keep them.

He added: ‘Cutting hospital beds when capacity is already at its limits – we don’t think that’s going to happen.

‘We do not think now is the time to start cutting back on acute hospital beds and capacity anything like on the scale set out in some of the plans.’

The British Medical Association told yesterday how the NHS had lost 15,000 beds in the past six years – equivalent to closing 24 hospitals.

NHS CUTS 15,000 BEDS IN 6 YEARS

From yesterday’s Mail