Cuts Don't Cure
Q & A on the Cuts
How much has to be saved?
£20 billion over 4 years (by 2015).
Does this affect the whole NHS?
The cuts will affect hospitals, NHS services, and the surrounding communities. According to the most comprehensive survey of health cuts since the Government came to power, 'more than 50,000 doctors, nurses, midwives and other NHS staff are due to loose lose their jobs.'
Where did the idea come from?
McKinsey management consultants represent the interests of many private health providers and stand to gain a large share of the NHS’s annual £106bn budget if the bill passes. McKinsey have been reported to be entertaining senior NHS officials withlavish trips abroad, buying them opera tickets and business class transatlantic flights.
The efficiency savings were based on an assumption that NHS productivity had gone down in recent years despite large increases in funding. The idea was to improve the amount of work done by setting a target for improving efficiency, but critics say the target is far too ambitious and is only being achieved by making damaging cuts.
What is the problem with making savings?
These are the biggest ever savings required of the NHS and experts warn that they are impossible to achieve without serious cuts in services. This means that not only will important jobs and services be axed, meaning patients could go untreated.
The cuts could also be detrimental to the overall quality of NHS service provided, endangering the reputation of the NHS.
The Health Select Committee Chair warns of cuts to services like Occupational Therapy and others regarded as ‘non-priority services.’
According to the most recent and comprenhensive internal NHS reports the cuts risk prioritising ’productivity gains at the expense of quality.'
What affect will this have on patient care?
Staff reductions or posts left vacant will mean higher and longer waiting lists. Cuts in hours and posts will mean the real risk of losing key staff.
The RCN has repeatedly stated that cuts to the nursing workforce will damage the quality of care the NHS is able to provide, risking the safety of patients. The internal NHS reports also highlight the risk of poor information sharing between newly created organisations.
On reading the 'devestating' reports, the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham said 'You know something is seriously amiss when NHS London has identified a risk of "preventable harm to children" but has been unable to reduce it.'
What has been the reaction to the plan?
An e-petition on the government's website urging ministers to drop the health bill, passed the 100,000 signatures threshold – the point where motions are considered eligible for debate in the Commons.
Christina McAnea, Unison's head of health, said: ‘It is a scandal that millions of pounds of public money is being wasted on a major NHS overhaul that no-one wants.’
Unite head of health Rachael Maskell said: ‘The figure of £617 million to be spent on redundancies is yet more evidence of the wasteful nature of Andrew Lansley's deeply flawed so-called NHS reforms.’
What impact has been reported so far?
A recent report predicts the disruption caused by the cuts could drive health workers out of the profession, leading to dilution of expertise.
The COT said ‘We are hearing reports of Occupational Therapy posts being downgraded, posts frozen or deleted... For many it is the fear of cuts that is leading to low morale and uncertainty in the workplace.’
NHS London expects that only two out of its 18 hospital trusts will be 'financially viable' in three years time, thanks to £20 billion in government cuts.
The Shadow health secretary said of most recent reports on cuts that ‘what these devastating documents reveal is that even though risks to patient safety have been identified, the NHS has not been able to mitigate them. The reason for this is simple: the government gave the NHS mission impossible when it asked it to save a massive £20bn whilst simultaneously dismantling it.’
07/02/12: No Place to go as cuts force mother and baby drug treatment centre to close
17/08/11: Guardian investigation highlights how NHS cuts are to detriment to patient care.
17/08/11: Revealed: how NHS cuts are really affecting the young, old and infirm.
17/08/11: NHS hospitals drain money from elderly care, says peer.
12/08/11: Number of patients waiting more than 4 hours in A&E doubles following abolition of waiting time targets
12/08/11: NHS cuts put pressure on social workers over assessments
10/08/11: Number of NHS patients waiting over 6 weeks for tests quadruples
09/08/11: Cuts threaten to undo progress on reducing teenage pregnancies
04/08/11: Unite calls for NHS cuts to be reversed as trusts struggle to make ‘efficiency savings’
29/07/11: Figures show NHS cuts are too deep
18/07/11: Nursing workforce could fall by ‘100, 000’ academics warn
17/06/11: Have NHS reforms already cost the taxpayer three quarters of a billion pounds?
08/06/11: If the NHS budget is being protected, why are hospitals facing huge cuts?
11/04/11: Half of NHS cuts in frontline posts, say nursing leaders
