07:07 Wednesday 24th February 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: Accident and Emergency departments across Cambridgeshire are under severe strain at the moment, according to the county’s Clinical Commissioning Group. They’ve contacted BBC Radio Cambridgeshire asking us to re-emphasise their message, only go to A&E if it really is an emergency. The news comes ahead of a meeting in Cambridge tonight about the problems faced by the NHS in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Before we find out more about that, here’s reporter Julia Greenaway with a reminder of just what’s been happening with our health service locally.
JULIA GREENAWAY: Thanks Dotty. Well it’s been a torrid few years for the NHS in Cambridgeshire. Things started well when Peterborough’s brand new City Hospital opened in 2010, but in the past five years it’s been dogged by the multi-million debt incurred by the financing package. Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon then became the first NHS hospital ever to be run by a private company. Then Circle pulled out of the ten year deal last April. The Hospital was placed in special measures, and patients warned that departments could close. Cambridgeshire was again chosen to try something never before done in the NHS, when the £800 million Older People and Adult Social Care Services was outsourced. This was the biggest outsourcing contract in the history of the NHS, and it collapsed within months. And finally last year inspectors said that while Addenbrookes Gospital’s quality of care was outstanding, it had to go into special measures due to failures by senior managers. The Hospital is predicted a £60 million debt this year.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Well listening to that is Dr John Lister, who studies health policy. He’s also a campaigner against the privatisation of the NHS. He’s one of the speakers at this meeting tonight, and believes there are particular reasons to be concerned about the NHS in Cambridgeshire. So John good morning.
JOHN LISTER: Good morning.
DOTTY MCLEOD: These particular reasons, what are they?
JOHN LISTER: Well I think Cambridgeshire, as your summary has well pointed out, has been used as a kind of a testing bed for all kinds of experimental policies, which we have been warning as campaigners, we as researchers have been warning, would not work. And they haven’t worked. And of course it’s led to disastrous consequences.
DOTTY MCLEOD: But one man’s experimental might be another man’s innovative John.
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