Tag: NHS Cambridgeshire

A National Health Service Out To Tender

08:27 Wednesday 15th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: New figures obtained by the BBC show that since April last year more than 70% of all contracts for NHS services in England have been awarded to private companies. Reforms to the health service mean that any qualified provider can compete to provide clinical NHS services. Campaigners say though, care is being transferred away from the NHS into the hands of commercially driven providers. .. Since April last year, more than £5 billion worth of contracts have been advertised. They include diagnostic services like scans and blood tests, mental health and GP services. Paul Evans is the Director of the pressure group The NHS Support Federation. He says the big question is whether all this is actually better for the patient.
(TAPE)
PAUL EVANS: We’ve already seen from those contracts where GP out-of-hours contracts have been organised by private providers, that they haven’t put enough staff in place. And that’s caused tragic consequences for some patients.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well this is particularly relevant in Cambridgeshire of course. Five organisations have thrown their hats into the ring for a billion pound contract to run health care for the elderly in the county, the largest outsourcing contract in NHS history, and we await with bated breath to see who wins that.

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Peterborough Learning Disability Day Service Staff Withdrawal Decision During Consultation On Closure

08:21 Thursday 9th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: The Bigger Breakfast Show has been told of concern by users that the Learning Disability Day Service at the Gloucester Centre in Peterborough is set to close. It’s funded by Peterborough City Council, which is currently consulting about changes to day services for 18-65 year olds with learning or physical disabilities, but the service is run by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust, which has already decided to withdraw its staff at the end of March. Well Lorna Payne is Director of Service Integration at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust. Lorna, morning.
LORNA PAYNE: Good morning Paul. Thanks for having me on this morning.
PAUL STAINTON: That’s fine. Why are you withdrawing your staff when we don’t know definitely if it’s closed or not?
Continue reading “Peterborough Learning Disability Day Service Staff Withdrawal Decision During Consultation On Closure”

NHS Winter Campaign Tougher Than Expected

17:19 Tuesday 7th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Cambridgeshire’s three main NHS hospitals face bed shortages this very evening. Hinchinbrooke and Addenbrookes say the situation is nearing critical. Peterborough City Hospital has been on Black Alert since Friday, meaning it’s experiencing a severe bed shortage. Khurram Iftikhar is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Addenbrookes. He says they’ve seen a big increase in the number of elderly people coming to A&E who subsequently need a hospital bed.
(TAPE)
KHURRAM IFTIKHAR: We’ve had significant pressures over the last few months, and for similar reasons really we’ve had a 5% increase in walk-in presentations to the Emergency Department. On top of that, a 10% increase in patients arriving by ambulance, and the patients arriving by ambulance tend to be elderly, with more complex medical problems and complex comorbidities. And they’re the kind of patients that generally get admitted into the hospital. Our bed capacity varies, so being on Black Alert is a dynamic thing. You can be on Black Alert early on in the day, and that can change once patients are discharged. And then it can go on Black Alert again once you get the admissions through the door. But from an emergency medicine point of view, we all depend on flow, and if there’s no beds in the hospital to admit patients to, the Emergency Department very very quickly gets overcrowded, and that can pose challenges itself, working in the Emergency Department, for the staff and for the patients as well. The other minor contributory factor is Addenbrookes is now the major trauma centre, so we receive trauma patients from across the region. Patients are living longer now with complex comorbidities, and therefore requiring hospital admissions when they become acutely unwell. There are a few patients that probably do attend inappropriately.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: That’s Khurram Iftikhar from Addenbrookes. Now in just moment or two we’ll be going live to Peterborough City Hospital and talk to the Chief Operating Officer Angus Maitland for an update from them. But a short while ago I spoke to Jane Tombleson. She’s Head of Operations for Hinchinbrooke Hospital’s Emergency Care Department. And this is the update she gave me.
Continue reading “NHS Winter Campaign Tougher Than Expected”

Green Condemnation Of NHS Contracts With Private Health Care Consortia

17:15 Friday 13th September 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The Leader of the Green Party has launched a fierce attack on the private health companies bidding to run elderly care services in Cambridgeshire. Four firms, Capita, Serco, United Health and Virgin Healthcare have been shortlisted for the £800 million contract. Natalie Bennett told the Green’s Annual Conference in Brighton the Party opposed what she calls corporate bloodsuckers and jewel thieves, making profits from the NHS. (TAPE)
Continue reading “Green Condemnation Of NHS Contracts With Private Health Care Consortia”

NHS Reforms – Whistleblowers Come Forward

08:48 Monday 3rd June 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: We’ve been talking about ambulances this morning, and asking whether private ambulances are putting lives at risk. A number of whistleblowers contacted the show. We also spoke to the head honcho from the East of England Ambulance Trust earlier in the show, which has garnered much comment from you today.
PRODUCER BEN STEVENSON: It certainly has, and a number more whistle blowers have come forward. It’s very difficult Paul, because obviously they’re very keen not to come onto air, because they don’t want to reveal their identities, so I’m scribbling down what they’ve had to say. And what we might do tomorrow on tomorrow’s show is get them in more detail again, so we can just go over some of these remarkable stories. I’ll just quickly zip through a couple. Continue reading “NHS Reforms – Whistleblowers Come Forward”

Catastrophic PFI Contracts Threaten Cambridgeshire Health Services

08:24 Thursday 7th February 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: MPs have delivered their verdict on what has been described as one of the worst reports ever seen within the NHS. “Catastrophic” was a word used to describe the Private Finance Initiative for Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust. The future of two of the county’s hospitals is inow in doubt, although we have heard this morning that Peterborough will not be closed. Stewart Jackson MP for Peterborough has that guarantee from the Health Minister. But regional health bosses and the Labour Government have been blamed for what went wrong here. Earlier, MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson, who called for the investigation by the Public Accounts Committee, had this to say. (TAPE)
STEWART JACKSON: I’ve had a personal guarantee from Secretary of State that Peterborough Hospital will not be closed. It’s not a situation where either of the hospitals are likely to be closed. But there will be some difficult decisions, reconfigurations, and some cuts in clinical services, to keep jobs and clinical care at the Hospital. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: He also went on to say he didn’t think either hospital would close. But he went on to blame other people for what was going on, including the last Labour Government, and said that Andy Burnham, the Health Minister at the time, needs to be called to account. Well we can speak to Ed Murphy. He was the Labour Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough at the least election. So Labour have to shoulder some blame here Ed, for what they did, and particularly Andy Burnham. Continue reading “Catastrophic PFI Contracts Threaten Cambridgeshire Health Services”

The Disastrous Consequences of Private Sector Involvement in the NHS

08:38 Monday 10th December 2012
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: It’s a big day for the chief executives from two Cambridgeshire hospitals. They’re going to face questions from MPs at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee. The politicians will be focusing on the finances of Peterborough City and Hinchinbrooke Hospitals. Earlier we heard from Karen Webb, the Regional Director of the Royal College of Nursing. She says she feels sorry for staff and patients at Peterborough City Hospital, which has debts higher than nearly any other on the whole of the NHS. (TAPE)
KAREN WEBB: The issues are very worrying for the people of Cambridgeshire, because ultimately unless the Government makes some higher political decisions about bailing out all of these private finance initiatives around the country, unless Government takes that decision, the only way forward is going to be to lose staff and cut services, neither of which is in the interests of the people of Cambridgeshire. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well earlier this year Hinchinbrooke Hospital was taken over by a private company of course called Circle, an idea designed to get the hospital better managed and out of debt. Karen doesn’t think that’s working. Well we can speak to the Conservative MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson, who’s going to be on that Public Accounts Committee today. Morning Stewart.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: What are you trying to find out here? Why have you called these two guys in? Continue reading “The Disastrous Consequences of Private Sector Involvement in the NHS”

New Political Party To Defend The NHS

07:20 Thursday 15th November 2012
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: A brand new political party is stepping onto the scene today, and one of their key aims is to unseat a Cambridgeshire MP. The founders of the National Health Action Party say the NHS is currently being destroyed by Government reforms, which have been led by the MP for South Cambridgeshire of course, Andrew Lansley. Now we can speak to Dr Richard Taylor, retired hospital doctor, and one of the founders of the new political party. Morning.
RICHARD TAYLOR: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: Is this going to be a nationwide party? Continue reading “New Political Party To Defend The NHS”