- Three children were being treated for kidney failure in
Scotland's leading children's hospital last night
after an
outbreak of the potentially fatal E coli 0157 infection. The
two-year-olds, who attend the same nursery in Dunfermline, Fife, were in a
"serious" condition at Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital. The source of the outbreak
was not known, and the Careshare nursery, based at a further education
college, closed voluntarily to allow inspection. Sarah Hall, health
correspondent
Wednesday May 10, 2006 The Guardian
- Record fall in
waiting times. Hospital waiting times in Scotland
have fallen to the lowest level on record, Health Minister Andy Kerr has
claimed. Figures published by the Scottish Executive show that on March 31, no
patients in Scotland with a guarantee had waited more than six months for
inpatient/ day case treatment or for
a first outpatient appointment. The number of outpatients with a guarantee who
waited more than 18 weeks to be seen was down by 69% over the past year. The
number of inpatient/ day cases
waiting more than 18 weeks fell by 46%. However, the figures also showed that
median waiting times are continuing to increase.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of
Public Finance 2 June 2006
- Doctors toughen
position against reforms. Doctors at the BMA Annual Representative Meeting
have taken a stance of almost complete opposition to market reforms of the
NHS. The decision went against the BMA leadership, which had argued for
maintaining a dialogue with ministers, calling instead for no further
involvement of the private sector, a potential end to the split between
providers and purchasers, and a halt to the private finance initiative. The
move means the BMA now officially "actively opposes the government's plans".
The statement was referred to the association's council for action, rather
than as a formal passage, and as such leaves the leadership room for
manoeuvre. However the BMA's leaders will oppose core parts of government
policy when they meet Patricia Hewitt next week at a time when the government
is hoping to get health professionals to acquiesce to the reforms. The
statement calls for the council to campaign for "an integrated, publicly
provided, health service in England", and refers to
Scotland and Wales where there is no division
between purchasers and providers. The doctors also stated that the fundamental
values of the NHS "cannot be maintained if the NHS is broken up and tendered
to private corporations", and that "there should be no further involvement of
the commercial private
sector in providing NHS care". Andy Burnham, health minister said the BMA
"are entitled to their views" but the department would maintain "constructive
dialogue" with clinicians. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Financial
Times
29 June 2006
- An NHS helpline giving medical advice over the phone has been blamed for
the deaths of two patients, one of whom was told to take paracetamol after
describing the symptoms of meningitis. Nurse advisers at NHS 24, a
Scottish service similar to NHS Direct,
failed to diagnose meningitis in Shomi Miah, 17, who died of the condition
in November 2004. Jeevan Vasagar
Friday
July 21, 2006 The Guardian
- Up to 10,000 breast cancer patients are to be given free access to a drug
that could save as many as 600 lives a year. Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug
already given to women with late-stage breast cancer, will be given to certain
women in the early stages of the disease, under draft
guidance to be issued
today by the government's drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence. The guidance comes nine months after the Scottish
equivalent of Nice, the Scottish Medicines
Consortium, approved the use of Taxotere for Scottish women in the early
stages of the disease. The guidance is still open to consultation, but the
final version is not expected to be changed when it is published next month.
Sarah Hall, health correspondent
Monday
July 24, 2006 The Guardian
- Tayside mental
health tender. NHS Tayside has launched a
tender notice for technical advice on the procurement of new mental health
facilities. The Tayside NHS Board and the North of Scotland Planning Group
wish to procure as a PPP the design, construction and, where appropriate, the
non-clinical management of facilities for mental health services for General
Adult Psychiatry, Psychiatry of Old Age and Secure Care. The total estimated
construction cost of the project is £68m. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of thepfi.net 26 July 2006
- Scots get
anti-blindness drug as those south of the border lose out. An effective
treatment for the commonest cause of blindness, age related macular
degeneration (AMD) has been approved for use in
Scotland, but awaits the
National Institute for Clinical Excellence's approval for use in the UK.
Between now and NICE's timetable for completion of its appraisal of the drug,
Mucagen, twenty thousand people in England and Wales could go blind. NICE said
that, as they had only been instructed to look at both Mucagen and another
similar treatment called Lucentis together, they would have to wait until
Lucentis received a licence before producing their appraisal.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Independent
8 August 2006
- Lanarkshire
losses A&E department. Monklands Hospital is to
lose its accident and emergency department as NHS Lanarkshire got the go
ahead last night from the Scottish executive for
its £300million reorganisation. The closure has attracted angry opposition
from campaigners in the hospital's area of Airdrie. Home Secretary John Reid,
MP for Airdrie, said he was "extremely disappointed" at the plans that will
see locals travel to Wishaw or Hairmyres for emergency treatment. The two
neighbouring hospitals are in constituencies belonging to Scotland's Health
Minister Andy Kerr and First Minister Jack McConnell. The Scottish Executive's
deputy health minister said that an extra £100million was to be invested in
Monklands Hospital.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of BBC
Online 22 August 2006
- Hospitals fail
hygiene standards. Three of Scotland's leading
hospitals have
failed to meet cleanliness standards. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Royal
Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and Raigmore in Inverness all received amber
warning grades in a study carried out by NHS body, Health Facilities Scotland.
The traffic light ratings system used gives a red for less than 70%
compliance, amber for 70-90%, and green for over 90%; the only health board to
receive an amber light was State Hospitals Board for Scotland. The monitoring
was based on two types of audit, one carried out be domestic services
management and one by an independent team. Health Minister Andy Kerr hailed
the report as evidence that "the monitoring tool is doing its job and is
flagging up problem areas so that cleaning standards can be improved". Brian
Cavanagh, chair of NHS Lothian said: "Consort, who are responsible for
cleaning at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, were told some time ago that
they needed to improve their cleanliness audit procedures. It is unacceptable
that cleanliness standards have not been met." He added that he would be
meeting the company to seek assurances on future improvement.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of BBC Online 29
August 2006
- Glasgow £180m
NHS PFI contract signed. A £180m
contract to design and build the new Stobhill and Victoria hospitals has
been signed. A further £20m will be invested in new equipment. This represents
the biggest single investment in new NHS facilities in
Scotland. Canmore Partnership Ltd led negotiations for the successful bid,
which includes Balfour Beatty and Currie &
Brown.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of PFI.net 31
August 2006
- SNP reveals
plans to replace PFI. SNP Leader Alex Salmond MP has unveiled proposals to
replace the PFI with a Scottish
Futures Trust that will deliver vital infrastructure improvements for
Scotland's schools, hospitals and transport network and free up an additional
£116m a year for investment in frontline services. Salmond published a new SNP
policy paper highlighting the £5bn extra cost for
Scotland of the credit card level repayments on current PFI projects and
detailing the potential for big annual savings if projects currently in the
pipeline used bond issues instead of PFI for funding. Salmond said: "PFI is
proving to be Labour's biggest public policy disaster with our hospitals and
schools lumbered with credit card levels of interest payments, way above the
rate we could and should be paying. Over the lifetime of current PFI projects
Labour's PFI disaster will leave Scotland paying £5bn more than it needed to.
The SNP will sort out Labour's mess. With a Scottish Futures Trust, using bond
issue, there is the potential within current planned PFI schemes to find £116m
in annual savings. This is money the SNP in government will direct away from
debt repayments and rocketing private profit and back in to the frontline of
service delivery. "
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of PFI.net 5
September 2006
- Consort vows to
clean up its act at the ERI. Consort, the private contractor which built
and runs Edinburgh Royal Infirmary has promised to
introduce a new monitoring system after the hospital was rated as the second
dirtiest in Scotland. NHS Lothian said it had "made it absolutely clear to
Consort that this practise was not acceptable. We are pleased that they have
now accepted that the use of this monitoring tool is non-negotiable." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Edinburgh
Evening News 26 September 2006
- A teenage girl who was mistakenly given a series of huge radiation
overdoses during treatment for cancer has died. It was confirmed yesterday
that Lisa Norris, 16, from Girvan, Ayrshire, died
at her home on Wednesday surrounded by her family. In January, Lisa learned
that she had been given at least 17 overdoses of radiation during radiotherapy
treatment for a brain tumour at Beatson oncology centre in Glasgow. Her family
had just been told that the tumour had gone and were celebrating when doctors
came to their house to tell them of the blunder, blamed on human error. An
investigation is continuing. Kirsty Scott
Friday
October 20, 2006 The Guardian
-
Scots NHS 'gets poor value for £100m IT spend'.
The NHS in Scotland lacks a joined-up strategy for
information technology and does not know exactly how much it spends overall on
the service. A report by Audit Scotland warned yesterday a "major cultural
shift" is required, revealing that the service gets poor value for the
estimated £100m it spends. The Scottish Executive must do more to improve the
way it funds spending, according to the public sector efficiency watchdog.
Funding should be based on a system which clearly sets out the justification
for the investment over the whole lifetime of the project and the benefits
which will be delivered. This happens at present only when spending exceeds
£2m, it said. The recommendations came in an independent report on how IT is
managed by the NHS in Scotland. In the past, the health service has had a
range of locally developed IT systems, and the report says the executive must
continue to improve the way it manages IT. The report is published two days
after Health Minister Andy Kerr signed a £300m contract to provide the NHS
with a new computer network. The contract will provide the NHS with most of
its national computer services for 11 years, in areas ranging from patient
records to nurse roster systems and the payroll.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 23 November
2006
-
£16m overspend by Lothian NHS.
The second-largest health board in Scotland has
burst its budget by almost £16m. A report presented to Lothian NHS Board
yesterday said that while considerable effort had been made to hit financial
targets, not enough efficiency savings had been found. The cost of nurses to
staff hospital wards is one problem area and a ban on hiring nurses from
agencies to cover absences is being introduced. A rise in energy costs of
around £7m and an increase in the number of patients needing care added to the
pressures. John Matheson, director of finance for NHS Lothian, told the board
he had identified a number of areas where money could be saved. However he
added: "I will not resolve this on my own. This has got to be resolved at
grassroots level." Mr Matheson said: "NHS Lothian has always met its financial
target. The current position represents less than 2% of a £1bn budget. A
number of measures have been implemented to ensure we again achieve break-even
without adversely affecting the high levels of care delivered." The board's
consultation included proposals to open a replacement children's hospital at
Little France in Edinburgh. Widespread support was reported. However, there
were calls for cheaper parking and improved public transport links to the
site. There was also a strong plea for better food.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 23 November
2006
-
Scots practice in first private move.
Private providers have for the first time been invited to take over a GP
practice in Scotland. The advert by NHS Lanarkshire
for independent or voluntary sector organisations to manage Harthill Health
Centre has sparked fears that Scotland will follow England in bringing in more
private firms under APMS contracts. Dr Dean Marshall, chair of GPC Scotland,
said he was concerned that a private company could be willing to operate the
surgery at a loss to get a foothold in the area. He said: 'If a private
company comes in it will be giving a service to shareholders. It is worrying
for Scotland that we now have the first health board willing to take this
step.' Dr Marshall added: 'Normally, NHS GPs are encouraged to apply, but in
this case I do not think that this has been done strongly enough. I am not
convinced this is going to improve things for patients.' Dr Colette Wishaw,
Lanarkshire LMC secretary, hoped other health boards were not encouraged to
make similar moves. She said: 'The evidence is that GMS practices are working
pretty well. We certainly have no evidence that private pro-viders will do any
better.'
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Pulse 23 November 2006
-
Welcome for report by maternity group.
Mums fighting to save a North-east maternity unit have welcomed a new report.
And they claim the findings by the Scottish Health
Council are "open to interpretation". The council conducted an independent
inquiry into NHS Grampian's consultation process. They found the trust had
consulted adequately with the local population over its proposed
changes to rural health services, including the closure of four maternity
units. But members of the Save Aboyne Maternity group said that the review
also highlights many weaknesses in the
consultation process. And they are confident that these will be taken into
account by Health Minister Andy Kerr who will make a final decision on the
proposals. In the report NHS Grampian was accused of conducting an "arrogant"
and "cloak and dagger style" consultation. Under its plans, which were
unanimously backed by the health board in August, maternity units at Aboyne,
Fraserburgh, Huntly and Banff would close. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Aberdeen Press & Journal 24 November 2006
-
Hospital parking fee cut - but deal is secret.
NHS Lothian yesterday rejected demands for it to
open its books and reveal details of a multi-million pound deal it has struck
to refinance its flagship hospital privately. Bosses at the Royal Infirmary,
Edinburgh (RIE) would say only they had agreed "a refinancing package" with
Consort Healthcare, the firm that has come under fire for charging patients up
to £10 a day to park at the hospital since it opened in 2002. One part of the
deal NHS Lothian did make public was that Consort was to cut daily parking
charges from £10 to £7. Politicians and trade unions accused the health board
of trying to hide the details of its new deal with Consort - which could be
longer and inevitably more expensive than the original PFI deal - by making a
fanfare announcement about the reduction in parking charges. Together with the
city's Western General Hospital, the RIE still operates the most expensive
parking charges for patients and relatives in Scotland. A spokesman for NHS
Lothian said details of the agreement were "commercially confidential", but
insisted it would "deliver multi-million pound gains" for NHS Lothian. Shona
Robison, the SNP health spokeswoman, said: "Secrecy and waste have been the
hallmarks of PFI contracts. Taxpayers are entitled to see what the terms of
the new deal are, given that they are the ones paying for the new contract. We
are all entitled to know whether Consort have made significant financial gains
out of re-negotiating this contract with NHS Lothian and they should publish
the terms of the deal for all to see." Ms Robison said she welcomed the cut in
parking charges, but added: "They were a classic example of the bad deal which
PFI represents for staff, patients and the taxpayer. The fact that there has
had to be a renegotiation of the contract at this stage due to public outcry
reinforces that." The public service union Unison suggested the deal would
mean a longer association with Consort which would, in the long run, cost
taxpayers more. Tom Waterson, of Unison's health services group executive,
said: "The NHS is still giving millions of pounds to a private company which
continually refuses to disclose how much profit it is making from the health
service and patients. If this deal is really making multi-million pound
savings for taxpayers, it is time they opened up the books and showed us. What
do they have to hide ? Until then we must assume the deal has been extended,
so while repayments are less on a yearly basis, over the piece they will cost
taxpayers more."
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Scotsman
24 November 2006
- 'Best ever'
waiting times hailed. NHS Scotland has met its
target of treating patients within six months of diagnosis. The latest
statistics revealed that the health service was also on course to reduce
treatment times to 18 weeks by the end of this year. However, in cancer
waiting times after the NHS failed to meet a target of treating 95% of
patients within 62 days. A& E
departments were meeting the four-hour target between arrival and admission,
transfer or discharge on 90% of occasions, with one-third of departments
already above 98%. The Scottish Conservatives said the average wait for an
outpatient had increased from 47 weeks in 1999 to 51 weeks in the latest
figures. With inpatients, the median wait had increased from 35 weeks to 46
weeks in the same period. The Scottish National Party claimed the figures
showed that 33,951 patients were now on hidden waiting lists and all cancers
combined showed that one in 5 patients still fell outside the two-month
target. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of BBC Online 29 November 2006
- Lack of beds
puts hospital on red alert. Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary has been placed on "red alert" because of a shortage of beds on 36
separate occasions during the first nine months of the year. The alert is
triggered when there are 15 or less beds available, or none in intensive care.
It can also be activated if there is no bed identified for a patient needing
admission at accident and emergency. The figures have been highlighted as
evidence of growing pressure on the area's NHS and there are fears that winter
may exacerbate the problems. NHS Grampian blamed the problem partly on bed
blocking, when elderly patients have no ware else to go. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Aberdeen Press & Journal 2 December 2006
- Pre-budget
appeal over NHS deficits. Unison has called on the government to give more
money to the NHS as fresh protests go ahead this weekend over plans to cut
services. Ahead of demonstrations in places such as Chertsey in
Surrey
and Hatfield and Stevenage in
Hertfordshire, the union has called on the Chancellor to use next week's
budget report to help out NHS trusts. Karen Jennings, head of health at
Unison, is to address the rally in Chertsey with the words: "The pace of
change is frighteningly fast. The public are fearful of their health services
and staff are frightened and worried about losing their jobs. Next week Gordon
Brown is giving his pre-budget report - he could use the opportunity to signal
additional funds to assist NHS Trusts with deficits and put a stop to knee
jerk cuts that are damaging long term delivery of better health care." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Liverpool
Daily Post 2 December 2006
- NHS: In sickness
and in health. BBC health correspondent Elanor Bradford examines the NHS
building programme in Scotland and the effect of the
Private Finance Initiative. She says that the Conservative plan for PFI, taken
up, modified and renamed by New Labour, would theoretically provide the answer
to an ageing NHS infrastructure. However for health boards, commissioning a
hospital for the next 30 years that they wouldn't own was a minefield. All
details had to be set down for the next thirty years before building could begin
and any changes in how services needed to be run would have to approved by the
private operators and might incur additional charges. Furthermore there would be
no rebates if a hospital outlived its usefulness. Now many health authorities
have realised that they have tied themselves into very expensive contracts while
companies could expect healthy returns. The government has argued that
publicly-funded building projects run over budget and also have running costs.
However, taking a look at the biggest PFI project in the health sector so far,
the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the figures look less rosy for PFI. The hospital
cost £184m to build, yet Lothian Health Board is paying £40m a year in
repayments, which will total over £1bn in thirty year's time, three times the
massively over budget Holyrood Parliament. PFI is just one way in which the
government has brought in the private sector to run aspects of our health care
under the argument that it is better value for money. However, Professor Alyson
Pollock from Edinburgh University's Centre for International Public Health
Policy, says that under PFI the NHS will pay up to ten times more than it
should. "Of course PFI is vastly more expensive now than if we'd gone down the
public procurement route," she said. Others argue that much of the money that
has been wasted in the NHS is directly connected with decades of political
interference, and that the core services of the NHS actually already provide
excellent value. Even if the NHS isn't as efficient as it could be, the
consequence of using private contractors is that taxpayers' money is spent not
only on running a health service, but also on increasing dividends to
shareholders. [This is based on 'Frontline: In Sickness And In Wealth' on BBC
One Scotland at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, 6 December.] Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of BBC Online 5
December 2006
- Cost of private
deals 'could force closures within NHS'. The high cost of using the
private sector to build hospitals could lead to healthcare closures and
mounting debts, a report has claimed. The annual cost to the NHS of private
finance initiatives (PFI) is currently more than £107m a year, according to
Edinburgh University researchers. But this is set to rise to £510m in the next
five years, they said. Lead researcher Mark Hellowell conceded that without
PFI, the NHS would have had to provide and pay for these services and
facilities anyway. But he argued that the costs of using the private sector
were much higher than using public funding. As a result, Mr Hellowell said
that boards were having to divert cash from clinical care and staffing to
repay the PFI. Ultimately this could lead to large debts, as has happened in
England, leaving boards no option but to close some services. The
Scottish Executive dismissed the findings, saying
that whatever method was used to build major hospitals, there were always
long-term costs. The new study - The Impact of PFI on Scotland's NHS -
analysed figures from all the health boards, some with PFI projects and some
without. Under PFI, the private sector designs, builds and finances facilities
as well as running services such as catering. In return, the NHS pays an
annual charge, comprising a "rent" element as well as payment for services.
The researchers found that PFI projects already signed in Scotland cost the
private sector £602m to complete. But they would cost the NHS £2.4bn in the
rent paid back, they estimated. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Scotsman
7 December 2006
- Villagers to
lobby ministers in hope of saving hospital. Villagers are expected to
lobby Scottish ministers in a campaign to overturn a
NHS Highland recommendation to close a Lochaber hospital. The move, being
considered by Glencoe Community Council, is expected to win the support of
villagers at a meeting next week. It follows a decision by the board of NHS
Highland to seek consent from Health Minister, Andy Kerr to close the 12-bed
Glencoe Hospital and its geriatric care unit. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Aberdeen Press & Journal 8 December 2006
- Warning that
'crippling' PFI debts will hit patient care. NHS
Lothian has defended the use of private funding for hospital building
projects in the wake of a new report which claims patient care will suffer due
to crippling debts. A new Edinburgh University study has revealed Scottish
health boards will pay private financiers £510 million a year by 2011. It said
NHS Lothian already makes the highest annual payments of £46m. The health
board has another seven projects lined up, at a total cost of £375m, which
will ultimately see it paying £136m-a-year, the reports says. However, health
chiefs said private finance had already proved a major boost to public health
care by helping to fund the creation of the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Bob
Anderson, interim chairman of the NHS Lothian, said: "The Royal Infirmary is a
centre of clinical excellence known the world over. It's providing
state-of-the-art health care. Without the use of private funding, Edinburgh
and Scotland would not have this fantastic facility." The Scottish Executive
denied the debts would put additional pressure on the NHS and patient
services. A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "These allegations betray a
complete lack of understanding with regard to public sector finance.
Regardless of which method is used to build major hospitals, there are always
long-term costs to pay. PFI only proceeds if it is more cost-effective than
the public sector option." However, the report by the university's centre for
international public health policy, said the annual payments would have an
effect on patient care. Mark Hellowell, its lead author, said: "Funding is
being diverted away from clinical care, staff and supplies, to pay 'rent' to
the private sector." The study claimed the rising costs could also lead to
fresh pressure for hospital closures. Under the controversial scheme a private
sector consortium designs, builds and finances a health institution. It then
runs it for the NHS, receiving annual payments in return - typically over a
period of 30 years or more. But the report argues PFI buildings cost more than
non-PFI buildings, creating an "affordability gap" that can only be met by
switching money from clinical services, staff and supplies. And for the NHS,
the debt is greater than the investment it provides, the report claims. The
total capital value of signed PFI contracts in the health service is said to
be £602m, but the total debt created is said to be around £2.4bn. Mr Hellowell
said: "Few people are aware of the scale of the Scottish Executive's plans to
expand the PFI programme across the NHS. The planned capital cost of £1.7bn
will bring the total value of PFI schemes in the NHS to £2.2bn over the next
five years. Health boards will have to find more than £500m every year to pay
the annual unitary charge. Funds have to be found to bridge this gap, and that
can have very serious consequences for patient care." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Edinburgh
Evening News 8 December 2006
- U-turn as
threatened A&E service saved. Threatened emergency and surgery services at
a key Scottish hospital were saved today following
a campaign by thousands against the cuts. Inverclyde Royal Hospital in
Greenock will keep its A& E along
with other major surgical departments under plans for the wider region
unveiled by new health board NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The decision is a
dramatic reversal of the downgrading planned by the authority which used to
run health services in the area, NHS Argyll and Clyde. With active plans to
reduce A& Es in Glasgow, Lanarkshire
and Ayrshire to minor injury units despite widespread opposition, concern
about the future of Inverclyde has never subsided and today's proposals fly in
the face of the recent centralisation trend. In the summer, campaigners
including the Home Secretary John Reid failed in their attempts to save A&
E services at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie from closure. In the case
of Inverclyde, more than 30,000 patients a year would have had to travel
further for treatment if their original centralisation package had been
imposed. In contrast fewer than 500 patients a year from the Inverclyde patch
are expected to be affected by the new shake-up. The long-term future of the
Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley will also be secured by the fresh
strategy, according to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. However, up to 900
patients a year may have to receive specialist attention in Glasgow instead
because of pressure on space and staff. Concern has been expressed this could
be the start of slicing cuts. Mr Ian Morrice, consultant surgeon at Inverclyde
Royal, described the new proposals as a "huge turn around". He said: "What is
happening is instead of a centralisation drive we have now got a system of
networking and co-operation with the other hospitals in Glasgow and Paisley.
That is how things are moving forward... We are really delighted... The big
flaw in the previous strategy was it was not costed in terms of hard finance
or patient discomfort or the fact that we would have had a lot of elderly
people from a deprived area having to move." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 8 December 2006
- PFI contributes
to large deficits of Scottish health boards. Money will have to be
diverted from patient care throughout the United Kingdom to pay for hospitals
constructed under the government's controversial private finance initiative
(PFI), a report from the University of Edinburgh has warned. It says that the
schemes (now known as public-private partnerships) are already a key factor in
NHS deficits and that this problem will escalate as more of these projects are
completed. The study by the University's Centre for International Public
Health has analysed the situation in Scotland after
obtaining data from the Scottish Executive under freedom of information
legislation.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of British
Medical Journal 15 December 2006
- The NHS in
Scotland underspent its budget by £70.6m. The NHS in
Scotland underspent its budget by £70.6m in 2005/
06, Audit Scotland has found. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Public Finance 15 December 2006
- Kerr steps in
to save maternity units. Plans to close several maternity units in
Aberdeenshire were stopped by the Executive
yesterday after health minister Andy Kerr asked them to review their decision.
NHS Grampian had proposed to partly close units at Aboyne, Banff, Huntly and
Fraserburgh, leaving them to provide pre-natal and post-natal care, but not
handle any births. The rethink follows a fierce campaign by mothers who drew
attention to the up to 60 mile journey that some would have to take to give
birth. Mr Kerr said: "With low birth numbers, not all of the community midwife
units in Aberdeenshire are sustainable. However, it's also important to try to
offer a choice over where women deliver their baby. That's why I want the
board to consider whether birth units would provide that choice for low-risk
mothers in Aberdeenshire's rural communities." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Scotsman
15 December 2006
- Health chiefs
warned to act now or face cash disaster. Experts have warned that the NHS
in Scotland must act now or face similar problems
to those being experienced in England. The NHS in Scotland ended last year
with a £70m surplus but Audit Scotland said it would face fresh pressures from
rising wage bills and energy prices. The Auditor General, Robert Black, said:
"The NHS budget will have grown by almost 40 per cent over the five years to
2007-8. But all boards continue to face cost pressures and have to deliver
efficiency savings, highlighting the need for robust long-term financial and
service planning to meet the challenges that lie ahead." NHS bodies are
expected to contribute £523m in savings as part of the Executive's efficient
government initiative. New pay agreements with staff will cost an extra £291m
for 2005/ 06 and at least £207m for
2006/ 07. The report also said that
Private Finance Initiatives added to the need for good financial planning.
However Shona Robison, the Scottish National Party's health spokeswoman, said
it was time to call an end to PFI. "Labour's costly PFI schemes are eating
away into the budgets of our health boards," she said. One of only two trusts
in Scotland to end the year in deficit, NHS Western Isles has predicted its
debt will rise again by the close of the financial year. Yesterday, Audit
Scotland said that the board's financial recovery plan did not show NHS
Western Isles returning to a financial surplus position until 2008-9. The
trust has in the past year been beset by a number of accusations, including
allegations of financial mismanagement, claims of bullying and threats of
industrial action. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Scotsman 15 December 2006
- Targets
revealed to boost numbers of medical staff. The
Scottish Executive has outlined targets to increase the number of clinical
staff in the NHS as figures showed a large proportion of older staff in the
service. Health Minister Andy Kerr released the National Workforce Plan
setting targets for 2007-08. The report revealed that over a quarter (26.3%)
of Scotland's NHS workforce is over 50, more than any other UK country. The
report details executive plans to increase specialist training posts for
junior doctors by half from 1,674 to 2,493, to create an extra 50 training
places for GPs, and also pledges to maintain the number of nursing and
midwifery students into next year. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Edinburgh
Evening News 19 December 2006
- Stop private
sector drive in the NHS, say doctors. A group of senior doctors and health
campaigners have called for a halt to private sector involvement in the NHS
until a public debate on the issue has taken place in
Scotland. They say they are "dismayed" by the opening of the NHS to
private companies and concerned that there is political pressure for greater
involvement. In an open letter, published in the Herald, they call for a stop
to "the ongoing process of creating a health market" in order for a debate to
take place. The Scottish Executive dismissed the idea of creeping
privatisation of the NHS in Scotland. The letter also attacks the use of the
Private Finance Initiative. It is signed by, among others, Phil Hanlon,
professor of public health at Glasgow University, Dr Jean Turner MSP, the
retired GP elected on a health ticket after campaigning against the closure of
Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital, and Dr George Venters, a retired consultant in
public health. They claim that, despite a previously more "communitarian"
approach to healthcare than in England, the Scottish NHS is increasingly
relying on the private sector. They refer specifically to the £15m deal for a
private treatment centre run by Amicus Healthcare (part of South African
company Netcare) in Strathcro in Angus to carry out 8000 operations in the
next three years; a move which they say represents the "outsourcing of core
NHS business". They also mention the case of Serco, which runs Kilmarnock
Prison, bidding to run a GP practise in Harthill as well as PFI schemes in
Glasgow and Clyde. However, an executive spokesman said: "The executive's
commitment to a healthcare system based on clinical need and free at the point
of use is beyond doubt. Our concern is the interests of patients, not the
tired dogma of 'private sector bad, public sector good'. We make no apology
about investing in modern hospital buildings. Patients in these continue to
receive NHS care delivered by NHS doctors and nurses, funded by NHS Scotland.
It is nowhere near a policy of privatisation." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 19 December 2006
- Private health
check-ups in executive scheme. A private company is performing thousands
of patient check-ups as part of a flagship scheme. Nurses employed by
management consultants Refer2Us are being brought in to screen people at risk
of illnesses such as heart disease in some of Scotland's
most deprived communities. The first phase of the work in Lanarkshire is being
funded by drugs company AstraZeneca to the tune of £100,000. The situation has
emerged at a time when doctors and campaigners are calling for a moratorium on
private sector
involvement in the Scottish NHS to allow a public debate about the issue.
Concern has been expressed about contracting out work which is part of such a
high-profile Scottish Executive initiative to tackle the nation's
entrenched health
inequalities. Four different health boards are piloting the Keep Well
project, which was announced by Health Minister Andy Kerr last year. It
targets people in poorer areas who are more likely to become ill but less
likely to seek healthcare. NHS Lothian, NHS Tayside and NHS Greater Glasgow
and Clyde said they had no plans to farm out the work to private firms.
However, NHS Lanarkshire, which has made the deal with Refer2Us and
AstraZeneca, said that it had turned to the private sector because of the high
number of patients needed to be seen. Senior doctors have questioned how
patients will be handed from the Refer2Us nurses to the NHS for follow-up
treatment and advice, and how this will affect the chance to build longer term
relationships with hard-to-reach patients. Professor Allyson Pollock, of the
centre for international public health policy at Edinburgh University, said:
"The whole point about Keep Well is for it to work it should be integrated
into community health services and this is an example of disintegration and
fragmentation. The health minister has repeatedly said they are doing things
differently in Scotland because they are integrating healthcare, but this is
an example where it is not happening." She added that in the United States it
was a known tactic of the pharmaceutical industry to become directly involved
in the disease management of patients. "We know the pharmaceutical purpose is
to open and expand markets," she added. A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire said:
"This involvement is at no cost to the NHS and, without this contribution, it
would not have been possible to provide the benefits of Keep Well to patients
as early in the project… It is not an alternative to NHS Lanarkshire providing
these services. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 20 December 2006
- Where is the
debate? A Herald leader says: "Creeping privatisation. Is it an ailment that
eats away at the very ethos of the NHS in Scotland,
or a panacea that enables targets for treating patients to be met that would
otherwise be missed ? There is no
question that the private sector is playing an increasing part in health service
provision. The trend has prompted senior medical figures and public health
campaigners to express their concerns in a letter to The Herald, published
yesterday, about what they perceive as the growing involvement of the private
sector in the NHS in a piecemeal fashion, devoid of any public debate about
whether this is the right, or the wrong, direction. As we reveal, this has
evolved to the extent that an initiative aimed at addressing the deep-seated
problem of health inequality has, in one area, resulted in one of the world's
major pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca, putting £100,000 into the scheme…
Four health boards are testing it: Lothian, Tayside, Greater Glasgow and Clyde,
and Lanarkshire. Only the last has gone down the privatisation route. It
justifies this on grounds that, without the private sector, fewer patients in
the target group would be seen and would benefit. Lanarkshire's health record is
poor. But so, too, are Greater Glasgow and Clyde's and Tayside's. As with
Lothian, they have no plans to contract this work out… NHS Lanarkshire needs to
provide a better justification for its decision. AstraZeneca is answerable to
shareholders. It makes drugs to treat conditions common in the targeted
communities (cancer and high blood pressure, to name but two). It is easy to
identify many potential returns on its investment that would also help keep
shareholders happy. Similarly, Refer2Us and its bank of nurses stand to gain.
But will patients ? Experience
suggests that they would benefit most from an integrated approach that only the
NHS can provide. Annual investment in the service will soon pass the £10bn mark.
If in-house is best, why are we contracting out more
? Why is it happening without a proper public debate
? An answer is long overdue from ministers." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 20 December 2006
- Private providers
in primary care. In a letter to the Herald, Graham Watt, Professor of
General Practice, University of Glasgow writes: "In
recent exchanges concerning the prospect of private providers in primary care,
there have been several attempts to equate new private providers with the
independent contractor status of GPs since the beginning of the NHS. This line
of argument is either disingenuous or betrays a worrying misunderstanding of the
nature of general practice. It is true that since the outset of the NHS, there
has been a perverse choice between using practice profits for personal income
and using them to invest in services for patients. In deprived areas, where the
needs are greater, pioneering approaches are generally only possible when GPs
are prepared to accept lower incomes than their colleagues This arrangement has
allowed a few wild flowers to bloom, but in general it has not served the public
health well, and there is no reason to suppose that private providers, with
their explicit responsibilities to shareholders, will do better… The more
general success of the independent contractor model is demonstrated by the
consistent ranking of family doctors, in successive surveys, as the professional
group most trusted by the general public. There are several reasons for this,
but it is mainly because general practitioners are largely motivated and adept
at providing what patients want: a doctor whom they know, who will tune in to
their situation, help sort out their problems, be there for them when they
return and who will not short-change them in terms of access to effective health
care. Private providers have no problem in providing this for a minority of
profitable patients, but they have no track record of providing it for the
general population." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald 20 December 2006
- The private life
of the NHS. Developments in the NHS in Scotland
have provoked a storm of criticism. The common factor is the involvement of the
private sector - either to build new facilities or to provide the services to
treat the patients. The deep division over private investment in the NHS among
both health workers and the public could make the issue a major battleground in
the run-up to next year's Holyrood elections. The debate has been fuelled by
concerns that the health service north of the Border is following the lead of
England and increasingly being opened up to private companies. In November, a
deal was struck paving the way for Scotland's first private treatment centre for
NHS patients. The unit, based at Stracathro in Angus, is funded by the Scottish
Executive and run by one of the world's largest private hospital operators, and
will carry out procedures such as orthopaedic and minor plastic surgery from
January. In December it emerged that private firm Serco, which runs Kilmarnock
Prison, is bidding for a contract to take over a vacant GP practice in Harthill,
North Lanarkshire. If successful, this would be the first GP surgery in Scotland
not to be run by doctors. A group of 16 senior doctors and health campaigners
has been so alarmed by the moves it has called for a moratorium on private
investment in the Scottish health service to allow a public debate on the
matter. The paths taken by the NHS in Scotland and England have diverged since
Tony Blair introduced privatisation to the health service in the south. But
there is increasing concern that Scotland is following its neighbouring health
department. Alex Nunns, spokesman for the English campaign group Keep Our NHS
Public, said there were "worrying signs" the Executive was moving towards
English-style market reform. "The English NHS is in chaos, there are headlines
daily about deficits, cuts and closures and people losing jobs," he says. "Not
all of that is down to the private sector, but a lot of it is down to the way
the government has reorganised the health service. It basically operates as a
market, which has forced accounting systems on the NHS. This means trusts are
getting to this position where they can't pay back their debts, and nobody is
going to bail them out. That is where service cuts and job losses come in."
Private-sector involvement in the NHS comes in a variety of guises, some more
controversial than others. One high-profile example in Scotland has been private
finance initiatives (PFI / PPP), used
to fund new hospitals and non-clinical services, such as cleaning and
maintenance. A PPP arrangement was used to build the £184m Royal Infirmary in
Edinburgh, billed as a Scotland's flagship hospital when it opened in 2002. It
has been beset by problems such as overheating and high car-parking charges and
a report in 2005 uncovered a series of failures in its planning and development.
New hospitals at Hairmyres and Wishaw, both in Lanarkshire, were also financed
this way. Critics believe this influenced the recent decision to downgrade the
accident and emergency department at Monklands Hospital, in nearby Airdrie,
pointing out that contractors would still have to be paid at the other PFI
hospitals, even if floors were empty. Yet, according to analysts, by far the
biggest headache health board bosses will face over PFI is a financial one. A
recent study from researchers at the Centre for International Public Health at
Edinburgh University estimated the bill for the contracts to the NHS would rise
from £107m to £510m annually over the next five years. Lead author of the report
Mark Hellowell claims funding is already being diverted from services to pay
"rent" to the private sector, a problem which will only get worse in future.
"Scotland is about to undergo a fairly considerable expansion of PFI," he says.
"We're already seeing large health boards such as Lothian and Lanarkshire
struggling to meet financial targets." Next year could also herald the unveiling
of the biggest private finance project of its kind in the country. Health bosses
are considering whether a £300m hospital, to replace Falkirk and Stirling Royal
infirmaries, should be funded from the public or private purse. NHS Forth Valley
health board is due to make a decision on the new hospital, to be based in
Larbert, at the end of January. Shona Robison, health spokeswoman for the SNP,
warns of public opposition to the running of GP surgeries by private firms,
citing the example of Derbyshire, where residents won a High Court injunction to
stop a company being awarded such a contract. "The Derbyshire experience shows
that people want their GPs to be local and responsible, and accountable to local
people through structures within the health service," she says. That view is
backed by Dr Dean Marshall, chairman of the BMA's Scottish GP committee. "Why
would a private company want to provide a general medical practice in Harthill
? Many of us think it will almost be a loss leader, for these companies
to get a foothold in Scotland and to try to take over some lucrative practices."
In addition, plans are being drawn up by the Executive for the Hub initiative,
to encourage private firms to pay for buildings in partnership with public
bodies, to house a range of health services such as GP surgeries. For opponents
of private-sector involvement in the NHS, the health service in Scotland is at a
worrying crossroads. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public
of Herald
24 December 2006
-
NHS 24 to deal with 999 cases under controversial plan. Thousands of
Scottish patients who dial 999 for an ambulance will
be called back by NHS 24 staff under a controversial new plan linking the two
emergency services. The move, planned for the spring, would result in the
least-urgent 999 cases in Scotland being dealt with by the helpline's nurses
over the phone, rather than being responded to by ambulance crews. Doctors have
expressed reservations about the plan, which will join the well-established
Scottish Ambulance Service with an organisation that could not cope with demand
just two years ago. NHS 24 hit crisis when it took over calls to GPs outside
surgery hours and a catalogue of criticism was levelled at the service following
a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two people.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
5 January 2007
- Fewer hospital
beds 'will make the NHS better'. Bed-blocking is costing the NHS almost £1
billion-a-year, a new report claims. Some 13,000 beds are wasted every year
because patients are kept in hospital for longer than necessary, says the study
by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Richard Brooks, an associate
director at IPPR, said: "A better NHS will be one with fewer hospital beds
overall. At the moment there is a high-intensity debate on proposed changes to
hospitals but people should be aware that it is not always the best idea to keep
everything as it is. Not all of these beds are necessary." But Geoff Martin, the
director of campaigns for Health Emergency, a pressure group that has
co-ordinated protests against proposed cuts to hospital services, described the
report as "patronising nonsense". He said: "This is an attempt to construct an
intellectual argument for a government policy that is about cuts and saving
money. I don't think anybody will believe it, apart from IPPR, Patricia Hewitt
[the Health Secretary] and some of the officials at the Department of Health. I
haven't seen people on the streets of
Worthing,
Guildford,
Huddersfield,
Rochdale
and Airdrie campaigning in support of closing
hospital beds." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph
7 January 2007
- Mass Lochaber
protest over hospital closure. More than 1,000 letters demanding the
retention Glencoe Hospital in Lochaber will reach
health minister Andy Kerr next week from angry Loch Levenside communities. NHS
Highland has endorsed a decision by the Mid-Highland Community Partnership that
the hospital should close as no longer "fit for purpose" and services be
provided by the Abbeyfield Ballachulish Society at a complex two miles away.
However residents argue that the new facilities will not be adequate and they
want any alternatives to Glencoe in place before the community hospital's doors
shut. They have also expressed anger at what they see as a limited consultation
process. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 9 January 2007
- Health bosses
given hot reception at meeting over Glencoe hospital closure. Villagers
laid siege to a luxury hotel, forcing health bosses into a hasty change of
plans. More than 200 people packed the Isles of Glencoe
Hotel at Ballachulish to the rafters, literally, filling overhead balconies as
restaurant tables were hurriedly moved so more people could squeeze into the
meeting. It had been planned to discuss "implementation" of NHS Highland
proposals, approved in December, to close Glencoe Hospital and bring more care
for the elderly into their homes. Loch Leven-side communities have criticised
the health partnership's consultation procedure, which they claim has been a
sham and is flawed. Under the proposals, yet to be confirmed by Health
Minister, Andy Kerr, care beds would be provided at the Abbeyfield
Ballachulish Society complex, two miles away. But campaigners insist the board
should stand by its pledge that the 12-bed Glencoe Hospital would remain open
until alternative facilities are up and running. Rev Kenneth Wigston accused
the board of closing the hospital by stealth and said an earlier episode last
March when attempts were made at closure because of an alleged shortage of
staff had been a "public relations disaster" by the board. "There is no
confidence that these proposals to close the hospital are the best for our
communities," he said. Another campaigner, Donald Stewart, urged the board to
go back to the drawing board, bring the hospital back to a 12-bedded unit and
carry out a proper consultation with the communities involved. Mr Coutts
promised there would be no closure until the board was confident that
alternative services were in place. "If we cannot meet aspirations and get the
services provided, then we will have to think again." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 12 January 2007
- Doctor fears
for the future of GP surgery in Sutherland. A Doctor who has worked as a
locum in the far north for many years fears NHS
Highland is trying to slowly amputate a community's GP surgery. The
communities of Scourie and Kinlochbervie in Sutherland share a GP practice.
The health board has cut the number of days on which surgeries are held at
Scourie from four to three by transferring the Tuesday surgery to
Kinlochbervie. The move follows a reduction in the number of GPs covering the
area. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 12 January 2007
- Anger over NHS
chiefs' attitude on birth units. North-east maternity campaigners fear NHS
Grampian has already decided not to create a
network of birthing centres in Aberdeenshire. They have described a meeting
with health chiefs yesterday as bitterly disappointing and now plan to lodge a
formal complaint with Health Minister Andy Kerr. Mr Kerr had ordered a review
of controversial plans to close the delivery wards at three north-east
hospitals - Fraserburgh, Banff and Aboyne - and asked NHS Grampian to produce
a report on whether or not there was scope for providing birth units for
low-risk mothers "along the lines of those already in place in other parts of
rural Scotland". Senior NHS managers met representatives of the Fraserburgh
Maternity Action Group (Mag) and members of the public at invitation-only
talks. After the two-hour meeting at the local hospital, Mag joint chairman
Ian Tait said his group was very unhappy at the outcome. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 12 January 2007
- BUPA makes home
healthcare move. BUPA has stepped into the expanding out-of-hospital care
market with the acquisition of Clinovia, a UK home healthcare specialist. BUPA
purchased the company for £87.7m from Lyceum Capital, which established
Clinovia in 1975. The company provides comprehensive home healthcare such as
delivering prescribed drugs and intravenous feeds to patients at home for more
than 8,500 patients a month with a wide range of medical and chronic
conditions like multiple sclerosis and haemophilia. It has around 450 staff at
sites in Harlow,
Manchester, Derby
and Glasgow. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Health
Insurance & Protection 12 January 2007
- Childbirth
trust backs maternity units fight. A Lifeline service for pregnant women
and young mothers has thrown its weight behind an ongoing battle to safeguard
rural maternity units across the north-east of Scotland.
The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) argues that closing the under-threat
delivery services at Aboyne, Banff and Fraserburgh will not create great
savings for the NHS. Its local members believe shutting the wards will only
lead to greater pressure on remaining maternity services and many mothers and
babies not getting the care and attention they need. Members of the trust's
local branch welcomed Health Minister Andy Kerr's call for NHS Grampian to
review its plans for the future of local maternity services. A spokeswoman
said last night: "We want all women to have access to a place of birth run by
midwives outside consultant-led acute hospital units, and it has become clear
that in Aberdeenshire financial pressures in the NHS now mean that some
well-established birth centres are under threat. The health service often
overestimates the cost of midwife-led birth centres. The NCT believes that
closing these centres will not produce savings to the NHS as the major cost in
providing maternity care is the cost of midwives' salaries. This is estimated
to cost around 85% of the cost of the service, and midwives are needed to
provide one-to-one care whether the woman uses a birth centre or a hospital
unit." The trust also argues that local units are more personal and less
frightening to new mums, as well as being more convenient and easier to
access. Following a public consultation, Aberdeenshire Community Health
Partnership, which is responsible for organising and providing NHS services in
the area, recommended the closure of the Fraserburgh, Aboyne and Banff
maternity units. Its scheme, which involves keeping open the delivery ward at
Peterhead Hospital, but setting it targets, was backed by the NHS Grampian
board in April. But Mr Kerr has refused to endorse the controversial proposals
and sent them back to the drawing board. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 20 January 2007
- Health row.
Western Isles NHS Board faced the wrath of an
island community after its health centre was controversially shut without
notice. The board refuses to spend cash to upgrade the Scalpay surgery and
islanders have been told to travel to Tarbert to see a doctor instead. But
angry islanders are fighting to retain their local health centre, highlighting
the large number of elderly people and the poor bus service. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 20 January 2007
- Angry islanders
force health board to reopen Scalpay health centre.
Western Isles NHS Board has been forced to find a way to reopen Scalpay's
health centre after its closure without consultation infuriated islanders. The
trust has admitted to residents that it had approved the decision to close
while being unaware of the dilapidated condition of the building. The
district's three GPs admit they should have raised the issue of the centre's
deteriorating condition earlier but are now refusing to work there, saying
they could be in breach of General Medical Council guidelines. Renovating and
reopening the clinic will cost the health board tens of thousands of pounds it
can ill afford and residents have been told that, due to a new bridge to
neighbouring Harris, they can visit a GP in Tarbert. However residents have
countered saying the bridge was meant to strengthen the community, not
facilitate the removal of services. Over 80 islanders, almost a quarter of
Scalpay's population, attended a public meeting over the issue on Friday
night. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 23 January 2007
- NHS head admits
contract mistakes. The head of the health service in
Scotland has admitted mistakes in drawing up
contracts for NHS consultants in a deal that is to cost £235m, four times the
original estimate. NHS Scotland's Kevin Woods denied there was no evidence of
benefit from the reforms but admitted that they may have failed to maximise
improved patient treatment. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of BBC
Online 23 January 2007
- Black market
PFI hospitals says MSP. Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan has uncovered what
he has called a "black market" in PFI hospitals. Last year, the Royal Bank of
Scotland sold it's share in Consort Healthcare to Balfour Beatty. Consort won
the original contract for the PFI at Edinburgh
Royal Infirmary. The original make-up of the PFI consortium was 15% by
Morrison Construction with the remainder held equally by RBS and Balfour
Beatty. Now the Balfour Beatty has increased it's share to 73.9%, with the
balance owned by Infrastructure Investors, a finance company described as
Britain's largest equity fund in the secondary PFI market. The sale was hidden
by commericial confidentiality and only parliamentary questions by
Solidarity's Co-Convenor led to the information coming out. The Royal Bank
refuse to comment on how much profit was made from the sale. Mr Sheridan
commented: "This shows that our hospitals are being bought and sold like
commodities on the black market, with no public veto or rights of access to
information. In the long run the public will have to foot the bill. I will be
laying further questions and motions on this, demanding how much money the
Royal Bank has made and insisting that any profits made in these deals are
returned to the NHS." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of PFI.net
24 January 2007
- Fife select
preferred bidder for £152m hospital. NHS Fife
has selected Balfour Beatty subsidiary Consort as preferred bidder for the
£152m Fife General Hospital and Maternity Services PPP project by NHS Fife.
Under the 30-year concession, Consort will provide a new wing to Victoria
Hospital in Kirkcaldy, including 11 operating theatres, an emergency care
centre, 13 wards, surgical and medical assessment units, a maternity unit, a
women and children's unit, day intervention, critical care, coronary care and
renal and dialysis facilities. The construction of the new wing, including all
building services, will be carried out by a joint venture of Balfour Beatty
Group companies, Balfour Beatty Construction and Haden Young. The project is
due for completion in 2010. The maintenance and facilities management for the
scheme will be provided by Haden Building Management, another Balfour Beatty
subsidiary. Balfour Beatty Capital, the Group's infrastructure investment arm,
will invest £7.5m of equity in the project, as will HSBC, its financial
partner. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of PFI.net
24 January 2007
- Cash crisis
warning to NHS staff in the Isles. A report from the finance director of
Western Isles NHS has revealed it is facing losses
of £3.2m and has warned that the failure of staff to "engage" with the
financial position of the trust - and efforts to tackle it - could lead to
further problems in the future. The news comes as local man John Angus Mackay
was appointed chairman of the trust's board. Finance director Marion Fordham
said the report shows that for this current year, the board is expected to be
in the red by £813,000 which, added to its rolling deficit, gives a total loss
of £3.231million. She said: "The board cannot be given assurance that in-year
break-even will be achieved." She added that a range of measures had been
implemented to tackle the deficit and that staff have been asked to make
economies to slash costs, implement cutbacks and find further savings. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 25 January 2007
- Boycott call
over closure of Lochaber hospital. Residents enraged at plans to close the
twelve bed Glencoe Hospital have been urged to
boycott NHS workshops due to what has been seen as improper consultation over
the move. NHS Highland said the hospital was no longer "fit for purpose" and
has agreed with Abbeyfield Ballachulish Society for 24 beds to provided at its
complex two miles away. However residents of the surrounding area say that
none of their questions have been answered and five community councils have
urged the boycott of workshops planned to discuss the implementation of the
plans. A spokesman for the residents said yesterday: "We have not been
properly consulted and so we are not recommending that any of our residents
attend the workshops. We are worried that if they close the hospital and then
find the proposals are unworkable then we would have nothing in south
Lochaber." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 25 January 2007
- Fears for care
as temporary nurse numbers soar by 40%. Health managers have blamed the
drive to meet government waiting-time targets, the level of staff absence and
trouble filling vacancies for a huge rise in the number of temporary nurses
manning Scotland's wards. Audit Scotland found that
only four of fifteen health boards had followed recommended steps to ensure
core staff could cover absence. Shortages are particularly severe in intensive
care, theatre work and care for the elderly. Some trusts admitted not filling
posts to save money. However Robert Black, auditor general for Scotland, said
progress had been made since ward nursing was first examined by his office in
2002. He said: "Nurses are crucial to the delivery of good-quality patient
care and so it is good news that the health service has responded to the
previous ward nursing report and is laying the foundations for better
workforce planning in this area." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
25 January 2007
- Health workers
walk out in row on back-pay. Ancillary health workers have staged a
walkout claiming a nationwide pay and conditions deal aimed at addressing wage
inequalities was itself unfair. More than 50 staff - including catering,
cleaning, porter and driving staff at the Royal Alexandra and Dykebar
hospitals in Paisley - downed tools after back-pay,
between £500 and £600, failed to end up in their monthly salaries. The extra
payment covers the time it took to introduce new pay and conditions procedures
brought in under the NHS Agenda for Change programme aimed at delivering equal
pay in the health service. The workers, on an average pay of £6.20 an hour,
began their stoppage at 9am yesterday and ended it two hours later after
stewards for the public services union Unison encouraged them to return to
work. Unison said that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde had promised to pay staff
in Clyde this month. Identical staff in the Greater Glasgow area had already
received their payment. But affected staff in Clyde were yesterday told the
money would not be in their bank accounts. Willie Duffy, Unison's organiser in
the Clyde area, said: "Our serious concern is we reached an agreement through
due process. It raises the question for me why bother reaching agreement with
them, if they are just going to disregard it." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
26 January 2007
- Are maternity
services delivering? Maternity services offered across
Scotland have been scrutinised to check how they
perform against national standards. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, the
health service's own watchdog, said it was impressed by the dedication of the
staff and their efforts to provide high quality care despite limited
resources. However, there were also deficiencies. Only one health board, NHS
Ayrshire and Arran, gave the inspectors an up-to-date strategy on how they
planned to develop their maternity service and meet changing guidelines and
needs. Gaps in staff training were also identified. Furthermore, half of
Scotland's health authorities said they could not meet national guidelines for
staffing their neonatal intensive care units because of shortages of qualified
nursing staff. In some areas this had resulted in cots not being used. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
26 January 2007
- Scottish
hospitals improve nursing planning. The NHS has made progress towards
improving the planning and management of ward nursing, Audit
Scotland has found. In a report this week, the
watchdog said the Scottish Executive Health Department and NHS boards were
addressing many of the concerns raised in its 2002 report, which had called
for better workforce planning. However, it urges a regular review of the
combined use of bank and agency nurses. While the use of agency nurses across
Scotland reduced by 17% between 2001/
02 and 2005/ 06, the combined
use of bank and agency nurses increased by 43%. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Public
Finance 26 January 2007
- Prison firm
expected to lose out on GP practice. A private prison company is
understood to have lost its bid to run a GP practice in what would have been
the first case of its kind in Scotland. Serco,
which runs Kilmarnock jail, is believed to have been rejected by an
independent panel of doctors and patients in favour of a traditional GP-run
surgery. The company had bid to run the Harthill surgery in North Lanarkshire,
which has 4081 patients on its books. It followed NHS Lanarkshire's decision
to open up tendering to "alternative health providers" as well as GPs after a
practice was dissolved. Three bids were received, two from GP practices. The
winner is believed to be Dr Louise Eccles, one half of the previous Harthill
practice. The panel's decision must now be signed off by the chief executive
of NHS Lanarkshire. Serco's attempt to run the Harthill practice was revealed
in November. The involvement of the global services firm prompted warnings of
NHS privatisation. South of the border, where 3% of GP practices are run by
private companies, critics claim services are cut to boost profits for
shareholders, with more nurses and fewer doctors treating patients. In
Scotland, there were concerns about ties between Serco and NHS Lanarkshire. Dr
Colin Barrett, until last August clinical director of the health board's
out-of-hours service, is now a medical director at Serco. NHS Lanarkshire's
associate medical director, Dr Philip McMenemy, is also contracted by Serco to
provide consultancy work and out-of-hours services. Carolyn Leckie, Scottish
Socialist MSP for Central Scotland, who led the fight against the firm, said
she was relieved at the result. "If it wasn't for the fight put up by the
community and the patients, I fear NHS Lanarkshire would have got its way and
let in an outside provider," she said. NHS Lanarkshire declined to comment on
the winning bid. However, a spokesman said the board did not foresee any
circumstances in which the chief executive would overturn the panel's
recommendation. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
27 January 2007
- Delight as
three maternity units saved. The future of three closure-threatened
North-east maternity units is to be settled at a meeting. The chairman of NHS
Grampian Jim Royan will meet with Lib Dem health minister Andy Kerr. They are
expected to confirm that the three units at Aboyne,
Banff and Fraserburgh will stay open. An official announcement is expected
soon, stating they will be transformed into birthing units. The units had been
lined up for closure by Grampian NHS bosses to make savings. But a huge
campaign by mothers and North-east MSPs persuaded health minister Mr Kerr to
ask the health board to rethink its plans. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 29 January 2007
- NHS board
rejects private GP bid. NHS Lanarkshire has awarded the contract to run a
GP surgery to an incumbent GP instead of a private company. If the private bid
had been successful the surgery would have been the first privately run
surgery in Scotland. NHS Lanarkshire is the second
health board to put a surgery contract out to tender since a change to
legislation. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of BBC
Online 30 January 2007
- Major PPP care
project approved. Scotland's biggest public
private partnership (PPP) hospital contract, near Falkirk, has been approved
by the local health board. The £300m hospital for Larbert would replace
Falkirk and Stirling Royal Infirmaries, but healthcare union Unison has raised
concerns. NHS Forth Valley also approved a £20m PPP community hospital to
replace Alloa Health Centre in Clackmannanshire. The move will bring the
area's acute services together at the new Larbert hospital and NHS Forth
Valley said the PFI route provided better value for money than using public
funding. Unison described it as "privatisation by another name". The Scottish
Executive will now be asked to approve the two deals. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of BBC
Online 31 January 2007
- Councillor
quits over PFI decision. A Scottish Councillor has quit his role on a
local health board after plans for two new PFI projects were given the go
ahead. SNP councillor David Alexander, leader of
Falkirk Council, resigned from Forth Valley NHS board, saying: "We are
being asked to believe a hospital run for profit where capital is borrowed at
commercial rates represents better value than a publicly owned,
publicly-accountable facility. That not only insults the intelligence of the
general public, but also represents a massive blunder for the future of health
care in the Forth Valley area. Patients should be put before profit, but,
under this brave new world of the Labour-LibDem Scottish Executive, patients
come a very poor second in the public services debate." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of PFI.net
31 January 2007
- 17,000 nurses and
midwives leave the NHS. More than 17,000 nurses and midwives have left the
Scottish health service since devolution. Last month,
Scotland's spending watchdog gave a warning that the nursing crisis was costing
the health service dearly, and it criticised the 40 per cent increase in the use
of temporary nurses over the last five years.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph
7 February 2007
- Birthing units
to replace maternity. Three full-time rural maternity hospitals will be
replaced by part-time birthing units in a compromise deal between protesters
and NHS Grampian, brokered by the Scottish
Executive. Although those campaigning to retain the maternity hospitals are
claiming a victory for people power, the health authority is denying a
climbdown. NHS Grampian wanted to close the hospitals as part of a
restructuring move but its proposals were rejected by Andy Kerr, the Health
Minister. Now he has accepted revised proposals for maternity services at
Aboyne, Banff and Fraserburgh. In a scaled-down service which will be operated
by on-call midwives, low-risk expectant mothers will continue to be able to
give birth in their own communities. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
9 February 2007
- Maternity wards
set for crisis over bed shortages. Doctors believe
Scotland's biggest city is set to face a shortage of maternity beds as the
birth rate continues to defy forecasts of sharp decline. One of Glasgow's
three maternity hospitals, the Queen Mother's, Yorkhill, is scheduled to close
at some point between this year and 2009, leaving the city with capacity to
deliver just 12,000 babies a year. Yet the city is currently handling more
than 11,800 births a year and even traditionally pessimistic NHS planners
believe the figure will hold up for years to come. Current levels of
deliveries would mean Glasgow's two surviving maternities, at the Princess
Royal and Southern General hospitals, will have to work at 99% capacity. Some
obstetricians believe that is completely unrealistic. "We keep telling them
that there isn't enough room," said one senior clinician, "But the board is
not listening." NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde yesterday insisted it was
unaware of such concerns. A spokeswoman said: "Our assumptions for the number
of deliveries per bed sit comfortably within the range of births per bed
experienced elsewhere. These assumptions have been tested fully with clinical
colleagues and no concerns have been raised about future capacity. It is
anticipated that births for Glasgow will remain at 2005 levels. We are
confident, however, that we have the flexibility to respond to an increase in
birth rates, if required." Pauline McNeill, a Glasgow Labour MSP with close
links to clinicians, was not convinced yesterday. "Having looked at the
figures recently, it looks exceptionally tight to me," she said. "And if
births increase, there will need to be some decision about how they are going
to deal with that." Birth episodes at the three Glasgow hospitals were
officially measured at 11,858 in 2005-2006 and 11,881 in 2004-2005. Glasgow's
population has bounced back far faster than anybody anticipated, not least NHS
officials previously planning for continuing decline. Glasgow City Council now
expects births to outstrip deaths by 2014. Maternity hospitals in Glasgow, of
course, also cater for pregnant women from outwith the city. NHS Greater
Glasgow and Clyde is currently finalising an outline business case for a new
children's hospital to replace Yorkhill. Concerns, as revealed in The Herald
last week, are mounting over the size of the new hospital and the way it will
be financed. Internal NHS documents suggest a joint PFI will be proposed for
the new Yorkhill and a new adult hospital for the Southern. Doctors, however,
remain worried about the size and quality of the Southern's existing maternity
unit, one of the few parts of the existing hospital campus to survive a
massive rebuilding programme. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has declined to
comment on the Southern maternity until its business case for the new
children's hospital is approved. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
12 February 2007
- Glasgow may
launch £500m hospital PFI. The NHS in Scotland
is nearing an announcement which could see a dual hospital project being
announced for the Glasgow area. According to The Herald newspaper, NHS
Scotland has drawn up plans for a new adult and Children's hospital in the
Govan area of Glasgow. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde declined to comment on
the future of the children's hospital or on any PFI proposals until it unveils
an outline business case for the facility, which it was supposed to do by the
end of last year. If the PFI route is approved, analysts expect that the
project's capital value will be at least £500m. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of PFI.net
14 February 2007
- Union to quit
talks in row over NHS job moves. Union officials have walked away from a
key steering group as tensions rise over plans to relocate hundreds of NHS
staff in Scotland. Staff morale is understood to be
deteriorating as the move, which involves shifting the training wing of the
health service from Edinburgh to Glasgow, surges ahead. Now public service
union Unison has announced it is quitting the committee driving the changes
because its protests that tight deadlines have been ignored. Union leaders say
the timetable for completing the final business case does not allow enough
time to consult staff and key issues, such as redundancy packages and
compensation for extra travel, are still unresolved. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
16 February 2007
- Hospital group
meets. A campaign group set up to fight the loss of hospital services in
West Lothian is holding its second meeting next
month. The Stop The Downgrade Campaign was established by Ernie Walker, former
chairman of the West Lothian NHS Campaign Group.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Edinburgh
Evening News 19 February 2007
- Spending on
admin in NHS doubles. Spending on administrative staff in the NHS in
Scotland has more than doubled to £500m in the last
ten years, according to figures released this week. Released in response to a
question by SNP Dundee East MSP Shona Robison, the figures show spending on
non-clinical staff has risen from just over £217million in 1994-95 to
£537million last year. The figure represents 14% of NHS Scotland's staffing
bill, up from 11% a decade ago. Ms Robison said: "I have been expressing
concern for quite some time about management and administrative costs in the
NHS in Scotland. The percentage of overall staff costs has grown year on
year." Health Minister Andy Kerr defended the figures saying administrative
staff made an invaluable contribution to the working of the NHS. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 23 February 2007
-
McConnell defends NHS work in private sector. Jack McConnell has
defended using the private sector to treat NHS patients. As the First Minister
opened a treatment centre run by Amicus Healthcare in
Angus, he said critics of the unit were denying treatment to patients. He
opened the Stracathro Regional Treatment Centre near Brechin, which is
expected to deal with up to 9000 procedures in a three-year contract worth
£15m. The centre will handle short-stay elective surgery as well as some
diagnostic procedures. It is intended that these services will be expanded to
include major hip and knee joint replacement. Mr McConnell said: "Those who
say that by investing in the independent sector we are taking investment from
the NHS are wrong. We are investing in both, and our record NHS funding is
driving the biggest building programme since the creation of the NHS. This is
about securing the benefits of the independent sector for NHS patients; this
is not privatising the NHS." The deal to set up the unit has been criticised
by senior doctors and health campaigners, who wanted a moratorium on private
sector involvement in the NHS. A group including retired GP Jean Turner MSP
and Phil Hanlon, professor of public health at Glasgow University, said the
deal represented outsourcing of core NHS work.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
26 February 2007
-
NHS under threat, says top doctor. A top Tayside doctor and national
doctors' leader has accused First Minister Jack McConnell of being "economical
with the truth." Clive Davis, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Ninewells
Hospital, Dundee, was responding to comments made by Mr McConnell on a trip to
Stracathro Hospital, where he officially opened the
Scottish Regional Treatment Centre, where a private healthcare company
will treat NHS patients. Mr Davis claimed private healthcare providers posed a
real threat to the future of the NHS. South African healthcare group Netcare
has a £15m contract over the next three years to carry out operations on NHS
patients from Tayside, Fife and Grampian. The company has taken over a disused
ward and will use operating theatres in the evenings and at weekends, when
they are not used by the NHS. Mr McConnell insisted the NHS was not being
"privatised". When NHS Tayside agreed to go into partnership with the private
sector, some members of the board of NHS Tayside disassociated themselves from
that decision. Public health director Drew Walker said he saw no reason why
the money could not be invested directly in the NHS and the work carried out
by NHS staff. Mr Davis spoke out in his position as chairman of the British
Medical Association's Scottish consultants committee. He said the BMA would
much rather see resources invested in the NHS, not the pockets of
shareholders. "To argue that contracting out NHS work to the independent
sector is not privatisation is to be economical with the truth," he said.
"Buying in services from private healthcare providers might be a quick fix to
the perennial waiting times problem, but in the long term it could have a
catastrophic effect on the provision of NHS services. These private providers
can pick and choose which operations they do, leaving the complex and
therefore costly cases for the NHS to deal with. Junior doctors looking for
experience and opportunities to learn their skills on routine patients will
not be exposed to routine casework and because NHS activity levels will
subsequently fall, the viability of a service or facility may be called in to
question. There is a real danger that reliance on private providers will be
the downfall of the NHS and the BMA would much rather see much-needed
resources invested in the NHS, not the pockets of shareholders."
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Dundee
Courier 27 February 2007
-
GP: Patients hidden in waiting lists. Patients were removed from
official waiting list figures because of staff shortages at a
Scottish hospital, prompting accusations that the
statistics were being manipulated. People waiting for hip and knee
replacements in one part of Glasgow were excluded from the Scottish
Executive's much-vaunted waiting times promise. However, their counterparts on
the other side of the city, where there were more specialist surgeons, were
guaranteed treatment in the target time. The different application of waiting
list guarantees in different parts of Glasgow was exposed after a GP began to
wonder why his own patients were not receiving hip and knee replacements
within the six-month target. Dr Jim Finlayson, who works on the Mull of
Kintyre, said: "Andy Kerr (the Health Minister) is always appearing saying it
is wonderful, no-one is waiting more than six months and I have all these
patients who are. It is an 11 to 12-month wait." Nicola Sturgeon, Holyrood
leader of the SNP, said: "If staff shortages are the problem in south Glasgow
then Andy Kerr should come clean on that and not hide behind manipulated
figures." The SNP is committed to giving every patient a legally enforceable
waiting time guarantee.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
27 February 2007
- Fife preferred
bidder announced. Morrison Construction has reportedly been appointed by
NHS Fife as the preferred bidder on a £25m PPP
hospital project. The new community hospital in St Andrews will combine three
GP practices, specialist palliative care, an improved day surgery unit and a
40-bed diagnostic and treatment centre. The project is expected to reach
financial close towards the end of 2007 with the works commencing on site in
2008 with the aim of opening the hospital by March 2009. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of PFI.net
28 February 2007
- Numbers of
acute beds in hospitals down by 9%. New figures have shown that the number
of acute beds in Scottish hospitals has dropped by
9% over the decade since the Scottish Parliament was formed in 1998. Up till
last year, 13 out of 15 NHS boards have reported a drop in beds. Tayside was
the worst hit, losing 21.6% of beds. In Grampian, where the Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary was put on "code red" earlier in the year because there were fewer
than 15 acute beds available, there has been a 6.6% drop. The Scottish
executive said there were fewer beds because people were being treated
quicker. However MSP Shona Robison, SNP health spokesperson, said that their
approach was "too simplistic". She said: "I think the cut in the number of
acute beds has gone too far. When you look at the number of our hospitals,
they often have problems in admitting people, and having a shortage in acute
beds is a significant problem for them. We need to establish what service the
Scottish people need, as opposed to this piecemeal approach which has been
driven by finance." Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen Press & Journal
6 March 2007
- Plans for £300
million hospital win backing. Plans for a £300m hospital to serve 300,000
people in central Scotland have been backed by
Falkirk Council. The public-private partnership hospital, which will bring
together NHS Forth Valley's acute services at Larbert, near Falkirk, was given
planning permission at a special meeting of the council. The hospital will
replace acute facilities at Falkirk and Stirling Royal Infirmaries, although
there are plans to keep some community healthcare facilities in both towns. NHS
Forth Valley board chairman Ian Mullen said the new facilities would help
provide patients with improved healthcare. The John Laing consortium will
construct, maintain and provide some services at Larbert. NHS Forth Valley
approved the contract in January. Trade union GMB had voiced concerns about
plans to contract out almost 700 cleaning, catering and porters' jobs at the new
hospital to Serco. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 9 March 2007
- Doctors to march
in battle over jobs. A broad spectrum of Scotland's
medical profession is to descend on Glasgow in an unprecedented protest against
the controversial new recruitment system for junior doctors. Senior consultants
will march from the city centre to the Western Infirmary alongside junior medics
and students to call for an end to procedures they warn are overlooking the most
able candidates for interview shortlists. They are warning the revised process
is forcing some of the country's brightest young medics to seek employment
abroad, or abandon their medical careers altogether. In the face of such
criticism, the government has moved to revise, partly, the MTAS system, allowing
junior doctors to submit CVs and portfolios in support of their applications.
Nevertheless, junior doctors remain adamant that the NHS should return to its
previous recruitment system, and intend to intensify their campaign at this
weekend's marches in Glasgow and London.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
11 March 2007
- Public supports
nurses' pay call. Nurses are claiming public support for their pay demands
after a survey revealed that the Scottish public
don't think they are given enough time to do their job properly. The Poll,
commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing, found that 73% agreed that nurses
were constrained in time and resources for their work, 77% thought the standard
of healthcare would improve if more nurses were employed and 84% were concerned
that understaffing would undermine patient safety. The RCN recently condemned
the below-inflation pay rises for nurses. Over 1,000 nurses were also canvassed
before the pay award was announced. Nearly two-thirds, 62%, said they would be
willing to take some form of industrial action over an unsatisfactory pay award,
provided patients did not suffer, while 29% might consider leaving the NHS
altogether over such a deal. RCN Scotland vice-chairwoman Joan Wilson said:
"Imagine what could happen to the NHS if we lose more staff because of poor pay
and low morale ? Make no mistake, this
pay offer will push new recruits and experienced staff out of the door and
ultimately it will affect patient care. Politicians should take note. Our
members feel they have been let down by the Government. With over 65,000 nurses
in the country there are a lot of angry voters out there." Nurses are to stage a
rally outside the Dynamic Earth venue, near the Scottish Parliament in
Edinburgh, to protest the pay deal.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Aberdeen
Press & Journal 13 March 2007
- Pay us now, say English nurses, as Scotland grants staged rise in full.
Union leaders have appealed for nurses in England to be given their annual
pay rise immediately, after it emerged that nurses in
Scotland are to receive theirs in full next month. Severin Carrell,
Scotland correspondent
Wednesday March 14, 2007 The Guardian
- Scots NHS staff
to get full 2.5% rise. NHS staff in Scotland are
to receive their entire 2.5% pay increase in April following a surprise decision
that conflicts with the phased deal on offer to their counterparts in England
and Wales. The announcement by Health Minister Andy Kerr at a Royal College of
Nursing conference in Edinburgh this week means the deal for nurses and other
staff will be implemented just before the Scottish Parliament elections on May
3. Health staff in Scotland will get the full 2.5% rise recommended by the pay
review body instead of the proposed deal of 1.5% now and another 1% later in the
year. Chancellor Gordon Brown had argued for a phased implementation to
'maintain discipline and stability'. The deal will cost £18.7m, which will be
met from the Scottish budget. It will benefit about 100,000 NHS staff. The
creation of a North-South divide on pay has infuriated the unions in England.
Karen Jennings, head of health for Unison, said: 'Nurses and health
professionals must have fair and equal treatment across the UK. This decision
should shame MPs in Westminster into taking action over the shabby way our
nurses and health workers are being treated by the government in this pay
round.' Glyn Hawker, Unison's Scottish organiser for health, said: 'The minister
has listened to health workers' concerns. This reflects the more effective and
co-operative nature of the NHS in Scotland.' Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Public
Finance 15 March 2007
- Bullying and
low morale are 'rife in the NHS'. NHS staff have reported low morale and
bullying are widespread in the service despite record levels of investment. A
snapshot of opinion among the Scottish workforce
revealed the majority do not feel involved in decisions that affect them and
would not recommend the NHS as an employer. The survey, based on nearly 50,000
responses across medical and non-medical staff, was written in May last year
but has not been publicly released by the Scottish Executive. It has now come
to light after a concerned paramedic, who acquired it through Freedom of
Information legislation, passed it on to nationalist MSP Christine Grahame.
There was particular disenchantment with the way in which health boards are
managing the process of change in the NHS, with staff citing this as a key
factor in their appraisal of the service. The British Medical Association
(BMA) also warned of "change fatigue" within the NHS and called for a period
of stability in the service.
Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Herald
16 March 2007
- Doctors march in row over training reforms. Thousands of doctors
marched in London
and Glasgow yesterday in protest at reforms to
medical training. The new process, called Modernising Medical Careers (MMC),
has come in for widespread criticism from the BMA, royal colleges, senior
medics and trainees. At least 30,000 junior doctors have applied for up to
22,000 specialist posts under MMC, which it was hoped would speed up training
and offer a fairer way of placing junior doctors in oversubscribed training
roles. The government has already bowed to pressure, announcing that 5,000
more doctors would now be interviewed. Amelia Hill
Sunday
March 18, 2007 The Observer
- Junior doctors
raise funds to challenge MMC system. Junior doctors protesting against a
new recruitment system are collecting funds to launch a legal challenge if the
government refuses to address their concerns. Remedy UK, a campaign group
formed to highlight doctors' fears about the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC)
programme, said donors had already given £20,000 to their legal fund. Dr.
Julia McGill, an anaesthetist at Edinburgh's
Western General Hospital, said they were exploring the use of employment laws,
public laws or even human rights laws to have the recruitment system halted.
Doctors have called the online application process "shambolic", leaving many
highly skilled juniors without even an interview for posts due to start in
August. Summary by
Keep our NHS Public of Scotsman
19 March 2007
- Hospital parking 'a stealth tax on illness'. The NHS may be free at
the point of delivery, but patients and their families paid hospital parking
charges in England totalling £95m in 2005/06. The figures, released under the
Freedom of Information Act, show that 12 hospital trusts each raised more than
£1m in charges. Government guidelines on car parking charges in December
"strongly recommended" that NHS bodies introduce some kind of "season ticket"
arrangement, allowing free or reduced-price parking for patients with a
long-term illness or those with serious conditions who require daily or
regular treatment, and their prime visitors. It also suggested a weekly cap on
parking charges. Macmillan Cancer Support, which is campaigning for all cancer
patients to get free hospital parking and help with travel charges, says the
figures are shocking. Judy Beard, the charity's acting chief executive, says:
"When t
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