From October 2006 Warwickshire Primary Care Trust
- WHEN Rugby enters Primary Care Trust status next year the issue of
commissioning will be key to providing first-class clinical services.
Rugby Advertiser 30 August 2001
- A CYNICAL parting shot overshadowed Warwickshire Health Authority s
recommendation that Rugby should have its own Primary Care Trust. The members
of Warwickshire Health Authority s Board came to the decision to back a Rugby
PCT after results of a public consultation were overwhelmingly in favour. Advertiser
25 October 2001
- I am relieved that Warwickshire Health Authority has decided to recommend
that Rugby should have its own Primary Care Trust. It is good that despite
being opposed to the idea they bowed to public opinion which was clearly in
favour. But obviously they had to.
Rugby Advertiser 25 October 2001
- THE CHAIRMAN of Rugby's Primary Care Trust has stepped down due to the
increasing demands of the job. Ted Pallot says he resigned due to stresses
caused by controlling a multi-million pound budget and resolving disagreements
between executive and non-executive board members. And the on-going saga of
Rugby Cement's application to burn tyres at their Lawford Road plant also
effected his decision.
Rugby Advertiser
11 April 2003
- PCT delight at debt clearance. A SUCCESSFUL turn around is being
celebrated by Rugby Primary Care Trust bosses who inherited £1million worth of
debt when they set up last year. They have now broken even and gained a two
star rating for the Commission for Health Improvement.
Rugby Advertiser 02 October 2003
- POLLUTION experts have issued a stark warning that residents could be
breathing in high levels of dangerous chemicals if immediate action isn't
taken. Council bosses are preparing to draw up an action plan to tackle high
levels of chemicals believed to cause breathing problems and cancer after
scientists at Faber Maunsell, the company entrusted with monitoring Rugby's
air quality, warned levels in the air around the town centre could exceed
Government-set safe levels.
Rugby Advertiser 01 July 2004
- RUGBY'S healthcare body has been named and shamed as one of the worst in
the country in a report which gives it a zero star rating after patients had
problems getting prompt treatment. Rugby's Primary Care Trust (PCT), which
oversees all the health care provisions for borough residents, was one of just
14 nationally to be awarded the lowest rating in a Government report announced
on Tuesday. The Department of Health highlighted three key targets which were
not met as the cause of the shock decision - which comes a year after the
trust was awarded two out of a possible three stars.
Rugby Advertiser
22 July 2004
- A CULTURE of power struggles and secrecy amid NHS bureaucrats has left
Rugby's healthcare body in a dire situation, according to its former chairman.
Rugby's Primary Care Trust (PCT) was named and shamed as one of the worst in
the country in a recent report, and was the only trust nationally to be
stripped of its two star to a zero rating. This week its former chairman, Ted
Pallot, spoke out about the problems he had leading the body, which oversees
all the health care provisions for borough residents. He paints a picture of
an environment where useful information had to be prised from the NHS
establishment, and where the local Strategic Health Authority (SHA) - which
monitors and backs up the work of the PCT - provided little practical support.
Rugby Advertiser
05 August 2004
- A NEW £500,000 'walk in' centre for patients with minor injuries and
illnesses is set to further improve services at Rugby's Hospital of St. Cross.
The facility will ensure Rugby Primary Care Trust is able to meet Government
targets after losing its two star rating last month. The targets failed by the
trust were related to patients' difficulties in access health service within
prescribed times. With the new NHS centre at the Barby Road hospital, patients
will be able to see a GP within 48 hours and a practice nurse within 24 hours.
Open from early morning until late evening seven days a week, patients can be
treated without an appointment.
Rugby Advertiser 12
August, 2004
- HEALTH bosses in Rugby are working with GPs and patients in a bid to
reclaim the stars they lost in a damning Government report. Rugby Primary Care
Trust was given a 'zero star' rating in July after services were monitored.
The Department of Health highlighted three key targets that were not met, just
a year after the trust was awarded two out of a possible three stars. They
were related to patients' problems with accessing health services within
prescribed times - seeing a GP within 48 hours, a practice nurse within 24
hours or having to wait more than four hours at A&E departments.
Rugby Advertiser
09 September 2004
- PATIENTS in Rugby will soon have the opportunity to influence the way they
are treated by the NHS. Choose and Book is a new nationwide system designed to
give people greater involvement and choice in the treatment they receive. The
system, which will combine electronic booking and a choice of time, date and
place for initial appointments, will allow patients to fit hospital
appointments around their own lives. The plans will also allow patients
greater choice in deciding where they can receive treatment.
Rugby Advertiser 28 July 2005
- RUGBY'S healthcare body has completed an amazing turnaround by being named
as one of the best in the country - just a year after being named as one of
the worst.
Rugby Advertiser 28 July 2005
- THIS week Advertiser editor Peter Aengenheister speaks about the Rugby
PCT's amazing u-turn.
Rugby
Advertiser 28 July 2005
- RUGBY could lose its three-star Primary Care Trust if new NHS proposals
come into force. The Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has proposed vast
changes throughout the West Midlands – and Rugby's PCT looks set for
extinction. The plans were revealed at a cabinet meeting of Rugby Borough
Council on Monday and show that the town's PCT could be merged with North
Warwickshire, Coventry, or the whole of Warwickshire.
Rugby Advertiser
22
September 2005
- A VACCINE that prevents infections known to cause cervical cancer could
help save women's lives in Rugby. But health chiefs want to get over the
importance of cervical screening to help detect the disease in the first
place. The vaccine would be given to girls before they are sexually active and
help guard against Human Papilloma Virus. Trials have shown a jab can offer
100 per cent protection against strains of HPV linked to about 70 per cent of
cervical cancers. The Director of Public Health at Rugby Primary Care Trust
said people should be aware that cervical cancer can be caused by a
sexually-transmitted virus. Helen King said before the jab can become
available practicalities such as the frequency of vaccination need to be
determined.
Rugby Advertiser 13 October 2005
- PLANS to change vital health services will drag down the care Rugby
patients receive, it has been claimed. The West Midlands South Strategic
Health Authority held a public meeting on Monday evening at the Benn Hall in
Newbold Road to discuss organisational changes to the NHS in Warwickshire.
Plans outlined included the proposal for a new Primary Care Trust to cover the
whole of the county and the establishment of a single Ambulance Trust to cover
the West Midlands region.
Rugby Advertiser 2 March 2006
- 'Ops delay to save cash' considered. PATIENTS in Rugby have been
told to wait for vital treatment in order to save funds, it has been claimed.
Coventry and Rugby Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) sent a joint letter to the
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in January asking
them to delay setting dates for patient operations. The PCTs claim that asking
for the delay would help save funds which could be used for other services.
However, the Trust, which oversees the Hospital of St. Cross in Rugby,
rejected the 'unacceptable' request out of hand. Bryan Stoten, Chairman of the
Trust, said: "We discussed it and said at the end of the day, patients come
first. "It's not an uncommon practice, I'm afraid, as a lot of trusts find
themselves in financial difficulties and see a way out of it by not treating
patients. "We said we will treat patients when we have to - they come first."
Under current Government-set targets, patients in need of outpatient treatment
should be given an appointment within 13 weeks from being referred by their GP
and have their operation within six months. The Primary Care Trusts are
responsible for ensuring accessible health services for patients both before
and after their treatment. Andy Hardy, Director of Finance for University
Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, said: "Earlier this year
Coventry and Rugby Primary Care Trusts asked us not to give patients a date
for their outpatient appointment or operation until they have reached the
maximum Government waiting time. "We refused to act upon this request as we
were not prepared to delay patient care unnecessarily. "Therefore no patients
were affected and the request is no longer an issue, as it only related to the
period from January-April 2006 - the last financial year." Peter Maddock,
Chief Executive of the Rugby Primary Care Trust, said: "As a PCT we are trying
to balance the amount of money we invest in hospital services with what we
invest in community services. "These levels of savings are what we need to
make so they can be invested in other important services. It's not about
delaying care unnecessarily but about making a balance between resources.".
Rugby Advertiser
13 April 2006
- A LEADING councillor has expressed concerns over plans to treat seriously
ill Rugby patients in Coventry. As the Advertiser reported last month,
out-of-hours and weekend services at Rugby's Hospital of St. Cross may be
switched to the new University Hospital. The proposal was included in the
Coventry and Warwickshire Acute Services Review, set up to examine hospital
care in Warwickshire. Speaking at a meeting of Warwickshire County Council's
Rugby Area Committee earlier this month, County Cllr. Bryan Levy (Lab, Lawford
and New Bilton) said: "We have to explain to the electorate why they are being
made to go to Coventry. "We have been inundated with worries about car parking
and buses.
Rugby Advertiser
27 July 2006
- Epileptic boy, 13, denied treatment. A DEVASTATED mother has
criticised penny-pinching health bosses after they turned down funding for
potentially life-saving treatment for her teenage son. Doctors treating
13-year-old John Love had applied for £7,500 for a nerve stimulating device
which could help treat his severe epilepsy. However, Warwickshire Primary Care
Trust has turned down the application, claiming it was not 'cost-effective'.
John's mother, Eve, of Smeaton Lane, Stretton-under-Fosse, said the decision -
which she claims is the first refusal of funding of its kind 'for years' - had
ruined his chance for an improved life.
Rugby Advertiser
1 February 2007
- NHS 'Postcode lottery' fails boy. 'RIDICULOUS' health chiefs have
been accused of playing 'postcode lottery' after refusing a youngster's
potentially life-saving treatment. As already reported in the Advertiser,
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust has turned down a £7,500 application for an
epilepsy-treating device for 13-year-old John Love, of Smeaton Lane,
Stretton-under Fosse. The application for the Vagus Nerve Stimulator - which
could help alleviate John's severe drug-resistant condition - was deemed by
the PCT as lacking 'cost-effectiveness'. However, in a letter to the group,
John's consultant, Dr. Sunny Phillip, said every single PCT in the West
Midlands requesting the treatment for the past three years had been granted.
Rugby Advertiser
15 February 2007
- Epileptic boy hit by postcode lottery. AN EPILEPTIC boy has once
again been turned down for potentially life-saving treatment because of the
NHS 'postcode lottery'. As previously reported in the Advertiser, Warwickshire
Primary Care Trust turned down money for a Vagal Nerve Stimulator for John
Love, from Stretton-under-Fosse, because of its cost. The device - which would
cost about £7,500 - would help control the 13-year-old's severe epilepsy. But
at a recent Individual Case Panel meeting - made up of health professionals
linked to the PCT - he was once again turned down because the treatment was
too expensive. His mother, Eve Love, believes other PCTs in the West Midlands
have granted funding for similar treatment. And John's consultant has written
to the PCT, claiming that they are playing 'postcode lottery' with the
funding. Mrs. Love, of Smeaton Lane, Stretton-under Fosse, said: "I've lost my
faith in the health service - I think it's a shambles. "We pay high taxes all
our life and then when our child wants treatment, the money isn't there. "The
system isn't working."
Rugby Advertiser 29 March 2007
- SPECIAL REPORT: Cancer sufferers in desperate plea for 'life-saving'
drug. TWO Rugby cancer sufferers [kidney cancer
and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST)] have made
desperate pleas to be able to receive a new drug which could save their lives.
But one has already been turned down and the other could be refused also.
Anthony Jones,
63, and Colin
Howe, 47, have told the Advertiser they do not know how long they have to
live without the drug, but believe it could give them a fighting chance. And
both men have asked
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) to receive the drug Sutent - which
is not available for free through the NHS.
Rugby Advertiser
14 June 2007 (includes links to
comment and
two other articles).
Link to petition.
- JOIN OUR LAST HOPE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE LIVES. TWO Rugby cancer
sufferers who have been denied a revolutionary new drug which could prolong
their lives now face costs they cannot possibly afford. So this week The
Advertiser is launching a 'Last Hope' campaign in an attempt to help them get
the wonder drug Sutent. Anthony 'Russ' Jones and Colin Howe need the new drug
- proven to treat their cancers - but both men have now been refused it by
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust bosses. They are now facing the prospect of
paying over £3,500 a month for the drug which both have admitted they would
struggle to afford. Since we exclusively revealed their plight earlier this
month several readers have suggested setting up an appeal fund. One reader
asked for 700 donors to pledge £100 each and already The Blind Company has
offered £100 to the cause.
Rugby Advertiser
28 June 2007. [I sympathise with the people concerned. Reporting of
individual cases of refusal to fund life-saving treatment is important for
identifying policy errors, in this case by Warwickshire PCT , and getting the
policy changed. It is a policy error as the treatment is recommended by
specialist doctors, who are the only people with the expertise to make a
decision. But fund raising to pay for private treatment is not the answer. For
anyone to have to pay privately for life-saving treatment conflicts with the
founding principles of the NHS. Getting round restrictions on funds by
individual donations sets a bad precedent. These two people are
articulate and have mobilised a campaign. Other people in an equally
dangerous position would not have the energy or ability (cancer and the side
effects of treatment can be very debilitating), and would finish with neither
NHS funding nor an appeal fund.
- EDITOR'S COMMENT: Make it your business to give duo a LAST HOPE.
That's the situation faced by two Rugby men who have cancers but just don't
know when they will die. But there is a last hope and it is a new drug called
Sutent which could help treat both cancers and improve and maybe prolong their
lives. But Warwickshire PCT has already made the decision (and turned down the
appeal), by Anthony Jones - they will not pay for his treatment with this
drug. For the other, Colin Howe, the decision came as we were going to press -
his application for the treatment has been declined.
Click here to see the story about the campaign for Colin and Russ. The two
men are not taking it lying down. They are looking at how they can fund the
treatment themselves, but at the cost of £3,500 per month the future looks
pretty dire. Unless of course they get help.
Rugby Advertiser
28 June 2007 [See my comment on previous article]
-
Europe asked to rule on funds for cancer drug. The European commission
has been asked to investigate whether the "postcode lottery" of NHS cancer
drug funding breaks European anti-discrimination laws. The request comes from
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Conservative MEP for East Midlands, whose constituent
Russ Jones has been denied NHS funding for the life-prolonging drug Sutent,
although primary care trusts in some parts of the country are paying for
patients to have the treatment. Mr Jones, 63, a former headteacher from
Rugby with a rare form of stomach cancer, is using his life savings to pay
£3,400 a month for the drug, which he says could allow him to live months
longer and improve his quality of life.
Warwickshire primary care trust
is refusing to pay for the drug, saying there is insufficient evidence of its
effectiveness. Clare Dyer, legal editor
Monday
September 3, 2007 The Guardian
-
Man denied cancer drug five times. A MAN dying from kidney cancer is
the latest to get the cold shoulder from the NHS over the super drug Sutent - he
has been denied it five times. This week Bill Tuohy described his anguish at
being refused the life-prolonging drug Sutent by health bosses despite several
applications. Mr. Tuohy, 65, of Manor Estate,
Wolston, was diagnosed with the disease last year and the cancer has since
spread to his stomach, chest, spine and right hip, leaving him on a diet of
painkillers just to get through the day. Mr. Tuohy, married with seven children
and 13 grandchildren, was told by doctors that he may have little over one year
left to live and that using Sutent would give him the best chance of prolonging
that period. But just like fellow cancer sufferers Russ Jones and Colin Howe,
Mr. Tuohy had his application for Sutent turned down by
Warwickshire Primary Health Care
(PCT). He has since been refused the drug four further times.
Rugby Advertiser 13 September 2007
-
LAST HOPE CAMPAIGN: Wives gatecrash to help dying husbands. THERE may
be a glimmer of hope for courageous
Rugby cancer sufferers Russ Jones and Colin Howe in their fight to get a
life-prolonging drug. Last Wednesday (September 5), the Advertiser was there
when their wives gate-crashed a board meeting of the
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust
(PCT) in Warwick to read out a damning statement. And this week the PCT
contacted Russ and Colin to say that new appeal dates in their quest to get the
wonder drug Sutent had been set up. Colin's appeal will be heard on Tuesday and
Russ's was due to be heard as the Advertiser went to print yesterday afternoon.
Speaking after they read out the statement, Susan Howe and Val Jones said they
thought it had got their message across.
Rugby Advertiser 13 September 2007
-
Cancer sufferer may get drugs in dramatic U-turn. IT'S the news that
Rugby cancer-sufferer Russ Jones has been waiting months to hear. Russ, 63,
has been told by that he can have the life-prolonging drug Sutent funded for him
by Warwickshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) providing a scan result that he has
next week is successful. The news comes after Russ saw his previous application
for the £3,500 a month drug rejected by the PCT. But at an appeal hearing on
Wednesday a PCT panel agreed to fund the drug providing a scan shows that the
Sutent Russ took as part of a months trial has been successful in treating his
kidney cancer. Russ's wife Val said: "I'm just glad that things are moving
forward now and if Russ can get the drug that would be wonderful news." The
Advertiser launched its Last Hope appeal in June to help riase funds and
awarnesses for Russ Jones and Colin Howe, both from Rugby.
Rugby Advertiser 14 September 2007
-
Will the PCT now help the other cancer sufferers? CANCER sufferers
Colin Howe and Bill Tuohy are now hoping to get a life enhancing drug, after a
dramatic PCT U-turn last week. As we exclusively revealed on our website on
Friday, the 63-year-old Russ Jones from Elter Close, Brownsover, looks set to
get the £3,500 a month drug Sutent free of charge. Retired headteacher Russ and
his wife Val, part of our Last Hope Campaign, had previously started using their
life-savings to buy the drug and thought to sell their home and car. The
decision depends on a scan on Russ's stomach which took place yesterday
(Wednesday). If the scan shows that Russ's stomach cancer has stopped spreading,
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has offered to fund his remaining
treatment. The result won't be known for at least a fortnight. Ken McErlain
Rugby Advertiser 19 September 2007
-
Watchdog fails third of NHS trusts on value. Almost
a third of NHS trusts in England failed to provide adequate value for money in
the last financial year, the government's spending watchdog warns today. The
Audit Commission said the NHS as a whole achieved a £515m surplus in 2006-07
after a £547m deficit in the previous year. But 104 hospitals, ambulance
services and primary care trusts failed to meet the minimum requirements of
sound financial management. Steve Bundred, the commission's chief executive,
said 31% of trusts scored bottom marks for meeting financial targets, managing
assets and providing value for money, against 39% last year. He named 27 trusts
that failed every financial test and warned: "There appears little hope that
they can get out of trouble by themselves." The 27 were:
Barking, Havering and Redbridge hospitals, Bexley Care Trust,
Hinchingbrooke Health Care, Royal
Cornwall Hospitals,
Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare,
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare,
Trafford Healthcare, United
Lincolnshire Hospitals, Great Western ambulance service, and the primary
care trusts for
Bedfordshire,
Berkshire West, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire,
Cumbria, East and North Hertfordshire, East Sussex Downs and Weald, Great
Yarmouth and Waveney, Norfolk,
North Somerset, North
Staffordshire, Surrey,
Warwickshire, West Hertfordshire and the London boroughs of Enfield,
Hillingdon, Hounslow and Kingston. John Carvel, social affairs editor
Tuesday
October 23, 2007 The Guardian
-
Last Hope cancer sufferer dies. CANCER sufferer Russ Jones has died.
Russ, of Elter Close,
Rugby, was part of our Last Hope Campaign to help get a life-enhancing drug
for cancer sufferers. The PCT originally turned down his many requests for
Sutent because it was 'not cost-effective'. But they did eventually agree to
fund the drug - which is free in other counties - if results from a scan showed
that the drug worked. However, the results were not good and Russ died on
Thursday.
Rugby Advertiser 22 October 2007
-
Rugby man could get cancer drug. CANCER sufferer Colin Howe has been
given a glimmer of hope in his quest to get a life-prolonging drug for free.
Colin, of Gentian Way, Brownsover, has been told by
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) that they will fund the drug, Sutent,
providing a scan shows that Colin's kidney cancer has stopped spreading. The
news comes after Colin attended a PCT hearing in Warwick last Tuesday to appeal
against his initial refusal of the drug. He is due to have a scan at the end of
this month and could know the result by early November.
Rugby Advertiser 22 October 2007
-
Children's home hospital put in jeopardy? A VITAL children's hospital
service in Rugby could be in jeopardy after a turbulent few days. Reports came
out recently that the Children's Hospital at Home service was axed. But the
Warwickshire Primary Care Trust has come forward this week to say that the
service has not closed - although it is 'reviewing the way the team works' and
has cut down its hours. The service treats sick children at home and was brought
in after the closure of the in-patient paediatric facilities at the Hospital of
St. Cross. It takes referrals from doctors for children with acute illnesses,
such as chest infections and gastroenteritis. A source said: "Staff were told
that the service has been closed and they are very upset. They have built up an
excellent rapport with the families in Rugby and won a national award in 2002.
There has been an awful shroud of secrecy about this and we were told not to
make it public but I think the public has a right to know. Now I have heard that
it might be re-opening, but we just don't know." In an attempt to clear up the
matter, Jill Freer, Managing Director of Community Services for Warwickshire
PCT, said: "The Children's Hospital at Home team in Rugby has not closed and we
are currently reviewing the way the team works with a view to integrating the
staff within the wider Children's Community Nursing team. There has been a
detailed review of the Rugby Children's Hospital at Home team and the options
have been discussed at the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and will go
before GPs in the next month before a final decision on the future of the
service is taken."
Rugby Advertiser 22 November 2007
- Rugby's mental health unit to close, bosses decide. HEALTH chiefs
have decided to close a long-standing
Rugby mental health unit - meaning patients will have to travel elsewhere
for vital treatment. Warwickshire Primary Care Trust has decided to close the
Linden Unit at the Hospital of St. Cross today (Wednesday). The unit has
provided care for people suffering mental health illnesses. The decision means
patients will now be treated at the state-of-the-art Caludon Centre, based at
Coventry's University Hospital. It's hoped the move will allow patients better
treatment and access to improved support services. However, opponents had
claimed the move would have an 'unsettling' effect on Rugby patients. The move
means the ward could be fully closed by early next year. Speaking exclusively
to rugbytoday.co.uk after the meeting, Jim Shera, Vice-Chairman of the PCT,
said 'every effort' would be made to ensure a smooth transition for Rugby
patients.
Rugby Advertiser 7 December 2007.
PETITIONS
- Petition to: demand all
PCTs (primary care trusts) to prescribe Rituximab as a maintenance therapy.
My husband,42, a tax paying, law abiding citizen & working father of three has
just been refused this course of therapy by Warwickshire PCT. WHY? Having gone
through five years of treatments yet worked full time throughout there are no
other options available to him - do you expect me to let him die without a
fight? [Comment by Geoffrey Porter-Williams: Rituximab (also known as
Mabthera) was prescribed to me as a maintenance treatment for slow developing
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for a year from 2004 to 2005, funded by Rugby PCT.
As Warwickshire PCT now incorporates Rugby, presumably I would be affected by
the policy - a perverse side effect of a national reorganisation, as there is
no national policy to refuse the maintenance treatment, and NICE generally
approves the use of Rituximab. For me the quarterly maintenance
treatment did not prevent the recurrence of lymphoma, but for those who might
benefit it should be prescribed.]
(updated 5 June 2007)
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