‘THEY are tearing the heart out of the hospital,’ said Epsom and St Helier NHS Unison branch secretary Kevin O’Brien yesterday.
He was responding to a management announcement that the Surrey hospital trust is facing a spending gap of £38m this year which is predicted to get worse.
Hundreds of jobs including doctors, nurses and ancillary staff are immediately at risk, as well as the question mark that the size of the deficit puts over the very existence of the hospital.
Kevin O’Brien, speaking about the deficit, said: ‘It’s closer to £45m.
‘We had a £3m surplus last year. Now suddenly, because of the commissioning situation, we have a huge £45m deficit.
‘We are already going through the problems of that.
‘We are in formal dispute with the trust over organisational changes taking place in relation to the cuts.’
Meanwhile, the government’s demand for £20bn of cuts is seeing large numbers of beds and jobs being axed across the country.
And the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into the standard of care elderly people receive in hospital, in a situation where savage cuts are taking place, suggests that closing hospitals, not increasing their budget, is the way out of this crisis.
The CQC reported yesterday that unannounced inspections of 100 hospitals into standards of dignity and nutrition for older people found 20 hospitals did not meet one or both standards (they were ‘non-compliant, with improvements required’).
The CQC, which has the power to close hospitals, has served the 20 with warning notices to improve or else
Commenting on the CQC findings, Unison head of health, Christina McAnea, said: ‘Poor quality leadership, under-resourcing or managers putting business before patient care, all contributes to failures.
‘More regular inspection of management must be a priority. We know that some care staff are working in a culture of fear and intimidation.
‘Staff must have the freedom to say when they aren’t coping, or need more resources, without being threatened. Care workers must know that their concerns will be taken seriously.’
Royal College of Nursing Executive Director of Nursing and Service Delivery, Janet Davies, said: ‘Every nurse is personally accountable for their own practice and must act promptly to raise concerns if staffing levels or other pressures are getting in the way of delivering good care.
‘Each trust board and chief executive must take responsibility too.
‘Decisions about the numbers of staff employed, the availability of senior, experienced clinical nurses and the whole ethos of the hospital are not issues that can be delegated.’
The RCN pledged to: ‘Resist dangerous cost-cutting exercises by trusts which are placing patient safety at risk by replacing experienced clinical staff by more junior nurses and health care assistants.’
BMA Council member Anna Athow said: ‘Proper nursing care can only be delivered when a) there are enough nurses per patient and b) a high enough proportion of trained to untrained SRN nurses (skill mix).
‘The danger is that the deficiencies in care, due to lack of funding, will be used to blame NHS hospitals and be used as an excuse to close them or close whole departments.
‘Mid-Staffs foundation Trust, which was found to have excess deaths due to poor care in the past, is now addressing its recurring deficit by closing almost 40 per cent of its beds and may end surgery for paediatric emergencies, and may no longer provide emergency surgery 24 hours a day.
‘There is only one solution. The £20bn QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) cuts must be stopped immediately and hospitals given the funding they require. This is what the unions should be insisting on.
‘This is what taxpayers’ money should be spent on and not privatising the NHS.’
