‘IT can’t be done’ Southwest London hospital consultant Dr Philip Howard told News Line yesterday in response to a call for more A&E closures by NHS England Chief Executive David Nicholson.
Nicholson warned the NHS faces another £30bn cuts on top of the £20bn already taking place.
Howard added: ‘We’re already reeling, we can’t take more cuts.
‘I’m opposed to A&E closures. Putting care in the community first is the wrong way round. They don’t realise that care in the community is just not there.
‘I’m concerned that while the plan to close our A&E at St Helier may not go ahead, Lewisham and Chase Farm face closure in the Autumn.’
NHS England yesterday set out a ‘call to action’ to staff, public and politicians.
Nicholson said: ‘Our analysis shows that if we continue with the current model of care and expected funding levels, we could have a funding gap of £30bn between 2013/14 and 2020/21,which will continue to grow and grow quickly if action isn’t taken.
‘This is on top of the £20bn of efficiency savings already being met. This gap cannot be solved from the public purse but by freeing up NHS services and staff from old-style practices and buildings.’
Specialty doctor Remi Adenuga commented: ‘They can’t close A&Es when you can’t get a GP’s appointment.
‘You can call NHS Direct but that is difficult and sometimes you are not given the right diagnosis.
‘People will need to see a doctor, especially if it’s an emergency, and this is best done face-to-face at A&E.
‘The A&E is the most crucial part of medical care, we need our emergency departments.
‘Closures have to be fought. The BMA should speak up, we’ve taken an oath as doctors to treat, so we need to deliver healthcare for all that is safe.’
In response to NHS England’s ‘call to action’, Chair of BMA Council, Dr Mark Porter, said: ‘The government has spent two years forcing through an unwanted reorganisation instead of giving the service space to address the funding crisis. New organisations are struggling to establish themselves while in deficit from the start.
‘So far most of the savings found have come from staff pay or cuts in tariffs for services, which is neither sustainable nor likely to deliver the savings needed to protect patient care.’
Porter warned against doctors continuing ‘to be made the scapegoat for the problems facing the NHS and when the pressures on them are increasing’.
North East London Council of Action secretary Bill Rogers said: ‘We’ve got the £20bn QIPP cuts and now NHS England is proposing a further £30bn cuts. £50bn is half the NHS budget.
‘They are talking about staffing cuts on every ward in the country.
‘This is clearly a political decision to smash the NHS.
‘The only solution is to organise occupations and strike action – a general strike to smash the government not the NHS.
‘The unions have got to step into the fight.
‘The Council of Action is organising a mass march on October 26 to defend Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield.
‘We will occupy the hospital, that is the only way forward.’
