27th September 2011

Hiding the truth

In the past 8 weeks, we have been asked about a number of cases where patients had been offered surgery at hospitals as far away as Northumberland. At the September meeting of the St. John’s Hospital Stakeholders Group, Sandra Mair, Director of Operations for St. John’s was asked about the reliance being placed by NHS Lothian on other hospitals. Given that the “pound follows the patient”, it seems ectraordinary that in these times of budget pressures, NHS Lothian are paying for surgery elsewhere.

We were forced to accept that the use of the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow was necessary and unavoidable as the money for procedures there was top-sliced from the NHS Lothian budget, and that the objective was to reduce waiting times. But what is alarming about this newest revelation is that if patients refuse treatment in remote hospitals, they do remain on the waiting list, but are not counted in the statistics to calculate whether NHS Lothian are breaching their waiting time targets.

This is a cynical use of alternatives, since the NHS appear to know that there is little likelihood of patients accepting treatment in remote centres where they will be isolated from family and friends. So they keep hold of their budget, and massage their figures at the same time! We are told this is nothing new, but it’s something that isn’t often highlighted, and in view of the other disturbing revelations, it’s time it was.

We have also seen evidence that NHS Lothian have turned to Spire (the Murrayfield Hospital to you and I) to further avoid breaching their targets. They have asked Spire to take on hundreds of operations over the next few months, that will cost the tax-payer hundreds of thousands of pounds this year, and millions next year if they get their way. If you don’t believe us, ask NHS Lothian or Spire.

In the toughest economic times we have seen for generations, NHS Lothian is giving a masterclass in the mismanagement of resources. They ripped the heart out of St. John’s to justify the pots of public money being poured into the pockets of shareholders of PFI multi nationals. This highly discredited system has been slated for the first time by the Public Accounts Committee, who have stated it does not give best value, and does not live up to the myth of passing the risk to those overpaid conglomerates who have been favoured by successive Governments in order to keep public debt of the country’s books. And the falsehood is made worse when you consider that the PAC has stated that buying out these PFI agreements would cost less than we are paying, while not adding to the structural deficit. In other words, on the books (no more “Enron” style accounting) will actually cost less!

They should already be convinced that expensive centralisation doesn’t work, because their white elephant at Little France can’t cope! Rather than considering sustainable long term options such as returning services to St. John’s, they simply farm it out to the costly private sector, no doubt populated by NHS consultants who changed their contracts to allow them more time to work in private practice.

The time has come to say enough is enough to NHS Lothian. While their top people continue to get fat on the spoils of corporate mismanagement, their decisions are creating a two-tier system. Not for them the worry of illness or inconvenience, because as their own figures have shown, the most well off in the Lothians are living dispropotionately longer. Well it’s really little wonder when you add up their salaries and private health care! And the price is being paid by nurses and domestic staff, who can easily be sacrificed on their alter of self interest.

NHS Lothian is desperately trying to sell assets to buy the land from Consort to then pay Consort almost a billion pounds for the new Sick Kids at Little France. The Cabinet Secretary should step in now and stop this obscene merry-go-round of wasteful mismanagement of public funding. That was after all the intention of stopping the proceeds of asset sales going to individual health boards to bolster their balance sheets, before that too was changed.

When they have proven they can manage what they already have, then let them progress with huge capital investments. Until then, it’s high time the SNP Government made these people account for the mess they’ve already made. But as we’ve seen with almost every other big business, no-one is accountable any more. Except if you’re at the bottom of the greasy pole!

Councillor Gordon Beurskens.

Action to Save St. John’s Hospital.

Whitburn & Blackburn Ward (7)