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| East Anglian Daily Times, 30 September 2005 |
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| HEALTH Secretary Patricia Hewitt has warned NHS managers in Suffolk that ministers are prepared intervene and hold them to account for the financial crisis which has led to the planned closure of community hospitals in the county. |
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| Talking exclusively to the EADT at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, Ms Hewitt stopped short of criticising individual hospital and ward closures but said she would be demanding "tangible" answers from health service chiefs if they say they cannot deliver significant improvements to the NHS after a massive cash Government injection over the past two years. |
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| Primary care and hospital trusts are more than £70million in the red and Ms Hewitt is demanding to know how they have allowed this debt to build up. |
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| Denying that Suffolk was under-funded compared to the rest of England, the Secretary of State said: "Let's make a few things clear. Suffolk health trusts are similar to those in any other county in that they have had the highest level of growth in funding in the history of the NHS. For example, Suffolk East PCT will receive £187.6m in 2006/7 and £209.3m. |
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| "This actually represents a cash increase of over £40m or 24.5% over two years. Suffolk health services are far better funded than ever before." |
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| She warned: "If the local NHS Trusts can't deliver significant long-term improvements in Suffolk, then ministers will step in and take action to hold local trust managers to account." |
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| In a thinly disguised criticism of Tory MPs, she said the crisis was too serious to be turned into a political ping-pong match. |
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| She catalogued improvements in the county's health care - Ipswich Hospital's £26m Garrett Anderson Centre will provide a new accident and emergency department, a critical care centre, operating theatres and beds. |
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| And James Paget Hospital in Gorleston has a new unit housing a day case ward, outpatient and minor operating suite including a theatre for eye surgery. |
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| She added: "I do appreciate that people are rightly worried when they hear from trusts that they lack money or are considering reorganising services. |
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| "I therefore visited Ipswich Hospital back in May to listen and learn from staff and patients and I, and local Labour MPs, are keen to hear from residents if they have concerns. |
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| "If with this massive new funding local health chiefs can't bring about service improvements which benefit residents across Suffolk then we will hold them to account." |
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| Among the casualties of the funding crisis are the Bartlett Hospital in Felixstowe, Hartismere Hospital in Eye, Walnuttree and St Leonard's Hospitals in Sudbury. Beds are to be removed from the Ipswich and West Suffolk acute hospitals, services reorganised in Aldeburgh, Felixstowe, Newmarket, and mental health centres closed in Ipswich, Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds. |
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| In an attempt to reduce costs in the county, the Strategic Health Authority demanded the reorganisation of the county's five primary care trusts into just one PCT. |
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| Last night health chiefs defended their organisations against the criticism from Mrs Hewitt. |
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| Carole Taylor-Brown, chief executive of the Suffolk East PCTs, said: “The new leadership team across Suffolk East have been entirely open about the scale of our financial challenge and what we are doing to get back on track and to stop spending more money than we've got. |
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| “Our detailed plans are published, and cover a wide range of changes. We are making sound progress, which is carefully monitored by the Board. We are working closely with the Strategic Health Authority, who are being supportive to us.” |
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| Suffolk West PCT chief executive Mike Stonard said the authority had made “significant” progress toward a financial recovery particularly when it came to prescribing and reducing management costs. |
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| He added: “The PCT is on track to deliver the £7.1million savings this year as part of the recovery plan.” |
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| A spokesperson for Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority said: “It is the responsibility of the local PCT and hospital boards to achieve financial balance and modernise healthcare services. There are significant problems in Suffolk and the SHA has worked with the PCTs and trusts to understand the size and scale of the problem.” |
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| Meanwhile MPs from across the region were critical of the health secretary and her proposals. |
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| Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley said: “I'm afraid that Mrs Hewitt does not know her own figures. Suffolk West PCT receives £1,156 per person per year while the national average is £1,388. |
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| “In other words she doesn't know what she's talking about. It would have been nice if she had done her homework because I find what she says outrageous.” |
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| Suffolk Coastal MP John Gummer said: “What Mrs Hewitt doesn't reveal is that although funding has increased she now expects us to do a lot more extra things with that money, none of which have been funded properly. |
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| “Add to this the fact that the cost of living has gone up as well and it is simply not true that we have more money than ever before. It's a typical trick used by bureaucrats. |
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| “That is why Suffolk has just 90p to fund 100p of health care provision and why in the future it will be as low as 80p as we fight against these huge debts.” |
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| Suffolk South MP Tim Yeo said: “The consequences of all the financial difficulties faced in Suffolk are being felt by the patients, who are seeing their much loved and valuable community services closed and reorganised because of the crippling debts of the primary care trusts. |
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| He agreed there had been “poor management decisions” which had led to consultation documents that were full of flaws. “The Department of Health appoints the trust chairmen and members and therefore if the Secretary of State believes there is a major problem in the county, she should be holding them to account and demand to know what was going on.” |
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