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NHS Oldham told to slash spending
Date published: 04 March 2010
NHS Oldham has been told to make cutbacks as part of a spending curb of almost £1bn across Greater Manchester.
The organisation is one of the region’s 10 primary care trusts which have been told to slash spending.
The move calls a halt to increasing investment in the NHS, which has more than doubled since 1997, in the face of massive national debt.
The trusts must between them made savings of £950 million over the next four years. NHS Oldham chief executive Gail Richards said detailed plans were being drawn up to improve effectiveness and efficiency, while maintaining and improving quality of services.
They include ways to cut waste and duplication, such as tackling missed appointments, cutting the number of follow-up appointments on patients’ advice, and streamlining prescription systems for care homes.
And members of the public and staff have been drafted in to make suggestions. She said: “Over the last decade the NHS has gone through a phenomenal period of growth.
“Now that that growth is ending, all NHS organisations have been asked to look at how they can make services more effective, while continuing to improve them for patients.
“NHS Oldham has always worked hard to ensure that every penny of taxpayers’ money counted by spending it wisely, leading to acknowledgement by our regulators that we have achieved good financial management.”
Mrs Richards then sent a message out to Oldhamers.
She added: “We would like even more feedback on how we can improve things.
“Please contact me with your comments.
She can be contacted on 0161-622 6511 or by e-mail at gail.richards@nhs.net
Comments
..What we want is to see all this money used for the treatment of the sick and the lame. Not to enlarge the personal fiefdoms of these desk jockeys. The last decade has shown that throwing mountains of cash at the NHS without reform, results in little or no improvement in services at the sharp end, but a huge surge in the numbers of non-medical 'administrative posts'. Mrs Richards, you want feedback on how we can improve things? Do you really want me to tell you?
Investment is fine, but a sufficient return on investment is required. Labour has poured money in but not driven forward with efficiency and productivity to get the best out of that money. Layer upon layer of bureaucracy and mismanagemnt swallows up millions and millions that should have been allocated to front line services. Same goes right across the public sector.
Take better care of yourselves - don't assume the NHS will be there for pay for your self-inflicted illness in future.
Have Your Say
Richards says, "Over the last decade the NHS has gone through a phenomenal period of growth." No it hasn't. What the NHS has 'gone through' has been over a decade of Labour throwing billions of pounds of our money at an incompetent, top heavy, bureaucratic bunch of paper shufflers and seat fillers, like herself. There have been no controls imposed to make sure all this 'investment' is used to improve health care & treatments. Result? More & more managers & empire builders...
By Ruffyed @ 05/03/2010 00:29:13