IN THE NEWS: NHS UPDATE

38 Degrees members get involved

The 38 Degrees Save Your Local NHS petition has been spreading far and wide, with hundreds and thousands of us signing it, and many 38 Degrees members organising local get-togethers to discuss how to make sure NHS services where they live are protected.

This coming week is key for 38 Degrees members living in the Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, as they will have the opportunity to meet the doctors who will be in charge of managing the borough’s NHS from next spring! The meeting will be taking place on Wednesday the 12th of December. This is a great chance to sit down and find out more about what the CCG will be responsible for and let the CCG know what 38 Degrees members will be expecting from them.

In an article in the Redditch Standard, Dr Jonathan Wells, Redditch GP and chair of Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, said: “To do the job well, we need to involve local people in important decisions about their healthcare, which is why we are encouraging residents to come along to the public launch and meet us. We hope the event will help people to understand who we are and what our aims and priorities are for the future.” Anyone who would like to attend should book a place by contacting Bethan Flynn, executive administrator by emailing bethan.flynn@worcestershire.nhs.uk or calling 01527 488746 to find out more.

New opposition to CCG’s from the National Health Action Party

Also in the news has been the announcement that the new political party, National Health Action Party, wants to challenge the governments recent health care reforms according to This is Sussex – an online news site. According to their website, Crawley CCG has scrapped the low cost Crawley health service to save money. There are fears a withdrawal of the service will increase demand on GPs and lead to poorer health among disadvantaged families.

Mark Donaghy, of Kamsons Pharmacy, which offers the service at its branches in Broadfield, Pound Hill and Southgate, said: “It seems even when it has been deemed as needed, a service is taken away to save money. In other parts of the country, pharmacists are paid £4 per consultation plus the retail price of the medication. In Crawley, the pharmacy is only paid £1 plus the medication cost. The Crawley scheme is therefore cost-effective and cheap. It doesn’t make sense to scrap it.”

Brian Quinn, a Labour councillor for Broadfield North, where the service is most widely used, has written to Dr Amit Bhargava, head of Crawley CCG, to request a rethink.

Erewash CCG wins Health Service Journal Award for saving money

The Ilkeston Advertiser has reported that the group about to take charge of health services in Ilkeston, Long Eaton and surrounding villages has won the Quality and Productivity award for saving money.

The NHS Erewash Clinical Commissioning Group, made up of GPs and clinicians from 13 practices across the borough, takes charge of spending on health services in Erewash in April next year.

The Quality and Productivity award rewards organisations for improving the quality of care while also saving money.

The organisation, which has come under fire for planning to close one of the two wards at Ilkeston Community Hospital in a bid to increase the number of patients cared for at home, was praised for dropping unnecessary admissions to hospital by three per cent.