Brexit: and the "NHS dividend": and planned CCG cuts in Devon

Local Councillors have been campaigning for a secure future for East Devon's community hospitals - although the District Council seems to be thinking differently from the County Council:
Futures Forum: District Council "strongly opposes closure and removal of community hospital beds and hospital-based services throughout East Devon"
Futures Forum: County Council approves NHS Integrated Care System - despite its own scrutiny committee and the public showing overwhelming opposition

Independent Councillors have been particularly active:
Beds, beds, beds – Devon’s NHS couldn’t or wouldn’t give me their overall occupancy figure for the recent winter: but they were forced to buy in more capacity and there were ’12-hour trolley breaches’ « SEATON & COLYTON matters
Shock revelation at Health Scrutiny suggests the ‘new model of care’ is more about switching intermediate care from community hospitals to ‘block bookings’ in private nursing homes – saving costs and freeing up assets. How long will it last? « SEATON & COLYTON matters
I tell Health Scrutiny why Seaton and Honiton need to keep services in our hospitals – Exmouth Tory tells me I’m ‘abusing the procedure’ « SEATON & COLYTON matters

And:
Motion to go before next month’s full council on protecting community hospital buildings - Claire Wright

Health scrutiny Conservative cllrs block vote down proposal to protect Devon community hospitals - Claire Wright

Health Scrutiny: Future of community hospitals, carers, local NHS deficit and GP appt delays .... - Claire Wright

The question now is whether the tons of cash now promised for the NHS:
Theresa May insists more cash for NHS can come from money we save by quitting EU as she promises £20bn spending boost - The Sun
Black hole in Theresa May’s cash plan for NHS | The Times

... will have any effect on these plans - in Devon and elsewhere around the country:
GP at Hand leaves CCG facing budget deficit in 2018/19 | GPonline
Yorkshire Coast Radio - News - Whitby CCG Has £5.6 Million Deficit
Hartlepool health chiefs face £14m funding shortfall - Hartlepool Mail
Local NHS body reports £5.6m deficit as report recommends urgent talks with health chiefs - Richmondshire Today

Here is a very strongly-worded comment on the East Devon Watch blog: 

One thought on “Devon Tory GP MP pours cold water on “extra” NHS funding promise”

1. Paul F says:

   18 Jun 2018 at 11:04am

   What is the betting that our CCG carries on with all their planned cuts regardless of the extra money being promised?

   After all, the CCG’s rationale for “restructuring” (which have never been properly scrutinised despite the best efforts of the non-Conservative County Councillors to try to pin them down) has always been that they are NOT in fact cuts but instead are a more efficient way of working, so to back down just because there is more money promised would be an admission that it was not previously telling the truth.

   Besides which, a promise of extra money does not mean that the Government is reversing its policy of privatisation – and if you are being cynical about it, you could see the additional money promised as simply being the additional funds needed to pay for the administration of privatisation (estimated at £10BN to £30BN PER YEAR and likely to grow as the number of privatised services grows) and to pay for the additional costs inherent in privatised services to pay for the significantly higher executive salaries, the shareholder dividends and the administration of the privatised contracts from the other side.

   Next we need to ask where the “Magic Money Tree” is that will fund this extra money? Despite what Theresa May says, there is no Brexit Dividend – indeed the Government has accepted the Office for Budget Responsibility report that says that there will be a net cost to the Government of £15BN per year rather than any dividend. So now the Government needs to shake the Magic Money Tree very hard indeed to make a total of £35BN per year magically appear.

   Of course, if our CCG doesn’t reverse its cuts, and other CCGs act similarly, the promise of additional money will not be taken up, thus enabling the Government to simultaneously claim that they have made £20BN available to the NHS (thus winning over a raft of votes) whilst not actually having to come up with it through additional taxation (more votes) and still achieving their privatisation dogma and avoiding having to admit just what a state the NHS has got into. A WINNING POLITICAL STRATEGY if there ever was one – even if it does mean the continuation of tens of thousands of avoidable deaths (which in other circumstances would be large enough to be considered genocide).

Devon Tory GP MP pours cold water on “extra” NHS funding promise | East Devon Watch
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