Hospital Scandal

Posted By: Wera Hobhouse
Date Posted: 08/11/2010

A shocking national news story this week reports that Stafford Hospital is at last subject to a public inquiry after years of complaints from patients and relations and Health campaigners

A private report from 2009 condemned conditions saying that is had ‘caused hundreds of avoidable deaths’.

Another private review in February 2010 reported ‘the trust had been driven by targets and cost-cutting and ‘Managers had been focused on winning elite foundation trust status during the problem years.’

The closure of vital services here at Rochdale Infirmary under the Healthy Futures and Making It Better proposals also coincided with the Pennine Acute Trust applying for Foundation Trust status.
At the same time local councillors and health campaigners feel persistently frustrated and ignored by hospital managers, when they raise concerns over public health and safety in connection with the proposed cuts.

Because Health services are provided and regulated by Central government local control is totally ineffective.

But even the continuous campaign of our local MP’s or the warnings of ex- consultants and nurses in the Infirmary have had no effect whatsoever and managers continue to bulldoze the changes through regardless.

When will we get away from a culture of public services being dictated to by managers?

If the cuts in Stafford Hospital really led to avoidable deaths, will the managers responsible at the time be made accountable or will they enjoy early retirement on a high pension?

Let’s hope that the Public Inquiry will deliver on the high expectations of Campaigners in Stafford and highlight not only the problems at Stafford Hospital but the wider problems of regulation within the NHS.

What the NHS needs is a change of culture away from central bureaucracy and target driven management to locally accountable professionals who run services on the basis of patients first.