Shortfall in NHS ‘may get worse’ (From York Press)
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Shortfall in NHS ‘may get worse’
8:45am Wednesday 27th June 2012 in Health & Wellbeing
By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk
Andrew Lansley: Struggling NHS Trust brought under control
THE £19 million funding deficit facing the NHS in our region could easily deepen plunging NHS North Yorkshire and York in to its “worst nightmare”, according to the head of the trust.
The stark warning came from trust chief executive Christopher Long, who told yesterday’s board of governors meeting that the estimated £19 million shortfall for the coming year was a “best-case scenario” and that it could easily spiral into tens of millions of pounds if plans to claw back the cash were not successful.
Coun Jim Clarke, head of North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee, told the board: “I’m rather concerned that the £19 million deficit may be optimistic and I believe we could see one of £30million or £40million to £50million. I am not being alarmist.”
Mr Long told him: “You said it was optimistic and I think you are right.”
He said: “The projected £19million deficit is of now and depends on all our plans coming to fruition. It depends on a mild winter and a dose of good luck.”
In the strongest warning yet from the PCT on the seriousness of the situation, he said: “The worst-case scenario is your worst nightmare and it doesn’t take much to knock things off course.”
Yesterday’s meeting at the Priory Street Centre in York came on the same day that health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced he was putting struggling South London Healthcare NHS Trust under the control of a special administrator, after it began losing £1million a week.
In April next year, North Yorkshire and York will hand over responsibility for spending the region’s £1.2 billion health budget to a new-GP led clinical commissioning groups, and Mr Long said it was “imperative we don’t drop the ball on the handover.”
The trust said one of the ways it is looking at clawing back the shortfall was a shift from hospital care to more community-based care, and it is warning of major changes in the way residents can expect to be treated.
Mr Long said foundation trusts such as York Hospital, should be providers of “community service and a little bit of hospital service, as opposed what they do now, which is providing a little bit of hospital service with a little bit of community care.”
Comments(13)
AngryandFrustrated
says...
9:26am Wed 27 Jun 12
CHISSY1 wrote:Glad to see you are alive and kicking Chissy1, but disappointed that you still can't keep on topic. In case you hadn't noticed, this is a story about the NHS and the debt the PCT carries and not a story on overseas aid!
"How many billions of pounds does this stupid country throw abroad?, unimportant really because obviously we can afford to.No doubt the pathetic PC brigade will attempt to justify this waste".
ouseswimmer
says...
9:42am Wed 27 Jun 12
newscritic
says...
10:11am Wed 27 Jun 12
Sillybillies
says...
12:18pm Wed 27 Jun 12
In case you hadn't noticed, this is a story about the NHS and the debt the PCT carries and not a story on overseas aid!
Wrong, it's a story about cut backs on essential services for British taxpayers, and the comment about overseas aid is fully justified.
Sillybillies
says...
2:45pm Wed 27 Jun 12
Same old Tories.
And same old Labour to always leave one hell of a mess when in office, which has to be cleared up by those terrible Tories. It's happened regularly over the past sixty years, but this time they've really bankrupt the country.
PKH
says...
6:12pm Wed 27 Jun 12
Sillybillies wrote:So the bankers had nothing to do with it, and I suppose Labour also caused similar problems in other countries. And before you say Labour should have regulated the banks better up until the banking crisis the Tories were complaining the banks were OVER regulated.
Same old Tories.
And same old Labour to always leave one hell of a mess when in office, which has to be cleared up by those terrible Tories. It's happened regularly over the past sixty years, but this time they've really bankrupt the country.
yorkshirelad
says...
10:02pm Wed 27 Jun 12
Sillybillies wrote:Yes..we just didn't notice that Labour were running the world too...or was it just a coinicidence that they all had the same problems? What nonsense that it was Labour's fault except that they weren't tough enough on the Torys 'friends in the City of London.
Same old Tories.
And same old Labour to always leave one hell of a mess when in office, which has to be cleared up by those terrible Tories. It's happened regularly over the past sixty years, but this time they've really bankrupt the country.
The Tory plan is to run the health service down so that large corporations can then step in. Make no mistake the aim is to dismantle the NHS and the spin is all to try and make us believe there is no alternative.
rothko
says...
10:08pm Wed 27 Jun 12
A shudder to think what mess we are going to be left with at the end of this parliament.
piaggio1
says...
11:47pm Wed 27 Jun 12
PKH
says...
9:29am Thu 28 Jun 12
piaggio1 wrote:There would not have been the needed if maintenance and renewals had been properly funded under the previous Tory governments of Thatcher and Major,
erm ,want it liabor that took out these very expensive deals to build new hospitals,then not have to worry about payin for em,as in leavin it to the next political party,who just appen to be them bloody torries,we deserve far better than this
newscritic
says...
10:29am Fri 29 Jun 12
PKH wrote:Spot on!
piaggio1 wrote:There would not have been the needed if maintenance and renewals had been properly funded under the previous Tory governments of Thatcher and Major,
erm ,want it liabor that took out these very expensive deals to build new hospitals,then not have to worry about payin for em,as in leavin it to the next political party,who just appen to be them bloody torries,we deserve far better than this
newscritic
says...
10:30am Fri 29 Jun 12
rothko wrote:Exactly!
Satisfaction with the NHS was at an all time high when Labour left government. So the Tories answer is root and branch multi-billion pound re-structuring to help out their mates in the private sector.
A shudder to think what mess we are going to be left with at the end of this parliament.
CHISSY1 says...
9:14am Wed 27 Jun 12
will attempt to justify this waste".