A bid is being launched tonight to stall plans which could lead to more than £530m being slashed from NHS budgets. Fears are growing about the impact of a sustainability and transformation plan (STP), which is outlining savings and plans for health and social care for the next five years.
Brighton and Hove, along with the rest of Sussex and East Surrey, is one of 44 areas around the country, known as footprints, which have submitted an STP to NHS Improvement for approval.
However there are concerns the proposals put forward so far are only the tip of the iceberg and could result in major cuts and potential job losses. The Government and NHS Improvement are demanding the NHS in the region clears its NHS deficits in five years and this currently stands at £865m well short of the £530m currently proposed.
Potential savings of £112,000 have also been earmarked for social care, which opponents say will have a major impact on already under-pressure services. Brighton and Hove Greens have put forward a notice of motion for tonight’s full council meeting, urging councillors not to co-operate with the plans.
There has been anger locally and nationally about the secrecy behind STPs, which campaigners say have been done with little or no consultation and which do not contain enough detail.
Full story in The Argus, 15 December 2016