Cutbacks planned in the NHS is shifting much of the public healthcare away from hospitals and onto local surgeries at ‘primary’ level which can’t cope. The government plans to cut £22 billion from the NHS budget. But 45 GPs and health care managers across Tower Hamlets warned today of dangers to patients.
“The NHS is unprecedented financial crisis,” their statement says. “The proportion spent (per head) on the NHS is going down year-on-year and is one of the lowest in Europe.
“Most acute hospital trusts are in deficit and the proportion of NHS allocation spent on General Practice is at an all time low—at a time when work is being transferred from secondary to primary care.”
The warning from the clinics and surgeries highlights a “workforce crisis” in General Practice.
“Most GPs feel that their workload is either excessive or unmanageable,” they point out. “Young doctors are not choosing General Practice as a career and older doctors are leaving.
“This is not safe for patients—the NHS Sustainability & Transformation Plans signed off on December 23 demand £22 billion in ‘savings’. It is not possible to ‘save’ £22bn without severe cuts in service.”
Full story in Docklands & East London Advertiser 29 December 2016