• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Shadow Health Secretary tells Parliament of “NHS pushed to the brink” as NHS managers back Kerslake’s warnings

After the chair of one of the country’s top NHS trusts resigned in protest against government NHS cuts making his and other hospital’s job impossible, the shadow health secretary made an emergency statement to the House of Commons today. “Lord Kerslake said our NHS faces the tightest spending figures in recent times,” said Labour’s Jonathan […]

Benjamin Jenkins by Benjamin Jenkins
2017-12-12 14:28
in News, Politics
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

After the chair of one of the country’s top NHS trusts resigned in protest against government NHS cuts making his and other hospital’s job impossible, the shadow health secretary made an emergency statement to the House of Commons today.

“Lord Kerslake said our NHS faces the tightest spending figures in recent times,” said Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth.

“Doesn’t that mean like at Kings –  continued hospital deficits, growing waiting lists, greater rationing of care, the dropping of the 18 week target, more privatisation, an NHS pushed to the brink because of this Government’s persistent underfunding. Don’t patients deserve better?”

Lord Kerslake, former head of the civil service resigned as chairman of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London on Sunday, with a public plea that the health service could not continue “staggering along” under the current funding levels.

Today Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was not in parliament to answer the shadow health secretary’s emergency question.

Instead Minister of State for Health Philip Dunne fielded Jonathan Ashworth’s question.

The Labour front bencher told parliament: “Lord Kerslake said the Government are simply not facing up to the enormous challenges that the NHS is currently facing. We agree.

RelatedPosts

No sniff of a top job? Boris Johnson sacks Michael Gove – reactions

You can not be serious! Boris Johnson refuses to resign under relentless pressure as Tennis quote rings true

Priti Patel turns on Boris Johnson leaving PM with only Dorries, Raab and Mogg left

Zahawi – made Chancellor by PM hours ago – at Downing Street demanding Johnson quits!

“The Nuffield Trust have today called Kings ‘the canary down the coal mine’ for NHS finances.”

Ashworth added: “does the Minister therefor agree with NHS providers who warn that the savings hospitals have been ordered to find risk the quality of patient care?

“He will know that by September this year 83% of acute hospital trusts were in deficit to the tune of 1.5 billion.”

Philip Dunne responded that “before the 2015 election the then shadow health secretary indicated that he wanted £5.5 billion less for the NHS than this party wanted,” and insisted that the Chancellor had awarded extra funds for social care to stop the bed blocking of hospital procedures that the current care crisis is causing.

He added that in the last budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has added an “additional £2.8bn in revenue support for this year, next year and the following year and a further 3.5bn win capital.”

But NHS managers have come out in support of Lord Kerslake’s insistence that the NHS is in dire straits and that the crisis is far bigger than what Philip Hammond is prepared to tackle it with.

The NHS Confederation representing 85% of the NHS’s 240 trusts in England urged the government to ditch its policy of giving the service small increases and acknowledge how impossible its job is with its current budgetary constraints.

https://www.facebook.com/ParliamentTodayUK/videos/373276686452689/

Lord Kerslake had written in his resignation letter:

“King’s, like many other hospitals, is fighting against the inexorable pressures of rising demand, increasing costs of drugs and other medical supplies, and the tightest spending figures in recent times. It was this squeeze that led Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS, to argue publicly and rightly for an extra £4bn a year in the recent budget. In the event, the extra resources in the budget fell far short of that.”

Kerslake also warned: “Sadly, the reaction of the powers that be is often to shoot the messenger” and quoted the draft report of the independent Care Quality Commission following its recent inspection: “The chair was held in very high regard by staff at all levels… Under his leadership the shape of the board was said to have changed to one where the right skills and vision was present at board level.”

Yet that has not stopped stories being circulated since his departure that he was asked to consider his position as the Trust was put in special measures on Monday due to an inability to cope with the budgetary demands on it.

NHS Improvement said King’s board had agreed a budget deficit with it of £38 million for 2017/18, but last week forecast it would actually shoot up to £92 million.

Lord Kerslake told the BBC  this week that there was “not enough understanding of the scale of the challenge that both King’s and the NHS is currently facing”.

MORE: 

NHS boss resigns in protest over Government underfunding of health services

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/nhs-boss-resigns-protest-government-underfunding-health-services/10/12/

As over 68,000 people demand Richard Branson hands back NHS money…He lands £104m NHS contract

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/68000-people-demand-richard-branson-hands-back-nhs-moneyhe-lands-104m-nhs-contract/12/12/

Stephen Hawking joins fight to prevent Jeremy Hunt privatising the NHS

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/stephen-hawking-joins-fight-prevent-jeremy-hunt-privatising-nhs/10/12/

Schoolmate of Theresa May now nurse blasts PM for forcing NHS nurses to food banks

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/must-reads/former-schoolmate-theresa-may-blasted-former-chum-state-nhs/30/08/

Please login to join discussion

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Nottingham Forest fan back on feet after having both legs amputated & made it to game

Tide turning? Labour 1% behind in one poll as Tories slide and PM’s approval rating falls in separate survey

Watch: Huntsman beating horse with whip & man screaming abuse at animal activists

Wooden throne presented to England, Blackpool and Stoke City legend sold for £850 at an auction

School’s out! Shock as every teacher quits at end of term

‘Happy to play with my friends for the team’ Celtic star

Steve Barclay talks football to sell Brexit and fails miserably

Preston sign former striker following Derby County release

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 4 September 2021

Jacob Rees-Mogg sparks outrage by quoting far-right anti-Muslim German party in tweet

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.