NHS plans will cost Oldham Primary Care Trust over £16M says Debbie Abrahams
Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, has today revealed that the hidden cost of the Government’s NHS reorganisation to Oldham Primary Care Trust (PCT) will be over £16M.
New coalition government guidelines will force the local National Health Service (NHS) to put aside this extra money from their budget this year and next to pay for the NHS restructure.
Debbie says: “These shocking new figures show the Government’s reorganisation is costing the NHS even more than we first feared. It is scandalous that they are telling our local NHS to hold back millions of pounds to fund their own reckless plans whilst thousands of nursing jobs are being axed.
“People in Oldham have already seen a 107% increase in the number of patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment since Mr Cameron became Prime Minister.
“Before his plans are even fully through Parliament this reorganisation is hitting the NHS hard and costs are now topping £3.4bn across the country for the first time. Spending this amount on an unnecessary reorganisation is totally unjustifiable when every single penny should be focused on maintaining standards of care.
“At the election Mr Cameron ruled out top-down NHS reorganisations. But only weeks after entering Number 10, he ripped up his own words and ordered the biggest and most dangerous upheaval of the NHS since it began.
“The financial request is buried in the Government’s new NHS ‘Operating Framework’ document and takes the nationwide cost of the NHS reorganisation above previous estimates of £2-3bn, with Primary Care Trusts now holding back £3.44bn over two years.
“Last Thursday evening leading doctors from the British Medical Association voted to call for an immediate halt to the Government’s costly and controversial Health Bill; the first time they have rejected the bill in its entirety.
“The people of Oldham did not vote for it and our doctors, nurses and patients have already expressed huge concerns at the plans. Yet Cameron is ploughing on with his Health Bill, ignoring public and professional opinion. The time has come for him to listen, put the NHS first and drop his dangerous Bill.”
Labour is running a major national drive to unite the country in a call on the Government to drop its unwanted Health Bill and people are being urged to add their name to the Government online petition by Dr Kailash Chand at epetitions.direct.gov.uk
John Ramsden
The views and opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not represent the views and opinions of the the editor. Letters may be edited.
