"Given the fact that
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust is to make a payment of £942,000,000
to the private sector contractors under the Private Finance
Initiative, what are the consequences for the P.F.I. in
Worcestershire patients - and the Wyre Forest patients in particular
?
Kidderminster Hospital (which was severely down-graded under this
scheme) now has no A&E, no I.T.U. and no major in-patient
operations are carried-put there.
Patients and their families are
experiencing great difficulty in travelling to other hospitals,
especially where children and elderly are involved.
The Alexandra Hospital in Redditch is now threatened with reductions
in services, to the consternation of Redditch patients.
Worcestershire
Royal Hospital is, and will be, further over-burdened with work -
and has already had to make extra payments for doing more work than
expected !
Until quite recently nurses were
being recruited from abroad - because there were not enough nurses
for this country.
Now nurse numbers are being reduced, and we are told that
fewer nurses will not affect patient care !!
Who can believe this ?
Patients, Doctors, Nurses and other
staff are disillusioned and worried as to the future of the N.H.S.
Action is needed - urgently !! - as Mr. Blair's
"reforms" are having a negative effect on our health
services."
Malcolm Cooper
Former Health authority
Chairman
Birmingham Post - 09
November 2006
