Stark Choices must be made advise Health Chiefs
"NHS must ensure effective and affordable services"
28/03/06
NHS Chief Executives today shared with their staff and local partners proposals setting out how services will need to change to bring financial stability and improve efficiency whilst meeting the needs of patients in the future.
The NHS in Gloucestershire has consistently provided good quality services for its patients. Services have improved year on year and the NHS has met demanding national and local performance targets for waiting times and access to services, including A&E targets.
This performance has been reflected in annual star ratings where NHS organisations have achieved excellent results.
However, the NHS needs to review how services are provided and to ensure that every penny and every pound of public money is used well. We are also required to pay off current deficits and balance our books in 2006/07.
For Gloucestershire’s Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) there is a financial gap of £23m in plans for 2006/07 and these savings need to be made. Whilst this is only a small proportion – around 3.5% - of our total spend on NHS services, we need to take urgent action now.
There are also financial pressures facing the county’s provider Trusts partly due to the national requirement for all NHS organisations to reduce costs by 2.5% in 2006/07.
The Chief Executives of the county’s PCTs and NHS Trusts, explained that radical decisions and tough choices had to be made:
“We are very proud of the services we offer to patients. However, despite continuing improvements in the way the NHS provides services locally and despite additional money for PCTs in 2006/07, we cannot meet current demand and expectations within our overall funds.”
“If we are going to meet this challenge, we will have to stop doing some things now and change the way we do others. We also have to reduce our management costs.”
“We believe that now is the time to restructure our services and take difficult decisions that will benefit patients in the longer term. Failure to act now will allow the financial difficulties to build.”
“The majority of patients receive their treatment in local communities and we are fortunate in Gloucestershire to have a strong network of community based services, such as those currently provided from GP surgeries and in people’s own homes. We have been building up these services over recent years and now provide more services in the community than ever before.”
“We are also committed to providing specialist hospital services for those who need them.”
“However some services may have to be provided in fewer locations and in different settings if we are to safeguard the future of services and continue to provide good quality care for patients.”
“We know that the range of savings proposals will not be popular with everyone and there will be some bitter pills to swallow. In considering their response to these proposals, we would ask Gloucestershire residents to recognise the pressures facing the local health community as a whole.”
“Our proposals are not about any one area of service or any one community losing out. We can’t ‘cherry pick’ individual services and look at them in isolation. We have to achieve an effective and affordable local health service.”
Chief Executives are set to discuss these detailed proposals with the County Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and local stakeholders tomorrow (29 March).
Home Page
Foundation
Members Area 
News 
Contact Us 
About Us 
Services
Service Users and Carers 
Public Involvement 
Publications 
Work
for Us 
Links
Feedback Form
