The meeting in Ely with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on August 16 to discuss the Minor Injuries Unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital (POW) was reported as “Madness to close such a vital service”.
Yet the CCG did not say they are reviewing provision of interim care beds across the county, that interim care beds at Doddington have already been closed and that the Welney Ward at the POW is also likely to be closed. The closure of these valued services makes a mockery of the Fit for the Future claim that the NHS will provide “care closer to home”.
The CCG did not discuss the fact these decisions are part of their Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) which is being demanded by NHS England to reduce the number of hospitals, clinical staff and clinical services across the county and nationally.
The CCG omitted to mention Simon Stevens, CEO of NHS England who, in his five year forward view, wants to transform our NHS into the USA healthcare model based on insurance and ability to pay.
The cuts to local services are not isolated incidents and should be seen as part of the national picture of radical restructuring and re-disorganisation in a deliberate attempt to finalise the move towards the American system.
Simon Stevens knows all about the USA healthcare model as before being appointed CEO of NHS England he was President of global strategy for the world’s largest health insurance corporation – United Health.
United Health are now embedded within the NHS through their subsidiary company Optum at both clinical provider level and, more worryingly, management and regional planning level.
I would suggest readers contact the Health & Wellbeing Board to demand answers about the closures of the local services, why such changes are not being publicly scrutinised and why the public are constantly being denied proper consultation. East Cambridgeshire District Council’s representative on the Health and Well Being Board at the county council is Councillor Josh Schumann.
JANE HOWELL
Via email
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