“On 14 December Brent CCG Governing Body approved a massive submission to HM Treasury asking for £513 million investment for Part 1 of the “Business Plan” to implement plans to run down Ealing Hospital and create “Hubs” across the 8 NW London Boroughs involved. The public were allowed 30 minutes to contribute or ask questions. This is what I said for BPV. I thank the…
This was the theme elaborated by Dr Julia Simon, former NHS high-flyer, when she addressed a packed and lively BPV public meeting last Thursday 1st December at the Learie Constantine Centre, NW10. BPV Chair, Robin Sharp, explained that big changes to the way in which GPs relate to their patients were hidden away in the recently published NW London NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP).…
We look forward to seeing you at the Learie Constantine Centre, Dudden Hill Lane, NW10 2ET on Thursday 1st December from 6.45 onwards. While commentators and the media are just waking up to the fact that the emerging NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans are a cloak for massive and damaging cuts to services, we in BPV are attempting to shed some light on the plans…
Today Brent Patient Voice sent off to the NHS and Brent Council a 28 page Critique of the NW London Sustainability and Transformation Plan drat of 30 June 2016. The Plan has been in the public domain since 5 August as explained in earlier posts on this site. The Critique on this website (in PDF format) may be obtained here: [Click to View / Download]…
For the first time since the local NHS and Council bureaucracies started drawing up the NW London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) in January of this year, they are going to allow members of the great unwashed British public to discuss it in a face to face meeting on 26 September. Cllr Krupesh Hirani, Chair of Brent’s Health & Wellbeing Board, responding to a BPV…
Following our polite request to Brent CCG to reconsider its decision to terminate the Brent Sickle Cell Advice and Support Service (see post of 20 July below), the Governing Body agreed on 7 September to continue funding until a new alternative proposal comes back to them and then to give 3 months notice if there was a decision to end the existing Service. This at…
On Friday 26th August the national media and 38 degrees woke up to the existence of STPs, which we have been warning about for months – see other posts on this page. They only partly got it, focussing as ever on the risk of hospital closures. This is the letter we sent to The Guardian. Though they did not publish it there was one from…
In the real world “optimisation” means making things better. In “NHS speak” you can’t be too sure. Brent CCG has contracted Bexley Health Ltd (BHL) to provide a Brent ‘Referral Optimisation Service’ (BROS). This will start on 1 September 2016. Brent Patient Voice has followed this development for several months. We think it could have some advantages for patients and GPs but these now appear…
Brent Patient Voice was among the noisier patient groups pressing the NW London NHS to put the STP (Sustainability and Transformation Plan) submission of 30 June into the public domain. We had the clear impression that they would not agree to do this until the autumn, by which time the document would be “final”. Imagine our pleasant surprise when they suddenly told us that they…
Brent CCG is setting up a small new Consultant Geriatrician led Community Falls Prevention Service starting in November 2016. There will be a 3 year contract costing around £340,000 per year. The staff of 5 to 7 is to include an Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and Fracture Liaison Nurse. Brent Patient Voice welcomes this new initiative. It appears to us to be just the type of…