Being rather old-fashioned we had so far refrained from commenting on the Conservative Election Manifesto extract recently posted. We thought we ought to wait to see what came out of negotiations with the DUP and appeared in the Queen’s Speech. It seems that no such constraints are being applied by the Department of Health and NHS England. They are using the current political limbo to…
As in 2015 BPV is providing information to patients about what the Manifesto of the winning party said about the NHS. We appreciate that until there are announcements about the arrangements with the DUP and the Queen’s Speech is published there are even more uncertainties than usual as to whether the Manifesto will be modified. We hope to publish some non-partisan comments once matters are…
They say that one swallow does not make a summer but here is an interesting answer by Jeremy Hunt to a recent Parliamentary Question: Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) Con: “On this important issue of A&Es, does the Secretary of State agree that it makes no sense at all for my local clinical commissioning group to be bringing forward a business case to spend an extra…
This seems to be where we have got to with revelations about NHS forward plans. Using the Freedom of Information Act, a BPV stalwart has obtained important and hitherto hidden NHS papers about the calculations underlying the NW London STP. These show what is really necessary to achieve “sustainability”, NHS speak for lopping £1.4billion off the budget by 2021. It is to cut out 7,753…
“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…