NHS Crisis in the East of England

Speech by Andrew Houseley delivered to Liberal Democrat representatives, East of England on Sat 18th Nov 2006

Thank you Chair.

In listening to the speeches this morning I very much recall the excellent debate at last year's Spring Conference at Harrogate on the NHS crisis, which at that time focused on the threats to community hospitals, and in particular the substantial contribution made by several speakers from the East of England.

Conference: This has been another excellent debate, where once again Liberal Democrats across this region are proving that they have the background knowledge, the sense of community and the liberal heart to take the fight to keep our local health services to this illiberal government.

The tragedy is, a lot of people would agree with Patricia Hewitt in as much as local health services, in particular those delivered by PCTs, and Social Care Services, which in this Region are mostly delivered by County Councils, should work much more closely together.

We agree that puts a greater emphasis on commissioning. That is her reason for yet another reorganisation of PCTs. But she should realise that in local authorities, there is local democratic accountability, whereas the NHS has never ventured towards directly elected representatives, the newly merged PCTs weakening the links with localities of even the unelected Board and Professional Executive Committee Members, as many PCTs now serve entire counties.

We say, put commissioning properly into the public domain by giving Local Authorities the commissioning responsibility.

It's another missed opportunity from a government whose early liberal credentials are but a distant memory. These reforms were launched during the previous parliamentary recess, with an insultingly rushed consultation period, and were inevitably going to disrupt the good local working relationships between PCTs and councils, including the community hospital services so obviously valued by the people they serve so well. Healthcare delivered locally, at the point of need.

We've heard today of the lunacy of the funding formula and how it is leading to mass redundancies in acute hospitals and PCTs, how community hospitals are threatened with closure, mental health units discarded, and now District hospitals having the rug pulled from under their feet.

A lot of it was initially proposed in the name of modernisation. But surely now, the Government need to face up to the crisis they have created and readjust the formula and wipe out the Trust deficits.

We still need a modern health service, appropriately resourced with well-trained and supported professionals.

Some areas do have under resourced community teams where there are opportunities to deliver more services at home. But to do that at the expense of step-up local beds in remote rural areas, relying on more and more care delivered by flagship regional hospitals; and to do that too at the expense of any provision for step-down rehabilitation, so that the most frail patients are either left to fend too much for themselves at home or are kept on or readmitted to the acute hospital because they can't cope, is doctrinaire nonsense. Some would just call it cruel. Delivered with the tacit approval of the bean counters.

Conference: This government's legacy to the NHS is in need of resuscitation.

Support the Motion and Amendment 1.