{"id":3198,"date":"2025-02-13T21:16:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T21:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ealingsaveournhs.org.uk\/?p=3198"},"modified":"2025-02-13T21:16:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T21:16:47","slug":"fixing-the-nhs-why-labours-plan-wont-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ealingsaveournhs.org.uk\/?p=3198","title":{"rendered":"‘Fixing’ the NHS – Why Labour’s Plan Won’t Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 has certainly started with a raft of Government announcements and frankly they have not been good news.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our NHS is clearly in crisis but instead of providing emergency funding for the NHS, Keir Starmer\u2019s Government has agreed a long-term <\/span>deal with the private health sector<\/b> worth an estimated \u00a32.5 billion of public money to help reduce waiting lists, rather than expand the NHS, much better placed, to do this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was hard to ignore the damning and distressing report from the Royal College of Nursing that dominated the media recently.\u00a0 It certainly revealed the depth of the crisis in the NHS, where treating patients in corridors has become the norm in A&Es.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite Health Secretary Wes Streeting, saying he feels \u201c<\/span>ashamed<\/span><\/i>\u201d by the experience of some patients of the NHS this winter, he refused to commit to immediate resources in a recent debate – \u201c<\/span>We cannot and will not promise that there will not be patients treated in corridors next year.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ironically, the worse it gets in A&Es, the more resources are taken away from elective care and waiting lists go up!<\/span><\/p>\n

You might like to read this excellent and very powerful article<\/a> from Dr Emma Jones, an A&E Consultant based in the Midlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

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WAITING LIST PLAN LIKELY TO MAKE THINGS WORSE:<\/b><\/h2>\n

John Lister, long time national campaigner and co-editor of \u2018the Lowdown NHS\u2019 explains in his latest article why the Governments \u2018Elective Reform Plan\u2019 will actually make thing worse. \u00a0<\/span>Instead of expanding the NHS<\/b>, which provides the overwhelming majority of elective care as well as emergency and diagnostic services, the Government\u2019s <\/span>focus is on cutting waiting lists by using private providers.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The private sector is being asked to provide an <\/span>extra 1 million appointments<\/b> a year, on top of the 5 million appointments and treatments it provides now \u2013 <\/span>no wonder they are happy<\/b>! The Guardian estimates this means <\/span>an extra \u00a32.5 billion flowing out of the NHS.<\/b><\/p>\n

However, this will undermine the NHS by diverting both funds and staff, since the private<\/span> sector relies heavily on using NHS trained doctors, and will undermine other core aspects of the NHS <\/span>–\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It is bad news for those with more complex health issues on the waiting list who only the NHS is equipped to treat \u2013 they will have to wait longer;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It does nothing for beleaguered emergency services;<\/span><\/p>\n

It does nothing to address the gaps in mental health care;<\/span><\/p>\n

It does nothing to address the chronic state of many hospitals, in danger of falling down, and now Wes Streeting has said that <\/span>hospitals like St Marys and Charing Cross will have to wait until 2035 for desperately needed rebuilds!<\/b><\/p>\n

You can read more on this story <\/b>here\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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JOIN THE PROTEST \u2013 PATIENTS NOT PROFITS:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Nationally, <\/span>Keep Our NHS Public<\/span><\/i> is stepping up its campaigning against privatisation of our health services and in particular the Government\u2019s <\/span>New Deal<\/span><\/i> with the private sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

Please join<\/span> Ealing Save Our NHS <\/b>and other campaigners<\/span> outside Parliament for a <\/span>Rally for the NHS<\/b> to tell Keir Starmer to<\/span> invest in the NHS – not the private sector!\u00a0 We will be hearing from MPs, health campaigners,\u00a0and\u00a0others – please come and spread the word.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rally takes place after PMQs<\/b> at <\/b>12pm on Wednesday 26 February<\/span><\/b>, opposite the Houses of Parliament.<\/b><\/p>\n

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UPDATE ON EALING HOSPITAL:<\/b><\/h2>\n

We recently met with Mark Titcomb, the London North West Trust Managing Director for Ealing & Central Middx Hospitals who save us an update on services in Ealing Hospital and the Trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A&E waits and Pressures<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0 Luckily, London hasn\u2019t been hit as hard by flu and other viruses as other hospitals around the country so it was reassuring to hear that Ealing Hospital is managing to cope with winter pressures, although it\u2019s very busy. Ealing has extra winter beds \u2013 a small silver lining from the previous closures of paediatric services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the bad side, the waits for mental health treatments are worsening due to the shortage of acute beds (33 beds closed in Ealing and 13 lost overall). In one case it meant a mental health patient <\/span>waited in A&E for two days<\/b> until a suitable bed was available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new<\/span> Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre<\/b> is now pretty much at full tilt<\/span> and<\/span> welcomed its 2000<\/span>th<\/span> patient just before Xmas. They are getting great feedback and provide CT MRI, Dexa scans, Ultrasound, X-Ray, cardiology, lung function and blood tests \u2013 with more to be added in Spring. Referrals are mostly from GPs directly.\u00a0 It covers North West London but is based at Ealing Hospital so is especially good for us in Ealing.<\/span><\/p>\n

North West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre<\/b>: This Central Middlesex based service has now been running for a year to shorten the wait for surgery and reduce stays in hospital. Over 3,000 patients from across North West London have passed through this \u2018fast track surgical hub\u2019 mostly having knee and hip replacements – without the need to use the<\/span> expensive private sector<\/b> Mr Streeting!<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortages of Staff<\/b> have meant that the Trust has had to use radiologists, anaesthetists and ENT staff from the private sector as well as to farm out test analysis abroad.\u00a0 Hopefully planned recruitment will alleviate this.<\/span><\/p>\n

History of Ealing Hospital Exhibition<\/b> –<\/b> A free public exhibition about the history of Ealing Hospital and its predecessors including Ealing Cottage Hospital is now on show in the hospital\u2019s Galleria area on Floor Three.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You can get a flavour of it here\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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BACK ON THE STREETS IN EALING:<\/b><\/h2>\n

Ealing Save Our NHS took our colourful street stall to Ealing Broadway last week, our first in 2025.\u00a0 February is a month of action for \u2018<\/span>Keep Our NHS Public\u2019<\/span><\/i> groups, like us, so we gave out lots of KONP\u2019s latest <\/a><\/span>leaflet<\/b>, which calls on the Government to fund the NHS, not the private sector!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also collected lots more Postcard to MPs<\/a><\/span>. Quite a f<\/span>ew people expressed disappointment with Keir Starmer\u2019s Government on the NHS and were expecting a commitment to properly fund it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018COMPASSIONATE CARE FOR ALL\u2019 \u2013 GOOD NEWS FOR SOME BUT NOT OTHERS:<\/b><\/h2>\n

NHS North West London NHS (ICB) is currently consulting the public on options to improve adult community specialist palliative care services. These are services to provide relief and support for people with serious or life limiting illnesses. Care can be in a hospice, at home or elsewhere in the community such as care homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHS NW London\u2019s stated aim is to deliver services that meet people\u2019s needs, are fair and accessible and provide better care and outcomes for patients and their families.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the service improvements being proposed are: –<\/span><\/p>\n