We are keen to establish a central log of NHS cuts which people are aware of in Sheffield. We know that the PCT and the Council will prefer not to present cuts as such and the first people know of them is when they can't get a service. Many will be quite small cuts in themselves, but together they are likely to mount up to huge losses of service, both in the community and within NHS organisations like the hospitals. We also know that people who work in the NHS are anxious about the personal risks if they report cuts, so we want to establish routes whereby cuts can be reported, verified and put on our website. Please either contribute to the blog or email us.
At our public meeting on 3rd May, people posted up details of hospital ward closures or bed reductions (elderly care, urology, rheumatology) and cuts to services like midwifery, cataract operations and intensive care rehabilitation.
The mental health services are under particular threat, with proposed losses in psychiatry and the community response team.
For several months two care homes for people with dementia have been running a campaign against closure. A report to NHS Sheffield this month said that not a single response to their consultation had supported closure. The Council's Health Scrutiny Committee said it would refer any closure to the Secretary of State. As a result NHS Sheffield has been preparing other options and a final decision will be taken on 5th July.
We are a grassroots movement comprising people from all walks of life who are, or will be affected by the government’s austerity measures and spending cuts to NHS Services across England. We also strongly oppose the creeping privatisation of the NHS by successive governments. Privatisation = Profit not Good Patient Care
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