Apologies that there have been no new updates for a while. Most information is now on our revamped website - with further improvements planned for later this year and updates here will be only occasional. If you want to be on our email list which contains various posts with updates and information please contact teamssonhs@gmail.com.
There have been two main focuses of activity in Sheffield during the last six months - active participation in the Clinical Commissioning Group's consultation on Urgent Care - involving the closure of the Minor Injuries Unit at the Hallamshire and the Walk-In Centre at Broad Lane, plus the regrading of the Eye Clinic to Emergency only. The proposal was to replace these with an Urgent Care Centre at Northern General Hospital and to improve access to GP appointments and non-emergency eye care in localities. We helped mount a significant campaign which persuaded the CCG to extend the consultation deadline from December to the end of January, generated several petitions totalling over 10000 signatures, particularly to save the Minor Injuries Unit and pushed the CCG in to reevaluating its proposals in the light of suggestion made by campaigners (and other NHS organisations) across the city.
The CCG Primary Care Commissioning Committee will be considering the results of this work on May 17th. Pressure will need to be kept up if it is not to revert to a reiteration of the original proposals.
The other focus has been the development of local NHS organisations into South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP footprints (Sustainability and Transformation Plans, then Partnerships) followed by Accountable Care Systems (then Organisations) and then Integrated Care Systems (or Partnerships). South Yorks is one of 8 Vanguard organisations for this in the country and has got some extra resources but the whole process has been very murky despite the SYB ICS adopting the hashtag Honest and Open. Anxiety about the future of local services has been mounting in Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Doncaster and Rotherham. Banrsley have instituted a judicial review application of the consultation so far carried out about stroke services and Doncaster have initiated a formal S Yorks Save Our NHS Party which will be standing National Health Action Party Treasurer Naveen Judah from Rotherham in the Sheffield City Region Elections.
In Sheffield the Accountable Care Partnership Board which has been meeting privately for a year will begin public meetings in June. The Council is part of this Board in shadow format and has undertaken to consult further if the Board becomes formalised with local powers before fully signing up.
There will be a debate about accountable care and decision making at a Festival of Debate event on 26th June and SSONHS will hold its FoD panel debate on 27th June at Roco.
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