Cash Strapped Health Trust
The Chief Executive Mr Jim McCall from the Ulster Community & Hospitals Trust sent a letter to North Down Borough Council asking if he could visit the Council and explain the closure of 36 beds under the heading of Modernisation and Efficiency in Health & Social Care.
My comments are as follows,
I feel that once again this is very closely related to the RPA – the letter from the Chief Executive of the Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust, states “Trusts are required to generate cash savings" – I question from where?
This is unfortunately not untypical of the many difficult decisions facing our cash strapped health trusts and the related need to balance the services which they provide. I know that everyone - including myself - is concerned about the loss of beds in the Ulster Hospital. Equally most of us would I am sure welcome the additional provisions outlined in the Chief Executives letter, for example, to mention a few, the One Stop Assessment Centre Rehabilitation, Respiratory Services and Chest Pain Service and Heart Failure Service. Most of them are in fact aimed at keeping people out of hospital. That latter point has been welcomed by the Eastern Health and Social Services Health Council which is the watch dog charged with challenging Trust decisions when necessary. I would agree with the thrust of the Health Councils comments which also stress that such a significant change must be managed very carefully. In particular the 36 beds in the Ulster Hospital must remain in use until it is clear that the proposed new initiatives make them redundant.
I propose that we accept the Chief Executive’s offer of a discussion when he can explain more fully the difficult balances in provision which have to be made in an impossible financial situation, and this takes place as soon as possible. Equally we can make clear our concerns about the need to maintain provision in the Ulster until such time as it is not needed. That would be a valuable reinforcement of the message I have been trying to give to the Trust in my independent role as a non-executive director.
My comments are as follows,
I feel that once again this is very closely related to the RPA – the letter from the Chief Executive of the Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust, states “Trusts are required to generate cash savings" – I question from where?
This is unfortunately not untypical of the many difficult decisions facing our cash strapped health trusts and the related need to balance the services which they provide. I know that everyone - including myself - is concerned about the loss of beds in the Ulster Hospital. Equally most of us would I am sure welcome the additional provisions outlined in the Chief Executives letter, for example, to mention a few, the One Stop Assessment Centre Rehabilitation, Respiratory Services and Chest Pain Service and Heart Failure Service. Most of them are in fact aimed at keeping people out of hospital. That latter point has been welcomed by the Eastern Health and Social Services Health Council which is the watch dog charged with challenging Trust decisions when necessary. I would agree with the thrust of the Health Councils comments which also stress that such a significant change must be managed very carefully. In particular the 36 beds in the Ulster Hospital must remain in use until it is clear that the proposed new initiatives make them redundant.
I propose that we accept the Chief Executive’s offer of a discussion when he can explain more fully the difficult balances in provision which have to be made in an impossible financial situation, and this takes place as soon as possible. Equally we can make clear our concerns about the need to maintain provision in the Ulster until such time as it is not needed. That would be a valuable reinforcement of the message I have been trying to give to the Trust in my independent role as a non-executive director.
posted by Marion Smith at 9:50 AM
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