MP wants answers over George Eliot hospital funding cuts

[dutchman]

The MP for Nuneaton says he’s determined to get to the bottom of why George Eliot hospital’s going to have to make £10 million pounds of savings.



The hospital has warned the cuts could see 250 staff lose their jobs by the end of March next year.

The cuts are being made to meet national targets and deal with a drop in activity and traditional debts the Trust’s picking up.

It’s hoped some of the cash will be saved through plans to decrease the average length of time patients are staying on wards, which should mean some beds can be removed.

Bosses also think actually bringing in more nurses and three new consultants on A and E will get people treated quicker and therefore cut costs.

It’s hoped the reduction in posts will mainly come about by not filling vacancies, transferring people to other wards and cutting down on overtime and temporary staff.

Acting Chief Executive and Director of Finance, Chris Bradshaw, said: “It is important that we act quickly and decisively, the hospital has overcome similar challenges in the past and I am confident that we will do so again.”

“The task is not just making the necessary financial savings but also ensuring that we maintain the high standards of patient care that we have set over recent years.”

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones has expressed confusion over the announcement, given the government is increasing the amount of money it is giving to the local NHS, NHS Warwickshire, who commission services:

“The government have increased the funding by about 3 per cent, the amount of procedures that will be done at George Eliot hospital has been reduced. I think it is important we drill down and see why this is the case.”

“This is an issue that we have been working on behind the scenes for some time.”

“I want to see the best possible local services being provided at the George Eliot, however, for too many years the hospital has been starved of resources and under a cloud of constant uncertainty.”

“This is not good enough either for the patients, who must have confidence in the hospital or the staff who we expect to deliver these services.”

NHS Warwickshire say they are still negotiating a deal with the hospital, so the level of funding for this year has not been confirmed.