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 Is the NHS in crisis? We not only believe it’s in crisis, we say it’s in meltdown.
The once much prided UK health service has suffered terrible problems under consecutive governments, with the slashing Tory cut backs which had patients queuing for hours on end with some eventually dieing in corridors, to the failed citizens charter which put “those who shouted loudest” getting treatment while others were pushed to the back of a very long list. We now have Hewitt Health, a complete disaster of throwing too much money at a system while watching the pencil neck paper shufflers, quango managers and private firms soaking the tax payer for every penny they can get. We have patients who are being denied life saving cancer drugs, or drugs that are deemed “too costly” such as Alice Mahon, 69 who is being denied an eye drug that would stabilise her condition. Yet we have a scale of mismanagement that beggars belief when it comes to throwing money at schemes doomed to failure such as the £900m hospital building scheme that has not only cost the tax payer dearly, but will no doubt have a double effect of denying even more patients the treatment they need and deserve. The public accounts committee said the government had left the Paddington Health Campus project to local managers who were "out of their depth". The project, designed to merge three north-west London hospitals, was abandoned after costs rose by £300m. Health bosses thought it would be finished by 2006 but the projected costs more than doubled and the completion date slipped to 2013. The North West London Strategic Health Authority withdrew the plans in June 2005 but only after £15m costs had been run up. The MPs found that the Campus partners, overseen by the SHA which has now been scrapped, were imprudent in submitting a business case in 2000 which was "manifestly inadequate". They said at that stage, health chiefs had not even consulted their own doctors and nurses and were thus unable to determine with any degree of accuracy the land requirements and likely costs. On the NHS managers in charge of the scheme, it was said: "Their amateurism and incompetence in this field compounded the consequences of bad decisions made at the outset." You can read more about this gross misconduct and incompetence HERE The Popular Alliance has written to the Health department and requested some information under the Freedom of Information Act and we will post this information as soon as we get a reply.
Mr K Wharton 00 xxxx xxxxxxx xxxx Leeds xxx xxx 30/01/07 Freedom of Information Act Ref - Paddington Health Campus project Dear Sir/Madam Could you provide under the freedom of information act the following information The North West London Strategic Health Authority withdrew the plans in June 2005 but only after £15m costs had been run up. A breakdown of the £15 million spend on the project, example: Expenses, research, IT and design, consultation and consultants, staff, offices, stationary, development and contractors What was the highest outlay of the project in the £15 million spent Does the Health department expect to recover any of the outlay spent - Did the Health department sign off the business plan for the Paddington Health Campus project and who was the signatory
- Could you provide a list of all large health building projects that require over £500 million
- Could you provide a list of those who are in charge of the projects
- Could you provide information of all projects that are now over the initial bid, quotation for building projects
- Have all business plans been signed off for all building projects
I am happy to receive the reply in email format I look forward to your reply and thank you for your time in this matter Regards K.Wharton |
