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From: Adrian Boyle <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sat, 19 February, 2011 22:02:26
Subject: Re: Efficiency Gains in the NHS - aka cuts

I work next door to Hinchingbrooke and within a couple of months Circle asked our hospital to take over the ED and Maternity services. These are the two departments that always make a loss for hospitals. Our hospital declined, partly because running these services on our own site is hard enough.

Adrian

On Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:24:53 -0000
Mike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> This next financial year, our Trust is expected to make a 7% "efficiency gain", which I believe has never been achieved before by another Trust (2 - 3% best to date??). Options being mooted are all Consultants on a maximum of 10PAs, staff rebanding, redundancies, new business, etc.
>
> I believe Hinchingbrooke has just been taken over by the Private Sector by a company called Circle.  Staff and assets are supposed to be protected, and all current services will be maintained.  Private Business obviously would only take on this sort of enterprise if they smelt a profit.  I presume they will do this by renogiating staff salaries, redundancies, and concentrating on the more profitable services, etc.  At a recent course I attended, one EM Consultant who had worked in many EDs and many countries, expressed the view that being taken over by a private Company may not necessarily be a bad thing, in that the best employer he had worked for was from within the private sector.
>
> Anyone from Hinchingbrooke lurking who could provide an insight into what effect this private take over will have on their ED, their hospital, staff and patients?
>
> I do not think we are alone, in that many other Trusts face savage cuts which threaten their survival.  It would be good also to hear the views of others in the same boat.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dr. Mike Dudley EM Consultant