Patients will draw little hope from new PCT Funding Allocations

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Greg Hands calls for a better deal for HF patients

Following this weeks (9 February 2005) announcement of Primary Care Trust funding through to 2008, local Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Greg Hands, is calling on the Government for a better deal for Hammersmith & Fulham patients.

Whilst the Health Secretary, John Reid, has listed Hammersmith & Fulham as one of 11 Primary Care Trusts in London that needs extra help, the figures simply do not bear this out. The average increase for the 2006/07 financial year is 9.2% and 9.4% for 2007/08. Yet Hammersmith & Fulham will receive a lower than average increase in both years, 8.4% and 8% respectively.

The 2007/08 increase for Hammersmith & Fulham is even in the lowest five across London.

Equally, the King’s Fund believes that most of these increases will be taken up by new pay deals, and therefore will not be available for front line services. Essentially, this means the increases are not “new money”, but a re-announcement of previously agreed pay packages.

The move will also be widely seen as a panic measure after a massive budget shortfall in the local Primary Care Trust has led to the postponement of 2,000 operations for local people, that became front-page news this past Autumn, after a standoff between the Primary Care Trust and the Hospitals Trust.

Commenting, Greg Hands said: “These figures will bring little comfort to patients in Hammersmith & Fulham, 2,000 of whom have recently had operations cancelled due to Government spending plans, bureaucracy and targets.

“In Hammersmith & Fulham the Government doesn’t know whether it is coming or going. One minute John Reid says we will get extra help, as a ‘Spearhead PCT’, yet the cash doesn’t follow – so much so that in 2007/08 we will received one of the five lowest increases in London.

“This announcement is clearly a Labour election year smokescreen – talking the talk of extra money and special help, but delivering no action.”

 

February 13, 2005