Save Chorley A&E Newsletter Issue2 Dec2016

http://bit.ly/ChorleyAnE Image: Jean Maighread

Our Facebook short link:_________

Image: Jean Maighread

Of course, Theresa 'Iron Mayden' May was far too busy to meet us!

Petition delivered to No.10

The delegation making the special delivery on Monday 28 November was made up of campaign members Carole Dewhurst, Jackie Porter and Judith Norris who were joined by Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle, Alistair Bradley (leader of Chorley Council) and campaign organiser Steve Turner.

Photo: Mike Gaskell

454 miles, 18 hours and 6 cups

of tea later (and the odd pie and sausage roll, supplied by fellow campaigner Barbara Lynch), our intrepid trio of ladies returned home after delivering our 23k signature petition to Number 10 Downing Street. By the way, there is more chance of ME walking into Number 10 with an unlabelled 'box', than a Labour MP!

Steve said, “It just shows how strong the commitment is to get the A&E open 24 hours.�

Read more at: http://bit.ly/AnE007

IMPORTANT NOTICE See centre-fold 1

Lille Butterworth

information, about the back of my eyes, in order to make a thorough assessment. For this reason, I would receive a further appointment inviting me for a repeat assessment when the required specialised equipment is hopefully available.

My name is Lille Butterworth; I am a 75-year-old retired teacher. I consider myself to be an active healthy person with diabetes. I have written this article in order to give an insight to others about my recent experience at the hands of an outreach clinic located in a GP’s surgery - in and around my local community - undertaken by The Lancashire Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP).

The health of the retina is imperative to the health of any diabetic's eyes to monitor for diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye (retina). It can cause blindness if left undiagnosed and untreated.

I was given what appeared to be a full eye examination, which is essential for diabetics, to check the health of the retina and blood vessels at the back of their eyes. Most opticians offer diabetic screening which gives a detailed examination of photographic images and a scan at the back of the eyes.

One would hope that vital lessons have been learned here, and that such instances do not reoccur at this clinic, or other similar ones. The equipment, and the staff, should have been there from the outset to ensure an efficient service is implemented for the good of the patient.

I received a letter, in the post, thanking me for my attendance to the screening programme.

Hoping for a positive outcome, I apprehensively opened the letter which informed me that the examination and photographs did not provide enough detailed

It’s no good if you haven't got the tools for the Job. 2

How much time do I need?

As little or as much time as you want. Some of our campaigners attend the meetings and get fully involved and are quite vocal!

How can I get involved?

Join us every Saturday morning at 10am for an hour outside the Hospital on Euxton Lane or Preston Road, • bring whistles or anything to make a noise as loud as possible, be loud and proud • Facebook users can find lots of information on the page 'Protect Chorley Hospital from Cuts and Privatisation' (to date 16366 members).

Information on upcoming meetings and outcomes can be found on the Facebook page.

Write to your local councillors about objections and concerns over changes in the NHS and social care - you can find the address at www.writetothem.com.

Did you know there is now a Campaign market stall ?

Open Tuesday and Fridays - come along and meet the volunteers and yes, it is all voluntary work.

We receive no remuneration - all hard-earned funding is raised by raffles, tombola and anything else we come up with. We also have car stickers, mugs, T-shirts.

Join the army of volunteers.

Lots more information at www.999CallfortheNHS.org.uk and www.stopthestps.org.uk Find a template letter over the page or you can find another at this shortened Facebook link

http://bit.ly/AnE001

Can you sing ?

Join the Campaign Choir. They practice every Wednesday evening at 7pm at St George's Hall, Chorley (Halliwell St).

Accompanied children welcome.

3

TEMPLATE LETTER Obviously, needs to be your own address

12 My Street, Ourgate, Chorley PR6/7 8YZ Chorley & South Ribble CCG Chorley House Lancashire Business Park Centurion Way Leyland Lancashire PR26 6TT xx December 2016 Dear Dr Gora Bangi and Jan Ledward (for example) I cannot overstate my concern at the scale of the cuts and the dismantling of the NHS which the 'Lancashire and South Cumbria' Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) will bring about for Chorley and South Ribble District Hospital.

I am all too aware of the fact that STPs are designed to bring about a massive contraction of what was once a universal, comprehensive health service to the point where they threaten the ability of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to meet their statutory requirements in terms of services they provide, assurance of the quality of those services, and the general downgrading of service through staff cost reductions.

It is also clear from conditions attached to sustainability and transformation funding, and from statements by the NHS Confederation and the NHS England Strategy Group, that STPs will radically increase NHS privatisation.

4

It is shocking that the Five Year Forward view/STP new models of care, modern workforce and new forms of contracting are all copies of systems used by United Health and Cerner. The American health system is one of the most costly and least effective in the world and Simon Stevens and Matthew Swindells aim to extend its profiteering tentacles into our NHS. I object strongly to the process of turning our public service NHS into a cash cow for the corporations that Simon Stevens and Matthew Swindells worked for before spinning through the revolving door into the NHS England quango.

I deplore your participation in the process of asset stripping the NHS and turning it into a private/public enterprise that will serve corporate interests instead of the public interest - the real agenda of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

I am furious at the corruption that sees the government work for the benefit of its corporate cronies rather than for the people whose interests it is supposed to protect and advance.

Given this, I can only state my outright opposition to the Lancashire and South Cumbria STP that has been written in secret and not properly discussed – certainly not with local residents – the real stakeholders.

Yours irately / sincerely / etc, provided by: James Clayton

If you are intending to write an STP Objection letter, please lobby your Councillor before the deadline of 23 December 2016.

Go to our Facebook group (bit.ly/ChorleyAnE), click on [Files], then 'letter-to-Councillor-say-no-to-STPs.doc'.

5

clinicians, patients, carers, the public, and local community partners (including the independent and voluntary sectors, and local government representatives), local NHS Trusts and CCGs' management, care organisations together with local councils, will work to develop plans to transform the way that healthcare and social care is planned and delivered for their local populations.

What are STPs? Sustainability and Transformation Plans

by Sue Holdsworth

• December 2015, NHS England published the document ‘Delivering the Forward View: NHS planning guidance 2016/17 – 2020/21’, ‘the Five Year Forward View vision’.

• Calling for a major reorganisation of the NHS at a local level through the use of sustainability and transformation plans or STPs.

•

• STPs are five-year plans covering all areas of NHS spending in England.

• A total of 44 areas have been identified as the geographical ‘footprints’ on which the plans will be based, with an average population size of 1.2 million people (the smallest area covers a population size of 300,000 and the largest 2.8 million).

The STP multi-year plan must show how local services will become sustainable over the next five years, setting out initiatives to manage demand, increase provider efficiency, reconfigure services and, the most important of all, balance the budget in the local area. http://www.nhscampaign.org/NHSreforms/sustainability-andtransformation-plans.html

OR http://bit.ly/AnE005 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/to pics/integratedcare/sustainabilitytransformation-plans-explained

• According to the government guidance, local health systems, comprised of

...OR http://bit.ly/AnE006

6

• Hospitals closed.

• GP surgeries closed & centralised.

• NHS land sold off.

• Less money for NHS services.

• Privatisation of YOUR NHS. • Profit to private companies.

• Costly health insurance

STPs IN REALITY •

A report by the King’s Fund thinktank warned that frontline NHS staff and patients had been 'largely absent’ from the STP process so far. GPs and health campaigners have complained about the lack of transparency around the plans.

.=.=.=.=.

You can view the latest version (October 2016) of a PowerPoint Presentation of the STP “Healthier Lancashire”

http://www.gponline.com/stpssubject-full-consultationpatients-says-jeremyhunt/article/1415854

here http://www.lancashiresouthcu mbria.org.uk/sustainability-andtransformationplan/documents/667/download

OR http://bit.ly/AnE004

• STP plans being discussed in secret.

• Miniscule consultation with clinicians, public, patients, voluntary sector, local communities, local government representatives, local councils.

• NHS and care services contracted to private sector and ‘not for profit’ organisations.

• Services being rationed.

• Prescribing choices limited.

• Services closed.

• A&E`s closed.

• Wards closed.

OR http://bit.ly/AnE002 ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY UNITS

ARE ESSENTIAL FOR ACUTE CARE, ESPECIALLY AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, AND ARE OVER-STRETCHED. ONLY USE THEM FOR LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCIES

7

year to protect them.

WINTER'S COMING

The injected flu vaccine is currently offered free on the NHS annually to:

Flu can be unpleasant, but it can be more severe in certain people, such as:

• adults over the age of 18 at risk of flu (including have a flu vaccine every year to protect them) • everyone aged 65 and over • pregnant women • Carers • children aged six months to two years at risk of flu.

• anyone aged 65 and over • pregnant women • children and adults with an underlying health condition (particularly long-term heart or respiratory disease) • children and adults with weakened immune systems.

==============

CONTACT THE NEWSLETTER TEAM

by Email

ChorleyAnE@outlook.com with any titbits [Ooh, Matron!] of interesting information you would like to share on the closure/re-opening of our A&E department and its effects on you, your relatives or anyone you know personally.

Graphic by: Jean Maighread

Anyone in these risk groups is more likely to develop potentially serious complications of flu, such as a lung infection, so it's recommended that they have a flu vaccine every

Any submitted photographs must be your own work, and will need a signed release form (available on request) before we can include them.

8