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Our NHS is something to be proud of
From the archive, first published Thursday 29th Dec 2005.
My recent letter declared 'It is worrying that the 'Vic' trust has decided temporarily to close wards at Fleetwood and Lytham Hospital and the rehabilitation hospital at Rossall''
A letter from Mark Hamer (Citizen Dec 1) stated that I was wrong to suggest that the trust management should have seen this shortfall and taken action earlier rather than wait to virtually the onset of winter, claiming that Chancellor Gordon Brown should provide more cash and amongst other things that the fault lies with John Reid for not banning smoking in all pubs.
While the latter would hopefully result in better health, particularly for those who, due to their work, are passive smokers, I doubt it would have made any difference so quickly to affect the temporary ward closures.
Mr Hamer once again writes that his two daughters are nurses and therefore claims knowledge that staff put the fault not on the trust but due to targets set by Whitehall!
Yet those very same targets coupled with the high investment have produced results that the NHS can be justly proud of.
I refer to the fact that the number of patients waiting for their operation has dropped substantially.
They have fallen from the high of almost 1.2 million the figure in 1997 when the Conservatives left office. Today's figure is the lowest since records began in 1988 and now are under 800,000.
Staff will also know that the 'Vic's' chief executive Roy Male acknowledged that huge extra funding had taken place in the last few years. The truth is, funding for the NHS has increased by a massive 43 per cent over the last five years.
They will also know that doctors' numbers have increased substantially and nationally the number of nurses has increased by some 30,000.
This naturally costs more, add to that the high cost of new drugs and the general increase in the drugs bill which has been 46 per cent over the same period.
The NHS is doing a simply fantastic job. Not only are waiting lists down but waiting times are also down from the high of just a few years ago.
The service is steadily improving under this government. In 2001 at the start of the huge ten year hospital building programme, the PM said he was determined to make our NHS the best in Europe.
I still believe the trust management and board should have taken some action earlier. They have a budget like all organisations/businesses have.
Had they done so they then would have been more able to avoid this drastic action later.
Jack Croysdill.
Chairman
Blackpool North and Fleetwood Labour Party
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