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'Cuts? You won't feel a thing'
Hospital boss reassures patients and
says: ‘Place for convalescing is at home’
ROYAL Free chief executive Andrew Way has told hospital staff
and patients worried about the effect of dramatic job cuts:
It won’t be a problem – you just don’t understand
what’s going on.
He told journalists at a briefing on Friday that the public
had failed to appreciate the benefits of the efficiency drive
at the hospital in Pond Street, Hampstead, and insisted that
government policy had been poorly explained.
In an attempt to bring millions of pounds worth of historic
debt into check, nearly 500 posts are to be cut at the hospital
and at least 100 beds scrapped. Despite massive public concern,
Mr Way is adamant the changes will not cause a problem.
He said that patients, in general, wrongly assumed the NHS was
free without properly comprehending the true cost of treatment,
adding that they should get used to recovering from operations
at home, rather than clogging up hospital beds.
Mr Way said: “The place for convalescing is at home. In
years gone by, people would come out of hospital after an operation
and go to the seaside to convalesce. That’s what they did.
The truth is the best place to recover isn’t a hospital
bed, where at night you are often kept awake and don’t
sleep properly and feel uncomfortable – and overall have
a risk of getting other infections, not just MRSA.”
The hospital chief said patients stayed longer at the Royal
Free than at other hospitals. He added: “I don’t think
anything is going wrong with the NHS. There is a shift in policy
nationally, a shift in government policy. I don’t think
the public has understood that. It could have been explained
better. It is about treating patients in the best possible place.
“We have an NHS that is free at the point of entry. People
expect that but the truth is that providing treatment and services
costs money.”
He said the savings would allow the hospital to buy brain scanners.
Last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Camden and pledged
£50 million worth of investment at the Royal Free. Hospital
staff said that chunks of that investment had already been received
and Mr Way confirmed the cash will be for refurbishment –
making the building fire safe – rather than new front-line
staff.
Asked about reports of low staff morale, Mr Way said: “As
with any change, there are some staff who are unhappy, some
who have used it to gain promotion. Some staff have moved departments.
Overall, the response has been good. Staff have generally been
flexible.”
But concern about the cuts remains. Alex Nunns, of campaign
group Keep Our NHS Public, said: “This is the kind of argument
that all hospitals are using because it sounds better than that
they are getting rid off staff. If this was really all about
care in the community then there would be more new training
for nursing staff.
“The truth is that this is all about the financial pressure
put on by the government. The debt could be swallowed up across
the whole system but instead it is being put on jobs and cutting
doctors and nurses – and that is part of an overall move
to getting private providers into the NHS.”
Discussions are being held behind closed doors about what will
happen to empty floor space at the hospital. |
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