Join and help plan the national day of action in March

Minutes in full

Help plan Leeds contribution to Keep Our NHS Public’s national day of action on March 9th – Dortmund Square 11am for stall, speeches, music, petitioning etc. then parade to LGI to hang new banner re the missing new hospitals.

Please come along and drum up support !

• Stall in town to advertise the event 11am Sat. 22nd Feb in our usual spot on Commercial St opposite the Coop Bank near Accessorise. All help very welcome. We will have banner, fliers, petitions, music etc
• Campaigning through spring and local elections
• Sharing ideas re our NHS Birthday celebration early July

Please use this template letter to MPs asking for messages of support on March 9th which Bronwen, Frank and Nick agreed to send to their MPs.

Next meeting of Leeds KONP will be on Wed. 28th Feb at 6.30pm

No more empty promises – letter to Yorkshire Evening Post

Dr John Puntis

Letter to Yorkshire Evening Post, published 2 Jan 2024

Accounts of missed targets in A&E and delayed ambulance transfers make grim reading. Each of these reflect an NHS in crisis, and the problems predate both covid and strikes. Underfunding and lack of longterm workforce planning, low pay and 121,000 staff vacancies have combined to severely weaken services.

While 50,000 new nurses (93% recruited from overseas) have joined the NHS, 40,000 have left (many of them senior and experienced staff). In addition, fewer non-covid beds, infection control measures, the discharge log-jam, lack of social and community care and high staff sickness rates add up to system failure.

In 2017 the NHS still topped the league table of health services in rich nations but has now fallen far from this position because of the difficulties in accessing treatment and lack of investment. The NHS has not been allowed to grow as the population has increased and more people live with chronic conditions. We have been spending around £40bn less each year on health services than some of our close European neighbours.

The prime minister may claim to have put in place an inadequate £1bn winter rescue package early in the year, but a BBC investigation showed of 800 promised ambulances, only 51 were new and the rest replacements. Similarly with the promise of 5,000 additional new beds, the number of acute medical beds actually fell by over 3,000. There are now two and half million people with long term sickness unable to work.

The Conservative government is responsible for massive damage to the NHS and the effects are clear for all to see.

It is crucial that this situation is reversed by increasing funding to a European level, rebuilding crumbling infrastructure, and recruiting and retaining more staff. This will improve patient care and strengthen the economy. No more empty promises please.

KONP warns against government plan for more privatisation

John Puntis on Radio 5 Live now on YouTube

Actions coming up

Minutes in full

The Government is refusing to talk with the junior docs and they have called 5 more days of strike action for 11th -15th July. It’s not yet clear what time they will be picketing outside LGI but G will aim to be there at 9.15 with banners and placards.
The consultants are due to strike on 24th and 25th August.

John is continuing to pursue the release of information re the money allocated to Leeds for the new building(s)

We haven’t had success contacting the “Toothless” Campaign but John offered to talk to Southampton KONP who have better links with Toothless. We agreed that we should campaign on dentistry as it is an important issue in its own right but also a salutary indication of where privatisation in health care can lead. Health Watch have done a report which has been discussed at the ICB and some limited proposals put forward to try to improve access.

The ICBs are now responsible for dentistry but the nationally determined dental contract is a big obstacle to improvements. Leeds Scrutiny Board has also had an emotional session on dentistry. John has written a short piece on dentistry. Sylvia suggested that we should talk to MPs and we thought we might have another postcard to MPs printed, possibly ‘END DENTISTRY DISASTER’.
NB Health watch did a report on dentistry in 2021 and their recent Insight Report includes dentistry :
https://healthwatchleeds.co.uk/reports-recommendations/2022/west-yorkshire-healthwatch-reports/ . West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board report discussed it in May – see
https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/application/files/3816/8362/0088/06_Focus_on_Oral_Health.pdf

There is a group in KONP campaigning to get ear wax removal de- privatised; John suggested this is something else we might take up with Healthwatch and the ICS.

Helen Hayward, GP has agreed to speak to us about GP practice/ primary care. Agreed we offer the 20th September or 4th Oct.

John noted that the KONP data group have done good work on this and suggested ways we could pursue the issues locally

The People’s Assembly are co-ordinating a demo outside the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Sunday 1st Oct. Gilda noted she is keen to get support to help the ‘End Social Care Disgrace’ campaign make a splash but there will be health campaign contingents too and we should take Leeds KONP flags.

The demo in Liverpool is being organised by Liverpool Women’s Hospital campaign and North West KONP. Support junior docs: Friday 11th Aug. outside LGI. Gilda will take banners etc.
John /Sheila to pass on any info re picketing from BMA.

Gilda to pass on the link to the health watch Report and ICB decisions/ plans re dentistry then think re a postcard.

John to check poss. dates with Helen

Circulate data report. Maybe seek speaker for a mtg. in Oct.

Come if you can!

More privatisation is the worst solution for the NHS

Keep Our NHS Public’s Dr John Puntis explains why new plan for more privatisation is the worst possible solution to Government created crisis in our NHS.

Thank you for coming

Unite Community – Leeds, Wakefield,York

Sorting banners

Crying over you NHS

KONP North East

SOSNHS Fight for our NHS

Huddersfield TUC

Underfunding isn’t working

Richard Burgon joins PCS Samba band

Rhian

Holding banners on town hall steps

Marchers photo

Marching along the Headrow

Visiting stalls

Save Liverpool Womens Hospital

Wakefield & District Trades Council

PCS Greater Manchester

Reclaim Social Care Greater Manchester

Photos thanks to Dr John Puntis

Leeds KONP minutes, latest actions and what we need for the march on 1st July

Northern March for NHS75 with union support

Full minutes

Facebook event page and an Eventbrite and thinks the Eventbrite is the most useful: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/northern-march-for-the-nhs-tickets-652235051597
We now have support from lots of TUCs and trade unions and offers of funding which should enable us to cover costs when all the money comes in. As usual we are worrying about who will actually turn out on the day but John noted that KONP nationally are advertising the march and it has been in the last three Health Campaigns Together national bulletins. We Own It is listing our event, CND and the Green Party have circulated it and TUSC put it in their newsletter. John has put cards in all the hospitals, J &G covered the University and the Councillors’ pigeon holes and Nick is continuing to chase individual union branches and other contacts including the midwives.

John set up our banners etc. outside LGI on 14th provide a support picket for the docs. He thought there were less docs picketing than last time but they were happy to chat, take fliers for July 1st march and liked Marc and Nick’s big underfunding banner. As the turnout at St. James was quite small, they amalgamated into one picket at LGI and on the second day of the three day strike they left midmorning to join a regional rally in Manchester. John & Rob took the opportunity to join the UCU strikers outside the university and gave out march postcards

A number of us took our KONP, NHS anti-racism / migrants welcome banner to the protest in Leeds to what was a very positive and well attended event compared with a small national turn out of people under the banner of the English Patriots. We gave out postcards for our July 1st march and had an opportunity to talk to Richard Burgon MP and dave Williams from the FBU, both of whom confirmed that they would speak at the march.

John has been doggedly pursing his FOI re the funding for Leeds two new hospitals and copying in Hilary Benn, who has raised the issue in Parliament. LTHT’s first response said little, citing confidentiality issues. John challenged the lack of transparency and has just had another response saying the money is there for building but the outline business case is not yet approved. He thinks LTHT are talking about just one building going ahead. He has fed back to the Trust that areas with Tory MPs were told how much money they were getting while others were kept in the dark re figures and is pressing for more info.

Leeds KONP tonight

Please join us later today, Wed 8^th June at 6.30 for the penultimate Leeds Keep our NHS Public meeting before our Northern march on Saturday 1^st July. We will be pulling out the stops on publicity and looking at how we can support the junior doctors’ three day strike  next week:  14^th – 16^th June inclusive.  

Event page for the march, please share https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/northern-march-for-the-nhs-tickets-652235051597

New banners !

Support NHS Workers fighting for Fair Pay, Safe Staffing and a future for Our NHS

Why spend billions on hospital beds when you can care for patients at home BMJ Dr John Puntis

BMJ 2023; 381 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1119 (Published 16 May 2023)

Rapid Response:

Re: Why spend billions on hospital beds when you can care for patients at home?

Dear Editor

At the start of her enthusiastic account of the World Hospital at Home (HaH) Congress, Tessa Richards poses the question: ‘Why spend billions on hospital beds when you can care for patients at home?’ implying that HaH would save billions of pounds. Not surprisingly, this meeting attracted enthusiasts, but there are many reasons for being cautious about seeing ‘virtual wards’ as a way out of our current crisis in healthcare. To quote the article: “Skilled (mostly) nurses and paramedics, provide hands on care in patients’ homes…….teams work alongside the patient’s carers and supports them to be active team members”. If this is really about providing hospital level care at home (but without the economies of scale), will it really be cheaper? In making carers ‘active team members’, how much of the burden of care falls to them and what do they think about it? What if you don’t have friends or relatives to act as carers? What happens when remote monitoring shows you are deteriorating in the middle of the night? Most challenging of all, where will the team members actually come from given the NHS is in the midst of its worst staffing problems ever? (1).

Although the article states that HaH services generally deliver as good or better outcomes than inpatient care, the systematic review on which these claims are based (2) speaks otherwise. Conclusions about outcomes were limited by small sample sizes and heterogeneous measurement tools in the primary studies. The authors state that for both Admission Avoidance and Early Supported Discharge models, several outcomes and process indicators still require further clarification, including caregiver outcomes, cost-effectiveness and clinical complications! Note too, that just as with the World HaH Congress, the views of patients and public were not part of this research evaluation.

No doubt some patients could benefit from virtual wards, selection being critical. NHS England wants 40 virtual beds/100,000 population by December 2023. Jeremy Hunt claimed misleadingly in a radio interview that this was equivalent to seven new district hospitals (‘virtual hospitals’ perhaps, as in the unrealised New Hospitals Building Programme?)(3). Guidance from NHS England clearly sees virtual wards as a great opportunity for the private sector (4) but does not include a clear definition of what virtual wards are for, what they can and cannot be expected to achieve, minimum investment required in terms of staff (including necessary skill mix) and equipment required (5). £450m is being provided but only for the first two years, and initial funding works out as only around £1.5m per acute trust. Other than a lucrative opportunity for the independent health tech sector, it is inconceivable that virtual wards could make up for the additional 13,000 beds called for by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (6).

Too many people believe that technical ‘solutions’ offer a simple answer to chronic underinvestment (7,8). HaH similarly pushes technology, but is also dependent on community staff who currently are just not there. The Japanese invented an experimental nursing-care robot from which we all might learn: their real-life abilities trailed far behind the expectations shaped by their hyped-up image, ending with them being locked away in a cupboard (9). For the tech enthusiasts, the words of Iona Heath are apposite: “Care happens in the space between people, in an unhurried encounter. Only humans in interaction can care” (7).

References

1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/25/worst-nhs-staffing-crisi…
2. Leong MQ, Lim CW, Lai YF. Comparison of Hospital-at-Home models: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Open 2021;11:e043285. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043285. pmid: 33514582
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65607962
4. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B1382_supporting-i…
5. https://lowdownnhs.info/news/push-for-virtual-wards-an-opportunity-for-t…
6. https://rcem.ac.uk/new-report-shows-13000-staffed-beds-required-across-t…
7. Heath I, Montori VM. Responding to the crisis of care. BMJ 2023;380:p464
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p464
8. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/22/digital-nhs-techno…
9. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/27/robear-bear-shaped-nu…

Competing interests: I am co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public

23 May 2023

John Puntis

retired consultant paediatrician

Leeds