A MERSEY MP has warned a plan drawn up by two of the region’s hospitals to avoid privatisation could have a “dangerous” impact on standards.
Whiston and St Helens Hospitals released the document, also signed by the Government and local NHS chiefs, to address a £20m financial black hole.
Secret papers revealed in April the trust was under threat from privatisation.
St Helens North MP, Dave Watts, told the Daily Post last night he was worried the new plan was unrealistic, and will put too much pressure on staff to make cutbacks.
He said: “The document sets out a plan to increase efficiencies by getting less people into the hospital and treating more people in the community. It wants to lower admissions rates. But what guarantees they can do this?
“Even with their best efforts, if people keep turning up, the problem is not going to go away.
“My concern is how this will impact on care. If the board are preoccupied with financial pressures, they could take their eye off the ball monitoring the hospital.
“I think they are setting targets they can't reach and this is dangerous.
“These plans are on top of existing efficiency drives placed on hospitals by the Government.”
The new “tripartite formal agreement” does not mention privatisation, and campaigners are concerned it could still be on the cards.
The Daily Post revealed in April that an option was mooted in a leaked government document to partly run the hospitals by a private company.
The £300m Whiston hospital is a new-build, constructed with Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funds.
Health chiefs estimated an extra £20.3m was needed to run the larger hospital.
During negotiations to build it, it was agreed that money would come from central funds via the soon-to-be-axed primary care trusts (PCTs).
But the document set out three options to cover the costs – either they come from the Government, the hospital merges with another trust, or it is handed over to a private company.
Mr Watts added: “The PFI issue appears to have been kicked into the long grass by Government, so how can the trust deal with this financial problem without an answer on that?
“It is still not clear how this will be dealt with.”
The new document states that future decisions cannot be made until a Government review of PFI schemes across the country has been completed.
Chief Executive, Ann Marr, said: "This plan provides a strategy to achieve Foundation Trust status and overcome the challenges ahead.
“The Trust remains committed to providing high quality patient care and we will work closely with our staff and partners to continue to improve local healthcare services.”
Dr Karen Beeby, Lead GP for St Helens Health, the Clinical Commissioning Group which will soon be the main commissioner of the services provided by the Trust, said: “Commissioners, along with other local health economy partners, all have a key role to play in creating a sustainable future for the Trust by working collaboratively, embracing innovation and ensuring that we design health services to best meet the needs of local people.
“This plan has been developed with broad involvement, so there is strong buy-in and a clear understanding of the contribution we will all need to make.”
