Dismore demands action over Barnet NHS finances
Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, has today written to the Secretary of State for Health, drawing attention to the deficit facing Barnet’s NHS and demanding action from the Department of Health to bridge the funding gap until their recovery plan can be completed. (letter below)
Mr Dismore said:
“The Conservatives said the NHS was safe with them, but the opposite is the truth. Barnet Hospital struggles to meet even the less demanding A and E targets set by the Government. We have seen Chase Farm Hospital close too, while waiting times continue to lengthen.
“Barnet CCG started last year with a deficit of £38m (actually £46m if proper business rules were applied, to reflect the fact that the CCG has no reserves). The CCG has made not just their promised cuts of £17m but yet more cuts have resulted in an end of year deficit of £10m. Even so, the start of the current financial year sees the CCG facing a deficit of £13m. The budget requirement is £423m and they have only £410m.
If the Conservatives had not wasted £3 billion on the top down reorganisation they promised they would not do, the finances might not have been so bad.
It is time the Secretary of Health stepped in with additional finance to bridge the gap till the CCG can get its accounts in balance.
And it is also time for Barnet’s Conservative MPs to stop sitting on their hands, to stop pretending their NHS pledges were never made, and to speak out on behalf of local patients and our NHS, by backing my call for additional funds.”
