STORMY times are ahead for Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell as health authorities and Trusts across the country break cover to reveal recordbreaking deficits and devastating cuts in the run-up to the next election.
The Tory tactic of squeezing NHS funding to pay for tax cuts last November is producing bitter fruit as health chiefs tear up the Patients' Charter, reducing the NHS in many areas to a skeleton emergencies-only service.
In South West London, two health authorities propose to slash up to 80 per cent of nonurgent waiting list contracts to achieve cuts of over £.20m next year year.
in Lambeth. Southwark and Lewisham, with cuts totalling between £18m and €27m next year the chief executive of Kings Healthcare Trust has openly admitted that the consequence will be a 'two tier seryice', discriminating between patients on the basis of where ready they live and whether their GP reduncancies. is a fundholder.
In East London & City, £14m in the red this year, health chiefs are debating a £22m cuts pack. age including a massive £13m trom menta neal servicer which would mean sacking consultants and front-line staff in an worried. area where bed occupancy in psychiatric services is already 120 per cent.
Across London planned cuts in 1948. exceed £100 million.
Other towns and cities are also under the hammer. care in many areas Manchester faces a £14m shortfall, Oxford £7 million. In Colchester one rust. Essex Rivers, faces a £3.5m deficit this The cash crunch is one reason for the delay in settling this come tue year's NHS pay round, and the pitifully low offers being put forward: only a minority of Trusts are even offering three per cent to nursing ana sup• port staff, while some are alpressing for Now, hospitals are bracing themselves for a long, hard winter of headline scandals and misery for patients, many elderly, who will be waiting even longer for the beds they need.
No wonder the Tories are NIS ine cuts that are now threatened are the biggest since the NHS was established tien They could effectively destroy comprehensive health A concerted campaion by NY health workers and the labour movement is vital to keep these issues at the top of the pre-election agenda, and make Stephen Dorrell's nightmares IS SAVE GUI DUNT LET THE ACTION CANIN TORIES WRECK THE NHS SAVE GUY'S ACTION CAN WIN UNISI Patient fin cialist PO T