AS IF they needed more problems in the aftermath of electoral fiascos, the shambles over schools testing, and the chaos of the Criminal Justice Bill, the Tories must face up to something very nasty happening in their new NHS internal market.
One after another, major hospitals and trusts providing crucial services are running thid huge financial difficulties: and there is no sign that anyone -other than a few GPs - is actually profiting from the market system.
The cash crisis spans the country, hitting Birmingham, Liverpool, the Lake district, the north cast, Scotland, Belfast, Cardiff, the home counties and London.
Almost every trust is now socking voluntary or compulsory redundancies: some are facing draconian cut-backs.
Birmingham
South Birmingham health authority is looking at the prospect of over 1,000 redundancies as it grapples with a cash shortfall of £10 million.
Barnet's Wellhouse Trus plagued with debes from its illconsidered launch in April 1992, is up against deals or te to £8m. Immediate cuts at likely to be followed by closure or Barct and more cuts a Cog ware General.
Nearby Northwick Park Hospital, newly-launched as a Trust Hospital workers have no illusions in Tory Trusts - the NHS marketplace means cuts.
THE TORIES part of a package to save £700,000 this year: the ward has just had two additional beds added, but is is currently overfull, with 120% occupancy.
In North East London the floundering Forest Healthcare Trust is contemplating desperate measures including ward closures, up to 140 redundancies, and the cancellation of afternoon cakes for in-patients at Claybury psychiatric hospital.
On the castern edge of London, the giant Havering Hospitals Trust, launched on April 1, is already reneging on specific public commitments by proposing the closure of the busy Accident & Emergency unit at Oldchurch Hospital.
The neighbouring Redbridge Trust, also launched on April 1, is revealed to be £3.5 million in the red, and mired in confusion as management struggle to privates domestic services despite European ( legislation and the fact that the tender from conMediclean cost £400,000 more than the in-house bid.
Ealing cuts
In West London, Baling hospical Trust is considering closure of three specialues in a package of cuts to trim £3.8m, while the old Riverside health authority, now incorporated into a new mega-district, must make cuts of E10-E14 million.
To the south, Croydon's Mayday Hospital launched as a Trust £3.8m in the red.
In the home counties the situation is equally bleak. NHS provider units are running huge deficits in Hertfordshire, with Mid-Essex bealth authority. facing a shortfall of over 23 million. have bee selling fund raising badges - at 30p each Publicity officer They would need to sell 1! million (one to 20% of the British population) to raise the money. The same health authority has just hired a new publicity officer at £26,000 a year plus perks, while making nine nursing assistants redundant.
Elsewhere in Essex, Trusts are in big troubic, with Basildon and Essex Rivers both £4m in the red and every Trust seeking redundancies.
To add insult to injury, sevcral fund-holding GP practices in the NE Thames region have been hanging on to large sums of unspent cash from last year: the Tory health reforms put them under no obligation to repay any surplus left over.
Management at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital have been debating a desperate list of What to do about NHS cuts towns. Check the local press, and any other sources.
• Affiliate to any campalgns already running dents' union to contact local health unions and invite speakers. tive NHS. link up health workers, patients and local community. anti-cuts campaign, offering a quarterly newspaper, publicity materials, advice and support. Contact them at 446, Uxbridge Rd, London W12 ONS (081-749-2525).
cost-cutting measures including charging patients for meals. ward closures, redesignating an NHS ward for private use, cutting security and cutting the portions of staff lunches. Shortly after news leaked of of cutbacks, General Manager John Stapleton got his marching orders. The fact that so many Trusts are so deep in difficulty so early in a new financial year should be worrying Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley. Embarrassed In February, embarrassed by and closures sweeping through hospitals in the final few months before April 1, she issued a cir"manage activity back into line' by ensuring that cuts were made over ine whole twelve mont and not left to the last moment. The sheer scale of the cash problems faced by many Trusts means that only drastic reduchope to balance the books. Though many health workers appear to have been taken by surprise and slow to respond to the first rounds of redundancies, there are signs of rising anger mat coma sci posc Tal proplems for local managers - and HOME the Tories whose policies they • FIND OUT the local situation. Cuts are occurring in most • Get your Trades Council, union branch, Labour Party or stu• Encourage health union activists to seek fullest publicity: many cuts are going through almost unreported in today's secre• Where necessary launch a broad-based local campaign to • Affillate (E15) to London Health Emergency, the biggest
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