YOU AY ESTIMATE • Orthopaedic patents imported from Exeter jump growing waiting fst queues of local people needing treatment in Riverside's hospitals • Consultants at St Mary's Hospial are told to walt four days for authorisa. tion from clerical staff before promising non emergency patents they can have the treatment they need: the delay is to chock that their heath authority is willing and able to pay the bill.
Refusal to pay
• Managers in Bloomebury and IsSington DHA complain that "an increasing number of perchasers fie. other Willis: u-tum Widespread support exists for the idea of allowing representation of workplace organisations on Trades Councils. The TUC Rself was preparing to carry out experiments in this area, but this was never implemonten A direct relationship with the workplaces is important, it Trades ership than branch representative:
enable. Councils should take up thie demand, while opening up their meetings to shop stewards immediately even i they are not yet able to be The development of this discussion is an urgent task - these demands must be pressed at nex!
rear's union conferences.
are mandated and leaders" hands not left free to vote for any proposal put forward by the TUC Meanwhile. Trades Councils should call on the Joint coordinating committoe to organise a conference to discuss proposals put forward by individual councils. heath authorities) are refusing to pa invoices, usually for unauthorised treatment." Yet they also reveal that in July Cubd words treated without prior authorisation*.
• Guy's Hospitais specialst chid heart surgery unit has already run through its entire contract income for local patients. This means that any local kids neoding operations will have to walt unti next Acri, whin the work of the department now hangs on finding uthorities wil pay up.
Meanwhile more health authorities admit that their slender funds for financing residents treated in (Extra Contractural Referral) are almost exhaustod inside six months. Some DHAs hww receied less bils than they expected - suggesting big problems in involcing: oth or recorring tar mss come than planned.
Who will pay?
• Almost everywhere the numbers of patients treated under block contracts are widly diferent from projecthe level budgotod. Nobody knows who wil pick up the bill for the difference.
• А пагані сі сомона сорт People know nurses care they don't bellere the Tories do • The new 'business methods" include the 200,000 plus BMW pay-off deal to custed Guy's Finance Diroctor Peter Burroughs, the man who wamed eany on of thie scar Sall in post is E90,000 plus two cars Chief Executive Peter Griffiths, the man aport al nounced cuts of C6.8m. and now sooms headed towards a deficit of up As the winter looms, with its increased strain on the NHS, the scope of the financial and organisational disaster aready unleashed by the Internal market will begin o become apparent Worse to come But there is worse to come next launched, and when heath authortes outside London shouks be frood from any compuston to sono paikins wo London hospitals.
Ministorial advisors have warned haphazard cutbacks which axe 2,000 cros ano at mast one teaching hospta nobody yot knows for sure which one!
None of this nood have happened. except govemment ministers has confrom the very beginning - were