Liz McInnes calls on government to rethink latest NHS plans

Liz McInnes MP

Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton, has called on the government to rethink the new and controversial NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs).

STPs, which were announced last year as part of the government’s five year plan for the NHS, are close to being implemented despite no public consultation taking place and no discussion with key stakeholders such as local authorities, local health and well-being boards and Metro mayoral candidates, who in Greater Manchester will bear responsibility for implementing the plans.

There are also concerns that the STPs will lead to penalties for local health providers who fail to make necessary ‘efficiency savings’, directly affecting services in local communities.

In a speech last week in parliament Ms McInnes said: “Before entering parliament, I worked for 33 years in the NHS and experienced on a daily basis the service that it provides to millions across the UK, from its GPs to its world-leading research and development.

"With 80% of hospitals in debt, bed-blocking at record highs, an ageing population, waiting times for cancer treatment lengthening, underfunding of social care, mass staff shortages in hospitals and a future where collaboration with the European Union is unclear, we should show our commitment to our NHS in its time of need and give it the funding it deserves so that it can succeed for all patients.

“The STPs do not clearly address those issues. These plans have been shrouded in secrecy and drawn up behind closed doors. There has been no public consultation, and there is a staggering lack of evidence that they will deliver the reductions and improvements the Government promise. They will be untried and untested, and will come at an unimaginable cost to patients if they are found not to be the right path to pursue.

“As with the disastrous Health and Social Care Act 2012, the proposals take us on a journey to another calamitous reorganisation of the NHS.

"It is now a necessity that the Government abandon the timetabling and scheduling of such a major restructure package. I call on the Government and Secretary of State for Health to go back and reconsider not only the timeframe but the proposals in general, and to have a full and frank public consultation, allowing for transparency and debate at local and national level.”