Commons told of hospital concern

Concerns over hospital management and patients waiting too long for operations across the area were raised in Westminster.

Bosses from Pennine Acute Trust have already apologised for “unacceptable staff behaviour” towards patients after Channel 4’s Dispatches recently featured secretly-filmed footage from the Royal Oldham Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital.

The undercover reporters said they had witnessed caring staff, but the programme branded the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the hospitals in Rochdale, North Manchester, Oldham and Bury, as “struggling to care for patients”.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk raised his concerns in the Commons telling Government he was “extremely concerned” about the accountability of Pennine Acute Trust.

The Labour MP has secured a meeting with Health ministers to further discuss his concerns.

Mr Danczuk told our sister newspaper the Oldham Evening Chronicle: “You do not get the amount of time needed in the chamber to discuss such a serious concern so the meeting has been set up.

“The Channel 4 programme showed the trust in a bad light and I fear the chief executive is not accountable.

“I believe the reconfiguration of services has been handled badly and thousands of resident have signed petitions expressing concern about the situation.

“I am also told that waiting times for operations across Pennine are longer than other trusts in Greater Manchester and it is important this is addressed.

“I have many concerns and will raise them all in the forthcoming meeting.”

Speaking during Commons health questions, Mr Danczuk called on the Government to investigate the management of the trust as a “matter of urgency”.

Health Minister Anne Milton said she was aware of the recent programme and the Trust was implementing a number of changes across the area.

The Trust previously said the claims that patient care was being compromised to meet targets as unfounded and unsubstantiated.