More cuts and ranting!

Channel 4 news ran a feature on hidden NHS cuts last night. Our own PCT is estimated to have a £9m deficit which has to be clawed back in the next financial year - practices are been asked to suggest ideas for savings. Cutting excessive spending is obviously sensible, but unfortunately there are many areas where spending is going ahead regardless of common sense. The PCT is concerned about the cost of A&E attendences by patients from nursing homes, who are, perhaps, sent in unecessarily by less experienced staff at local homes. They have funded community matrons, and one of their priorities is to bring the care homes up to standard to reduce unecessary admissions. All sounds quite sensible until you realise that these are on the whole private nursing homes, run for profit, providing below standard care in some instances, and the NHS is having to use its resources (people and money) to fix the problem!