Councillors clash at politically-charged NHS debate as figures show Gloucestershire Trust deficit has almost quadrupled to £42m

That is the message that came from Shire Hall yesterday after the Liberal Democrats and Labour councillors on Gloucestershire County Council voted through a motion calling on the government to take greater action tackling the NHS crisis.

The politically charged meeting – the last before May’s election – saw passionate speeches from either side of the chamber on the ongoing work of NHS staff, funding issues and threats to local services in Stroud and beyond.

Councillors from the ruling Conservative group who spoke strongly against the motion accused its opposition of “scaremongering” about cuts and possible closures, but when it came to the recorded vote every single one abstained.

While recognising the incredible work of staff across the NHS are doing daily under huge pressure, Lib Dem and Labour councillors who proposed the motion said doctors and nurses were being let down by the Conservative government due to underfunding.

The motion said the NHS was going through “biggest crisis in its history”, and that this was translating for Gloucestershire residents in ambulance response times and waiting times for A&E and GP appointments.

It comes after latest figures have shown the ballooning deficit in the finances of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has increased almost fourfold from £11m last September to £42m in April 2017.

This black hole emerged despite substantial extra cash from the government in the last few years and significant efficiency savings and stabilising efforts since it was put in financial special measures by NHS Improvement.

Lib Dem councillor Ian Dobie, who is chair of the council’s Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HCOSC), said services were being “overstretched and underfunded”.

He told councillors that the situation had worsened since the Trust was put in special measures, and that it would now be faced with reducing its budget by 6.2 per cent over the next year alone.

“This is a significant challenge,” he said. “It’s difficult to see how cuts of this size will not affect A&E services in Gloucester and Cheltenham, and other services further afield.

“I predict the upcoming rollout of the government’s Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) may well lead to the complete closure of at least one local hospital service in the county.”

The motion also pointed to changes to the opening hours of Minor Injury and Illness Units in Stroud and across the county as the impact of these wider financial issues.

It also noted concerns over the provision at Stroud’s General Hospital and Stroud Maternity Unit, and asked for further reassurances over their future.

This comes despite guarantees last October from the body which runs maternity unit – the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning group – that it was not currently in the firing line for any cuts or changes.

Cllr Steve Lydon, Labour councillor for Dursley and leader of Stroud District Council, said: “I have been accused of scaremongering in Stroud for daring to even question the fact that there may not be a future for our local NHS services.

“But can they give cast iron assurances that the services will not close? No of course they can’t. We all know that after these May elections the STP will come out with all the facts and figures, which many of us will have to pick up the debris from.”

Labour’s Brian Oosthuysen said that indications from the NHS commissioner about the England’s STPs would suggest that “cuts will take place on a gigantic scale throughout the country”.

“I think Stroud is going to suffer enormously if the plans come about,” he added.

The motion continued that councillors were concerned the “sustained fall” in overall funding for the county’s NHS would mean services continue “struggling to cope”.

The motion continued that the Government had “refused to give the NHS the extra funding that it needs” and resolved for the authority to use it voice to write to the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Councillors called on the Government to establish a cross-party NHS and Care Convention, with the objective of obtaining a “long-term settlement” for NHS and care services.

During the meeting the ruling Conservative group at GCC slammed its opposition for making “false statements” about the NHS, but when it came to the vote they did not oppose the motion.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Conservative leader of the council, said the health bosses had clearly stated previously that there is no threat to hospitals in Stroud – and accused Lib Dems and Labour of “weaponing” the NHS for political gains.

He added that the government’s published spending plans show year-on-year increases in spending for Gloucestershire’s NHS.

“With election time coming up, Labour and the Liberal Democrats are teaming up to spread fake news about our NHS,” he said.

“They know NHS funding is going up year on year in this county – above inflation – but they conspire together to try mislead local residents. “If they want to call for even more spending on the NHS, that’s a debate to have – but instead they pretend there are cuts.”

Cllr Dorcas Binns, county councillor for Nailsworth and cabinet member for Adult Care, said it was “shameful” and that the Lib Dems had used the motion as “a piece of political scaremongering”.

“I think it’s about time that Cllr Dobie was factually correct with the public and stopped scaring the public and people that work in the NHS too,” she said. “They have been clearly told by the NHS there is no threat to services there, but they go around saying the exact opposite.

“Time and time councillor Lydon has been told that there is not threat of closing Stroud Maternity or Stroud Hospital. Yet he continues with charade about cuts. There is nothing at all on the agenda about closures.

“They might think that this is good political spin for their leaflets – but scaring hardworking NHS staff, expectant mothers and people who rely on these services is completely unacceptable.

“The STPs is just a consultation exercise between health providers and adult social care providers across the county in a timely manner looking at how we can provide better health and social care to the vulnerable in our communities.”

She also pointed to the chancellor’s budget announcement last week of a £2 billion investment in adult social care as an example of how the Conservatives were putting proper funding into the NHS.

The motion passed by 26 votes, with 23 abstentions from the ruling Conservative party, UKIP and independent councillors.

• Click here to read more on the funding deficit of the Gloucestershire NHS Trust
• Click here for more on the assurances over the future of Stroud Maternity Hospital
• Click here for more information on Gloucestershire’s STPs

Figures show that over the next few years the county council is increasing the amount it gives to the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning group.

Funding will increase by two per cent to 759,600 in 2018/19, £775,400 the next year, and another 3.7 per cent increase by 2020/21.

The debate at GCC comes a month after a senior NHS chief admitted for the first time that hospital trusts will miss their financial target this year.

Speaking in February Jim Mackey, head of NHS Improvement, said efforts are now focused on "containing this to as manageable a number as we can" as trusts across England struggle with ballooning deficits.

Figures obtained from trusts by the Heath Service Journal show they are heading for a year-end deficit of around £970 million.

This is far higher than the £690m deficit predicted in November and would significantly breach the £580m maximum deficit "control target" set by national leaders.

The numbers, which have been collected from all but five of England's 237 NHS trusts, come ahead of the official figures next week and suggest their financial positions have deteriorated as the year has progressed.

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The GCC motion states: “This Council celebrates all our hardworking NHS colleagues in the county and wishes to send a motion of appreciation to them at this difficult time. This Council notes that the NHS is going through the biggest crisis in its history.

“The impact of this can been seen locally affecting ambulance response times, Accident and Emergency waiting times, the length of time it takes to get a GP appointment and changes to the Minor Injury and Illness Units (MIIUs) across the county.

“This Council is concerned that with a sustained fall in NHS funding our local services in Gloucestershire will continue struggling to cope. This Council also notes concerns over the future of hospital and maternity provision in Stroud and asks that reassurances are made to residents that the service will be retained.

“The Government has refused to give the NHS the extra funding that it needs with the percentage of our national income spent on the NHS set to fall between now and 2020. The UK is a relatively low spender on health care and this Council would therefore like to see adequate funding.

“This Council resolves that the Leader of this Council and the Chief Executive write to the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, calling the Government to establish a cross-party NHS and Care Convention with the objective of obtaining a long-term settlement for NHS and Care Services.”