Despite the government’s promise to protect the health service and increase budgets, the NHS faces real term funding cuts next year. 

Recently published figures from The Department of Health shows that on average the increase for local NHS bodies will be three per cent. 

However, it has been argued that this figure includes one-off payments for extra dentistry and pharmacy spending as well as cash for local authorities to spend on social care. 

This means that the increase is funding is reduced on average to 2.2 per cent, below the 2.5 per cent inflationary figure currently used by the NHS. 

Labour leader Ed Milliband, “argued that the government was breaking its election promise.”

As part of the government’s reform package, the Department of Health released a series of documents on how the reforms and plans will be implemented in the future. GPs are to be given greater control over much of the NHS budget. Under the reforms GPs will be able to form consortia to arrange and buy care for their patients as previously planned. 

Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities will be scrapped and management costs to be cut by 45 per cent.

In light of these proposals, some experts warn that the pace and scale of reforms is too much as financial constraint means the NHS has to find £20bn of savings over the next four years to cope with increasing demand. 

Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of the British Medical Association, said, “The government also seems to have ignored the warnings of the BMA and many others about the pace and scale of these reforms.”

“Change of this magnitude was always going to be a challenge and the worsening financial pressures on the NHS, coupled with the ambitious timescale and lack of detail, make the present strategy very risky.”

“Given the latest inflation figures, we do not accept the government’s claim that it is increasing real term funding for the NHS.”

“The stated three per cent ‘increase’ in funding for Primary Care Trusts includes £1 billion already announced to cover additional social care responsibilities and masks the fact that the hospitals will have to do a lot more work to achieve the same income.”

“Patients across the country are already discovering that local services are being rationed to achieve efficiency savings, and there are likely to be further NHS cuts on a scale we have not seen for many years.”

Nigel Edwards, acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said, “The scale of the challenge facing the NHS is immense. NHS organisations are grappling with three major issues, all at the same time: unprecedented efficiency savings, major management cuts and radical structural reforms.”

“There is a real squeeze on hospital budgets that will seriously effect their income. NHS leaders up and down the country are really worried about the prospects for the next two to three years.”

“While we support the objectives of these reforms, we have to get there first. The absolute priority is to be realistic about the dangers of transition and take firm action to avert them so the reforms have a chance of success. We now seem to come too far for there to be a practical way of turning back. The government has moved some way in terms of recognising the issues, but we need to see more.”

Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary said, “The Conservatives would not even have a share of power if they had not promised to protect the NHS budget and stop top-down re-organisation.”

“Yet today, it’s clear that there will be cuts, top-down organisation and privatisation by stealth as private companies increasingly run parts of a fragmented market-based NHS. And these ‘reforms’ are likely to cost £2-3 billion at a time when health spending is being cut in real terms.”

As government reforms on the NHS continues, fears of patient care and reductions in service will continue despite promises to keep NHS investment in-line with inflation. As cut backs increase, the demand on health care professionals is unlikely to go away. At MPP Locums, we continue to provide a first class service to the NHS. 

MPP Locums ensures that all our doctors, locum doctors, specialist registrar personnel are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles. We provide quality staff to our clients and are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1st July 2008 for the next three years.

MPP Locums provides a full range of medical recruitment services for NHS Trusts and private hospitals throughout the UK. If you are seeking NHS doctor jobs, locum doctor jobs, special registrar jobs, consultant jobs, SHO jobs or medical jobs, contact our registration team by telephone or register on line and be part of the largest and fastest growing specialist medical recruitment agency in the UK. 

With students fees likely to rise to £9,000 per year under the government’s recent bill that went through parliament, students from lower income families will be put off from applying for medical courses as a result of higher tuitions fees, the doctors’ union says.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is worried that universities in England will now charge the full £9,000 a year MP’s voted in the favour of. 

With medical students studying 5 years for their degrees, could see graduate doctors facing a debt of £70,000 each on fees alone. 

However, the government says, “That students will pay nothing up front and on top of that, there will be help for those from the poorest backgrounds.”

A BMA survey of trainee doctors in England and Northern Ireland found they expect to qualify £37,000 in debt under the current system. 

The union said, “Medical students not only spend longer studying, but find it difficult to take part-time jobs because of course hours and longer term times.”

Karin Purshouse, chair of the BMA’s Medical Students Committee, said, “The country could be left with a situation where in the future many gifted young people will be priced out of becoming doctors simply because they do not have the funds.”

Anna Sumpner who is studying medicine at Sheffield University, said, “Higher fees would have made her think twice about taking the course in the first place. When I decided to go to medical school I knew I was going to get myself in a lot of debt. But £70,000 would have been such a daunting prospect, like a mortgage before you have even started out in life.”

“I would definitely have thought about other health professions like nursing or physiotherapy.”

But the government said, “There is no concrete evidence the proposals will deter people from becoming students.”

“No student will need to repay their tuition fees and other maintenance loans until they earn £21,000, the starting salary for a junior doctor.”

“A scholarship scheme will mean students with family members on income support or jobseekers’ allowance will be able to get their fees paid for up to two years.”

The BMA is now urging the government to look at the idea of ‘forgivable loans.’

The idea is that new doctors would have part of their student loan written off for every year of service that they give to the NHS. 

With the increasing of student fees could see the number of students enrolling for medical degrees decreasing. This could lead to a situation where bright potential future doctors embark on other courses, as they do not have the funds to train to be a doctor. As the government’s reform on education and the NHS continues, MPP Locums continues to provide first class medical professionals to the NHS. 

At MPP Locums, we ensure that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles. We provide quality staff to our clients and are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1st July 2008 for the next three years.

MPP Locums provides doctor recruitment – general and specialist locum doctor jobs, medical jobs for NHS Trusts throughout the UK. 

If you are seeking NHS doctor jobs, doctor jobs, locum doctor jobs, special registrar jobs, SHO jobs contact our registration team by telephone or register on line and be part of the largest and fastest growing specialist medical recruitment agency in the UK. 

A recent survey carried out by the Royal College of Physicians found that junior doctors have to care for too many patients at weekends and in the evenings, as there are not enough consultants on duty during these times.

The RCP says, “There is mounting evidence of poor out-of-hours care in hospitals.”

The RCP carried out a survey of 126 hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a result of the survey, it is calling for a consultant to be on duty for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Furthermore, it found that out of all the hospitals surveyed, none had more than 12 hours of weekend cover from senior specialists in emergency medicine. Only 3% provided nine to 12 hours of cover, and nearly 75% of the surveyed hospitals had no specialist cover at all.

The Royal College of Physicians survey was carried out following research published in the summer, which revealed that patients admitted as emergencies on a weekend were more likely to die than if they were admitted during the week.

The RCP went on further to add, “Consultants should be freed up to concentrate on the care of seriously ill patients rather than holding clinics and performing other duties.”

The president of the Royal College of Physicians, Sir Richard Thompson, said, “There have been some major improvements in the care of seriously ill patients in recent years, but out of hours is still falling short.”

“Too many junior doctors are covering too many ill patients, and this has to change.”

“Our evidence shows that a predominantly consultant-delivered medical service is the best way to improve patient care.”

Health secretary Andrew Lansley agrees, “Patients do deserve better care at night and weekends and senior doctors should be available to provide acute medical care as needed.”

Furthermore, Mr Lansley added, “I am already looking at ways to increase the involvement of consultants in direct clinical care at night and at weekends.”

The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD), which reviews the care of patients and has looked at problems in emergency care has welcomed the RCP report and has used some of its findings to support their arguments. 

Dr James Stewart of NCEPOD says, “There is a bigger issue that needs to be looked at. Junior doctors need to be better trained to care for the very ill and to spot those who are falling ill on other wards.”

“Concentrating on consultant involvement alone will not resolve this important issue unless junior doctors are educated and trained to a higher standard.”

“Currently doctors are already working long hours, with the latest census showing consultants work an average 50 hour week,” says the RCP. 

“That is four and a half hours longer than their contracts and more than the 48-hour limit set by the European Working Time Directive.”

A survey carried out in April showed junior doctors were covering an average of 61 patients overnight, but one junior doctor was looking after 400 patients. 

The RCP says, “That rather than increasing the hours of doctors still further, new shift patterns will have to be worked out.”

This latest survey by the Royal College of Physicians into the hours worked by junior doctors highlights that government’s electoral promise to maintain frontline services and improve patient care is still falling short of their promise. Junior doctors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are still working longer hours than the European Directive on working hours has set.  As the government reforms continue, MPP Locums understands the changing nature of the NHS in providing first class medical professionals. 

At MPP Locums, we ensure that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles. We provide quality staff to our clients and are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1st July 2008 for the next three years.

MPP Locums provides doctor recruitment – general and specialist locum doctor jobs, medical jobs for NHS Trusts throughout the UK. 

If you are seeking NHS doctor jobs, doctor jobs, locum doctor jobs, special registrar jobs, SHO jobs, Consultant Doctor Jobs contact our registration team by telephone or register on line and be part of the largest and fastest growing specialist medical recruitment agency in the UK.