Like so many local people, I have been appalled at the news that, in effect, Ottery St. Mary hospital might be closed. It has been admitted that the proposed changes are unlikely to save money, the usual reason for closing down valuable Ottery facilities. However, as no costs have been revealed yet, it is probable that the expenses of treating people in their own homes will be higher and that nurses, inevitably, will be less productive. Furthermore, it cannot be assumed that all patients can be treated at home. The Royal and Devon Exeter hospital has little or no spare capacity, so where will these unfortunate local residents be treated? Similarly, when R D &E patients can be discharged, but still need hospital treatment, where will they go? We are told that we must adapt our health services to prepare for a demographic explosion. We know that people are living longer but the fact that Ottery’s population is expected to expand by a quarter in the near future, surely, suggests that there could be an increase in the demand for hospital beds in Ottery or are all the newcomers going to enjoy perfect heath? If the emphasis is on treatment in the home, what happens when some of those homes lack space for essential equipment? We are told that there is a shortage of nurses, so why reduce their productivity by asking them to spend a big part of their day driving around the county? What about the lack of public transport to move patients, and their friends and relatives not to local hospitals but to more distant locations? The patient and the families will have to spend more on transport. When I see the word “uneconomic” in any report on health, I recoil as I do when I hear medical people talk about the market. I earned my living, for some years, as an economist but I shudder when I hear these commercial terms applied to the health of humans in such an advanced economy as the UK. Why not start by asking what is the best treatment for people and then devising how it can be paid for? I sense that the first objective is to save money, although we are not given any details, and then work out suitable treatment, which, inevitably, hit those least able to pay for travel etc, most harshly. If I ever need specialised care, am I supposed to want to go to a more distant hospital, as that is more economic? Am I alone in thinking that people who conjure up these reports can calculate costs, even if they don’t reveal them, but that they are ignorant on the true value of what they are destroying?
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:09:47 +0000
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