Anger over health service cuts
Saturday 17th July 2010, 3:00PM BST.
Sarah Ahmed and Mandie Refaat are campaigning to save the hospital hydrotherapy pool (01009893)
THE threat of States spending cuts is beginning to hit home with two public campaigns already launched to protect Health services.
Users of the hydrotherapy pool have been told it is likely to go and diabetes sufferers in the Island have been told to expect to start paying for their treatment.
Two women involved in a devastating car crash last year when they were mown down by a drunk driver are fighting the plans to close the pool while the president of Diabetes Jersey, Brian Le Marquand, has vowed to try to stop the proposed diabetes price hike.
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2 very worth while services but typical of the tactics used by H&SS over the years with so many charities who help them out.Start and look at savings internally H&SS managers and be efficient and effective instead of playing political games.
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Terry & his ‘cost-cutting’ gang had better:
1) hope & pray that they don’t land up in the same situation as Sarah & Mandie – with no hydrotherapy pool, and
2) watch their diets in case they become type II or worse ……..
ahh, but then, do they pay for treatment??
Come on chaps, switch the waterfont pool subsidy over to the hospital pool! and the balance left over can go towards keeping other health services open – simple. Wonder if the £995/day ‘cost-saving’ wizzkid thought of that one?
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So people with diabetes or other conditions that require self injection will now have to pay up to 10x more for their needles.
Can we expect that drug addicts who currently get their needle exchange packs free of charge will make any sort of contribution to the system?
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The news letter from the Jersey Diabetic Association quoted patients faced £1000 a year for essential diabetic supplies, blood testing strips, syringes etc. If patients test the way they are supposed to, that cost would be closer to £1250 we can see what will happen, the wealthy will be unaffected whilst low to middle class earners will be affected the most, the likely outcome will be less blood testing, reusing syringes impacting on their diabetes resulting in more hospital admissions for diabetics that become “out of control”, stretching the services and finances of other departments such as the eye clinic due to eye problems, renal unit down to kidney failure, department of metabolic medicine (aka the diabetic centre) with out of control patients, chiropody for all those with patients with leg and foot problems, the wards at the hospital to treat diabetics with infections, those who have gone into coma’s etc, so some really well thought out cost cutting here by a second rate H&SS management, and this is after Ann Pryke employed 3 more managers at what price? WHAT A JOKE!!!!
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Yes, cut front line services and keep middle management. Who has actually taken this decision??
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#4 Don’t be silly Alexander, if we charge them they will just commit more crime. Maybe the diabetics should start stealing the money needed to pay for their needles, THEN they’ll get them for free. What a pathetic world we live in.
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How did they decide on which services to cut? Did they put all the illnesses on bits of paper and pick them out of a hat? I’ve been a diabetic for 31 years which works out roughly at 23,500 injections! I have no choice unlike drug users. Plus I dispose of my syringes in approved bins at the clinic not on the floor of parks where children play! The States seriously need to get their own house in order before penalising individuals. Absolutely disgusting!
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My name is Martin Postlethwaite and I am the secretary of the Jersey branch of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS). On behalf of myself, our physiotherapists and our branch, I am writing to request that the General Hospital hydrotherapy pool be taken off the list of possible cuts to be considered by the States of Jersey.
During our sixteen years, several of our members have derived great benefit from having both gym and hydrotherapy facilities on the same premises. It has greatly helped to maintain our collective flexibility and quality of life. Moreover, it has been an incentive and a blessing to have this on hand and it is very likely that if the pool closes, the group itself will fold.
We also feel that in the long run, this could be a false economy. Most of our members can’t find time to exercise during the week and our Tuesday evening sessions are, as well as a social gathering, a means of keeping the illness at bay. It is therefore very probable that without these facilities on hand, patients in a similar predicament could end up costing the Health service more rather than less in the long run.
With the above in mind, I would implore you to reconsider any possible decision relating to the pool’s closure.
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Disgraceful!!! is it the same incompetent health managers identified in recent reports on the department that drew up these cuts? these are going to effect the sick and suffering, sack the failures and use the savings to look after the sick for GODS SAKE!!!!
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I think its disgusting! the Island is supposed to be a wealthy island and these cut backs are like something i would expect to hear about in an inner city area of London! I remember the public having to raise money for an MRI scanner years ago that was a disgrace too! perhaps the states should allocate more money to health service in the island and less on things like stone cows at west centre and steam clocks etc
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There is no doubt that some people who have diabetes deserve the correct free treatment when through no fault of their own they suffer from this ailment, but what is not acceptable are the people who eat themselves to obesity, then expect the rest of the community to pay for their health treatment,they know who they are who eat themselves silly with burgers, crisps, and smoke 40 fags a day drink alcohol to excess and expect us to feel sorry for them when they become unable to work because of diabites and scrounge and live off the state.
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Maybe if the Health Dept hadn’t spent £2.25 million on the Swine Flu effort then they’d have enough to continue these valuable services.
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#8 I have to agree with you, I really do think it is a false economy. I think the assumption has been made that cutting these services simply means everyone will stop using them, but otherwise their lives will go on as normal. Clearly it won’t. Without these services the current patients will need to make greater use of other health services, some who work may well end up off work more frequently. I highly doubt the cost of these scenarios has been taken into account.
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As I’ve said before….be careful what you wish for. If you want the States to cut expenditure then fine, but you have to take a cut in service provision too. The JEP has reported just one area being cut but trust me, there will be others.
When the wheels fall off don’t start moaning, if you want quality services, you have to pay for them!! Otherwise expect a cut in quality and live with it. Welcome to the real world!!
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Once again Jersey which likes to promote itself as a wealthy island where everything in the garden is rosy is letting its population down in the worst possible way.If the powers that be cannot be moved by the likes of Martin Postlethwaite (comment
then there is truly no hope.
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@11 So Good to hear you must be perfection Mr Sensible.
I take it if your not injured legitimately your not allowed to use the pool either.?
I hope you never find yourself in the same position as the people these cuts are going to affect.
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Alison @11, if you read my comment, i have never mentioned the pool, but what i will say is that we all should look after ourselves as best as we can,as for the people who have diabetes, or any other illnesses through no fault of their own, well fine the diabetes treatment, pool and any other resource should be freely available, but for those who don’t care about living a healthy lifestyle can only face the consequences, and why should i pay through my taxes pay for these people, the health service put out plenty of information about how bad diet and lifestyle can cause diabetes so there is no excuse.
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I doubt those responsible for these desisions will be reading this, but i agree, so much money is wasted on rubbish that jersey doesnt want, like the steam clock! and many more…. and then there was the swine flu jab overreaaction which cost us millions, if all the big bosses with their giant pay packets took a tiny wage cut each, that could pay to save the pool and diabetic services im sure… so come on, for the sake of jersey’s local health service, who has long enough arms to reach into their pockets and save some much needed heath services such as these??
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#17 Mr Sensible, I agree with the sentiment. There are a number of types of diabetes and only one of them is strongly linked to lifestyle choices. Still, I also take issue with taxpayer’s money being doled out on people whose conditions ARE self-inflicted. People’s self-neglect is bringing the health service to its knees and we are all being asked to suffer because of the weakness of others! Hardly right.
We should be save money first by charging people who caused their own conditions, then see if we still need to make cuts.
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Has the hospital managed to reduce the number of ‘no shows’ for appointments? At one time, this was running at 10% meaning that it was Taxpayers wasting THEIR money !
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Leah,
glad u agree, thanks for the detail re different types of Diabetes,it is a great shame that so many people do not realise what can happen if they do not treat their body with respect, some people will spend more money on their car than on their well being , but such is life
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So you guys are saying that people whos knees need replacing, hips need replacing, backs need fusing should all be charged because they have been sporty or worked in a manual job? its self inflicted??
Or is it just what suits you to charge?
Where do you draw the line?
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#22 No Mike, because healthy sport and working are not considered self-abuse. And no, it’s not just what suits me to charge either, but then I don’t abuse my own body through excessive alcohol consumption, drugs, fighting, over-eating etc!
Health services are struggling more and more and we do need to come up with answers to the problem. Do you think it right that services to people who have serious conditions, that are in no way their own fault, are cut while we continue to dole out treatment for self-inflicted conditions? If there are cuts the self-inflicted conditions should take the hit first, that’s just common sense.
We live in a world now where money talks, and for some people being charged might be the only way to get them to change their behaviour. As long as there is a health service to ‘bail them out’ they simply aren’t going to bother to take responsibility for themselves.
The best thing to do is to not need to draw a line at all. Keep it simple and charge (retrospectively) for A&E treatment for people who are just drunk, drugged up, have had an accident completely attributed to their intoxication, or have got themselves involved in a drunken skirmish. Where obesity is concerned I would charge for gastric band surgery (with few exceptions). It sets a better example to the coming generations and will discourage them from falling into the same self-abusive traps.
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Mike @ 22
think you have got the wrong end of the stick here, just ask yourself do you know anyone who runs a nice car, which cost thousands, on top of this servicing and petrol will cost many hundreds more, and i am not saying it is everyone, but some people moan about the cost of staying fit, and looking after themselves,but will have no problem spending money on a bit of tin with four wheels , just look in any supermarket you will always see the “fat” family mum and dad with bulging stomachs, and with the children looking just like them ,because they cannot be bothered ,i feel sorry for the children, because in the long term bad diet will put them in an early grave.Those taking up sports should be applauded and if because of this they do get a few worn out joints well at least along the way they will have had a fun time, instead of sitting in front of the TV watching all the rubbish programs and soaps, youngsters should be running around outside ,instead of sitting eating crisps and playing computer games.
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#22 How long is a piece of string?
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Let’s face it Ann Pryke is a tea and digestives person,better suited to spending her time at Garden Fetes…this job and budget is too big for her….
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Does anybody share my suspicion that these threatened health cuts are being put about to try and make the hike in GST more politically safe?
They will say with an affected and theatrical sigh of relief, “okay, we don’t have to have the health cuts after all, but only if we put up GST”. A disingenuous and craven type of politics indeed, but one which we come to recognise in Jersey.
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I’ve got to agree with you there, Truthseeker – another of TLS’s ministerial failures. Her performance to date has been weak. Veritas gave her the chance to show some steel but instead all we got were assurances that things had been learnt, but that’s life, and we’ve got to move on.
Mrs Pryke has worked on the ‘shop floor’, she knows how important these essential services are that she’s suggesting be cut. She also knows where cuts really should be made. She should be demanding a full structural organisational chart of HSS and sitting down with HR and discussing where meaningful cuts can be made – especially in the top heavy management level. It’s not nice to see people lose their jobs, but this is going on every day in the private industry in Jersey.
Take the bull by the horns, Mrs Pryke, you’re the one in charge!
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Only the rich deserve healthcare.
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Surely the whole point of appointing Mrs Pryke was that she wouldn’t rock the boat? That is the outcome of the ministerial system; “stepford politicans” who are selected for their weak, following instincts rather than for any leadership or strength of character. There are very few “big people” left in the states now and, oddly, it all seems to have occurred since “we” started paying these people who are supposed to be working for us.
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