Brighton health bosses plan multi-million spending cuts (From The Argus)

Brighton health bosses plan multi-million spending cuts

1:20pm Monday 15th March 2010 in

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Health bosses in Brighton and Hove could be forced to cut spending on some services by up to £30 million.

NHS Brighton and Hove is not likely to get any extra funding over the next few years despite an expected increase in demand from residents.

The city's population is due to increase by 3,000 by 2014 and this will mean more pressure on the NHS.

People are also living longer and elderly residents generally need more care, treatment and support.

A report outlining the city's five year plan plans for improving people's health, admits some “difficult decisions” may need to be made if bosses are going to manage to balance the books while keeping services going.

The primary care trust (PCT) is focusing on areas where it spends more than the national average to see if savings can be made.

This could be as much as £30 million.

There are no plans to cut services or jobs as the focus will be on working more efficiently.

This could include cutting back on the number of patients who miss appointments or changing shift times for staff.

Areas being looked at includes mental health, hearing problems and infectious diseases.

The trust's annual budget is more than £430 million and it spends an average of £1,630 per resident.

Primary care trust chief executive Darren Grayson said: “We must plan ahead to make sure we continue to spend the money we receive in the most effective way to meet the changing health needs of the city’s population.

“We are doing this by looking at the services we commission and also at our organisational costs to ensure best value for money.

As part of our planning, we have identified a number of health care areas where our spending is above the national average and we will be looking at these to see whether this is appropriate and if savings are possible.

However, we must take local need into account and an across the board reduction to national average levels is not the answer.

“Brighton and Hove is not an average city.

“We have a higher than average need for certain services, including those dealing with infectious diseases and mental health, and we must continue to provide sufficient and effective health care for those who require it.”