‘Searing indictment’

The NHS in Cornwall needs a cash injection of ÂŁ100m to restore health services in the county, following a damning report on the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.

The call comes from Unite which says the money is needed to wipe out the trust’s £72m deficit and a further £30m to restore services for Cornwall’s 550,000-strong population.

Unite, which has 100,000 members in the health service, said such a cash injection could be used to re-open the temporarily closed community hospitals at Fowey, Saltash and St Ives, and recruit for the estimated 300 vacancies at the trust which currently can’t be filled because of budget cuts.

Unite regional officer Stuart Roden said, “The case for a massive financial injection for the NHS in Cornwall is unanswerable, given the scathing indictment of the trust from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

“Cornwall has six Tory MPs and they should stop sitting on their hands and be banging on the door of health secretary Jeremy Hunt asking for a large financial boost for Cornwall.

“The fault clearly lies at the door of central government and the hypocrisy of local MPs who voted for these cuts is astounding. The key issues are funding, training and pay.

“The CQC report is a searing indictment of Tory funding cuts over the last seven years.

“With constant management changes, top down reorganisations and massive funding cuts, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Our members are angry and outraged that they cannot rely on a safe and reliable health provision in Cornwall.

“Our members, who work in the NHS, have continued to do a great job in the most difficult of circumstances and the CQC recognises their enormous contribution.”

It is reported that NHS Improvement has placed Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in special measures after the CQC inspection which said patients suffered harm as a result of waiting too long for care.

Unite has several hundred members at the trust.