{"id":11849,"date":"2017-03-21T16:21:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T16:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11849"},"modified":"2017-03-22T12:57:13","modified_gmt":"2017-03-22T12:57:13","slug":"come-clean-stps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11849","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Come clean on STPs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

New figures uncovered today (March 21) by the Press Association (PA) have sparked outrage, as it was revealed that controversial sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) to reorganise the NHS are wasting millions of pounds on management consultants hired to cut services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Freedom of information requests made by the PA found that more than \u00c2\u014117m \u00e2\u20ac\u201c at the very least \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has been paid out to big consulting firms such as KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and McKinsey among others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite was among the first organisations to highlight the dangers of STPs which have divided England into 44 separate regions for the purpose of achieving \u00c2\u014122bn in savings the NHS is being forced to carry out as it suffers from severe government underfunding.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The PA found that London STPs in particular spent a significant amount on consultants. In southwest London, where services across five hospitals are being reviewed, more than \u00c2\u01414m has been spent on management consultants, including \u00c2\u01411,807,340 to PwC for \u00e2\u20ac\u015bprogramme support.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In north central London, the STP there has spent \u00c2\u01412,235,204 on management consultants, including \u00c2\u0141360,000 to McKinsey for \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmental health modelling\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all while STP bosses are seeking to review maternity and emergency surgery as they plan to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bconsolidate\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In north east London, nearly \u00c2\u0141400,000 was paid to PwC consultancy, while Carnall Farrar received \u00c2\u0141150,000.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McKinsey consulting firm was paid half a million by the Northamptonshire STP for \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsupport for development of STP care models\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and was also paid \u00c2\u0141195,000 for management support. They also paid the PR firm People, Words and Pictures nearly \u00c2\u014160,000 for “strategic and editorial communications support”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cloaked in secrecy <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This was not the first time it has been revealed that STPs are spending money on public relations in an ostensible attempt to divert public attention from the dark side of STPs, which have been cloaked in secrecy since their creation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last month, Unite discovered<\/a> that the Humber, Coast and Vale STP had asked marketing and communications firms to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bexpress an interest\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 in a \u00c2\u014110,000 nine-month contract to carry out a marketing campaign that aimed to downplay cuts to NHS services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The expression of interest stated, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSocial media and \u00e2\u20ac\u0098guerrilla marketing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 campaign to link the work of the Humber Coast and Vale Sustainability and Transformation Plan (HCV STP) with real life patient and service user experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want to turn down the noise about cuts to services and risks to the NHS, and be able to demonstrate that our population understands that a focus on quality and prevention will sustain services into the future.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A King\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Fund report<\/a>, in which STP leaders were interviewed, revealed that some leaders felt under pressure to spend money on management consultants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Some leaders felt that STPs had ‘created an industry’ for management consultants – and questions were raised about why money is being invested in advice from private companies instead of in frontline services,” the report noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“In one area, STP leaders even felt under pressure from NHS England’s regional team to increase the amount of money they were spending on management and consultancy support. One leader told us they were ‘picked out’ for not spending enough on their STP programme, compared with other STP areas in the region.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gravy train \u00e2\u20ac\u0098out of control\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite national officer for health Sarah Carpenter said the latest findings from the PA show \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba management consultancy gravy train that is completely out of control, at a time when frontline services, such as A&E departments, are stretched to breaking point.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite has been raising the alarm since last year that the highly secretive STPs in England are a Trojan Horse designed to push through an agenda of cuts and privatisation of NHS services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHarry Potter would need all his wizard powers to cut through the obfuscation and lack of transparency surrounding the STPs which appear to have been structured so that the public knows as little as possible about what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening to their beloved NHS,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHealth secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens need to come clean as to exactly what STPs mean for millions of patients facing lengthening waiting lists for operations and to have an appointment with their GP.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA first step would be to pull the plug on this wasteful expenditure on these very expensive management consultants and to fight for \u00e2\u20ac\u0098real\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 increases in the NHS budget. Reports that local health managers felt under pressure by NHS England to employ these firms highlight this obsession with management consultants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat the public wants is more doctors, nurses and paramedics, not management \u00e2\u20ac\u0098whizz kids\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 brandishing flip charts and PowerPoint presentations.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Privatisation by stealth <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite is especially fearful that STPs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which the union has dubbed \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSlash, Trash and Privatise\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 plans \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are a smokescreen for further privatisation of the health service by stealth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even NHS England Director of Strategy Michael McDonnell told the Health Service Journal last year<\/a> that STPs were \u00e2\u20ac\u015bvery much going to be how we think about the future\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, and that they offered private and third sector organisations an \u00e2\u20ac\u015benormous amount of opportunity.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This privatisation threatens to be turbocharged after chancellor Phillip Hammond announced<\/a> in his latest budget an additional \u00c2\u0141325m in funding set aside specifically for STPs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carpenter said that such privatisation must be challenged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to step up our campaign to roll-back the tide of the profit-hungry private providers that are gaining an increasing foothold in the NHS \u00e2\u20ac\u201c where the profit motive trumps patient care,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe STPs are a Trojan Horse designed to promote that perfidious agenda \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they need to be fought tooth-and-claw.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carpenter pledged too that Unite will be lead in the campaign \u00e2\u20ac\u015bto raise awareness as to the real impact for people in their local communities and the adverse impact on much-valued NHS services, such as the possible closure of A&E units.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign against STPs here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New figures uncovered today (March 21) by the Press Association (PA) have sparked outrage, as it was revealed that controversial sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) to reorganise the NHS are wasting millions of pounds on management consultants hired to cut services.   Freedom of information requests made by the PA found that more than \u00c2\u014117m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[75,632],"wps_subtitle":"NHS: Profit-hungry private firms rake in \u00c2\u014117m","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11853,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11849\/revisions\/11853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}