Funding crisis leads to A&E closures

THE NHS in England is drawing up plans to close services including A&E departments and district hospitals amid a dire funding crisis.

Experts warned there could be a “glut” of hospital services shut down as providers face a £23 billion national funding deficit.

An investigation commissioned by campaign group 38 Degrees uncovered 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans being drawn up across England to meet significant cuts.

The revelations come after Stafford County Hospital suspended its A&E service for children on Thursday after senior staff said it was not clinically safe.

38 Degrees said the analysis, carried out by health policy experts Incisive Health, “reveals far-reaching plans to close services, which appear to have had little input from patients and the public”.

Director at 38 Degrees Laura Townshend said the findings show the NHS is “dangerously funded”.

She said: “The health service is struggling to cope with growing black holes in NHS funding. These new revelations will be a test of Theresa May’s commitment to a fully-funded National Health Service.”

The findings come as Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents frontline NHS leaders, warned that a “glut” of hospital services could shut down.

Mr Hopson called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS England boss Simon Stevens to admit there is a disparity between what the NHS is being asked to achieve and the money that is available to do it.

A spokesman for NHS Improvement said: “It is absolutely right that decisions on the future of health services are taken locally in consultation with the people who use those services. That planning process is still going on and no decisions have been taken.” under-