South Reading Patient Voice

The NHS is now setting out its plans for the next five years when spending increases will be well below demand.

In 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plan "footprints" (areas) CCGs and NHS providers are formulating plans to cope with the stress to come. (We are in the Western Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire STP area known as BOB/WeBOB/COBWeB).

NHS England has ruled that the current draft plans must not be shared with the public as considerable resistance is expected, although they will have been shown to members of the Reading Health and Wellbeing Board in private and confidential session, so Reading Healthwatch and leading councillors will have seen draft plans. (Consulting with representatives of the public is sufficient to satisfy the NHS constitution.) We are told that there will be "consultation" when the final plans are published but as final sign-off is predicted for the end of October there may not be much time for discussion or opportunity for change.

The BBC reported early news on these plans under the headline "NHS cuts planned across England" after an investigation funded by campaigning organisation 38 degrees produced details of planned ward closures, A&E closures, hospital downgrades and service transfers from sample areas.