More openness needed to get the best deal for patients and carers through the NHS "Sustainability Plan" says Cllr Jerry Roodhouse

Councillor Jerry Roodhouse, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group, has written to the local papers about the NHS "Sustainability Plan" and the need for greater transparency to get the best deal for patients and health professionals.

Dear Editor,

I wonder how many residents have heard of the NHS "Sustainability Transformation Plan" or STP as they are known probably not many. Last week media outlets released details of these documents which have been in production for some time. These plans bring together NHS bodies, Councils and Community providers and detail the changes needed to tackle our growing and ageing population over a 5 year period.

The footprint for our local plan is Coventry & Warwickshire and is presently chaired by the Chief Executive UHCW hospital; I let you draw your own conclusions. The document as you would expect is full of jargon and is difficult for communities to understand unless of course you are fully involved in the process. It has in the main been worked on by professionals and in meetings away from the public eye or from any form of scrutiny. Could it bring benefits? Potentially yes just by getting health and social care to work more closely together and to integrate services should bring about benefits. If nothing is done a potential £359 million deficit by 2020/21. As I have already stated the STP document is full of words and jargon but I am more interested in finding out what do these words mean in practice and what will they mean for residents, patients, carers etc.

We are told by NHS England and other professionals not to worry as "We will consult before any changes" which worries me even more. It is about time we opened up the STP process in Coventry and Warwickshire giving it the transparency needed. Most people I speak to fully recognise that Health & Care services need to change but these changes need to be done with our local communities and not behind closed doors.

Yours

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse Leader Liberal Democrats Group.

The letter was published in the Rugby Observer on 1 September 2016.