226 children’s operations have been cancelled at Northern Care Alliance hospitals over the last 5 years, many due to a shortage of staff and beds, shocking figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

Leader of Oldham Liberal Democrats councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The number of children’s operations that have been cancelled across Oldham over the last five years will send a chill down every parent’s spine.  But the truth is these figures are only the latest evidence that our local NHS services are now on life support after years of neglect from the Conservative government.”

“The waiting lists for cancer treatments, the unacceptable ambulance waiting times and the crumbling state of our hospitals and surgeries.  Every day we see the NHS sink deeper and deeper into chaos under this government.”

Data obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests, shows that the longest wait for a children’s operation was 619 days.

Councillor Sykes said, “The Liberal Democrats are urging the government to come up with a rescue plan to bring health services back from the brink.  This would include bringing in a proper plan to tackle workforce shortages in the NHS, investing in newer equipment and increasing bed capacity at local hospitals.”

“Oldham Council needs to do more as well.  Liberal Democrats are the only party who are calling for a scrutiny board to be set up to work alongside Northern Care Alliance.  Until we have that, people in Oldham will have no voice and no say in how their health services are run.”  

NOTES

Councillor Sykes raises scrutiny of Northern Care Alliance

Renewed calls for scrutiny of Northern Care Alliance after “appalling” discharge figures and 12-hour A&E waits  – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

Full data broken down by local NHS trust is available here.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding a rescue plan for the NHS and care. This would include:

Recruit an extra 8,000 GPs to deliver 65 million more appointments a year, taking pressure off hospitals and getting patients the urgent attention they need.

Boosting capital investment in the health service, including increasing the number of hospital beds and investing in newer equipment.

Introduce a Carer’s Minimum Wage for social care workers to stem the exodus of staff and ensure hospitals can discharge their patients safely and efficiently.

Ensure the Government brings forward their NHS workforce plan now, and fully fund pay rises for staff so that the NHS doesn’t have to stretch its budget even further.