NHS Crisis is Over, Insists Hewitt

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt insisted the financial crisis in the National Health Service was over after some “very difficult decisions”, as she visited the Black Country yesterday.

Ms Hewitt was meeting staff at Walsall Manor Hospital, which is set to be one of the first to meet a new waiting time target.

She described the hospital’s progress as “inspiring”, after staff explained how they reduced bureaucracy and worked in partnership with GPs to slash waiting times.

The visit kicked off a week of campaigning in which Labour will try to concentrate on the health service, in the run up to next month’s local elections.

Although local authorities are not responsible for health, Tony Blair’s party is keen to highlight improvements in the NHS following the high-profile over job cuts and financial deficits of recent years.

Ministers have set a target of ensuring patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral by a GP by the end of 2008, but Walsall Manor is set to reach this target for most procedures by the end of 2007.

Ms Hewitt said: “What I saw at Walsall was absolutely inspiring. I met a patient who underwent a procedure just 10 days after seeing her GP. She told me she couldn’t believe it.”

She added: “Ten years ago you would have to wait 18 months or more. I hope Walsall will be a model for other hospitals in the West Midlands.

The health service was in sound financial shape, she said.

“I warned a year ago by the end of March we would get the NHS back in financial balance and that has now been achieved.

“What I knew was that if we didn’t get a grip on it, we would have a deficit of pounds 1 billion or more by the end of March.”

Last month it emerged a third of West Midlands health trusts were set to end the financial year in the red with combined deficits of pounds 80 million, but the NHS in the region as a whole is within budget.

The Health Secretary insisted Labour was still the party of the NHS despite the criticism she and the Government has received.

“Labour created the NHS and we saved the NHS 10 years ago when we were elected and the NHS was on its last legs.

“More people were buying private health care, even if they couldn’t afford it, because of having to wait for treatment.”

(c) 2007 Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.