Recent reports have revealed hundreds of GP surgeries, A&E units and walk-in centres are facing closure due to NHS financial problems, understaffing and modernisation plans.
Over the past four months 70 NHS services across England have been shut down or have been downgraded, some of which included maternity units and community hospitals.
Holly Maltby, a campaigner with 38 degrees said: “Cuts and closures are being made and threated to frontline NHS services across the country.”
She also added: “It is clear from the findings that the impact of NHS underfunding is being felt across England and access to services is under threat of being compromised.”
With the NHS is already under extreme pressures, and with Christmas approaching, service closures driven by budgetary cuts are adding a considerable strain to parts of the system.
Who’s at risk of closure?
- With Mental Health care being a top government priority, seven mental health services are at risk of closure, including a hospital located in the East Midlands.
- As a result of plans to reorganise urgent and emergency care units six A&E’s are under threat in the South West of England, the East of England and Yorkshire.
- Since July an A&E in the South West of England ceased to function between 10pm until 8am, since staffing shortage meant there wasn’t enough staff to provide safe patient care.
- Nine different GP practices, which are set to close will leave 45,000 patients without a family doctor.
With details of the closures being unveiled a week before the budget, Phillip Hammond is under great amounts of pressure to increase NHS funding.
NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens wants an extra £4 billion, a lot more than the £700 million that ministers initially planned for.
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