£200k for £300 a day NHS PR chief

SOLIHULL NHS chiefs spent £200,000 on a £300-a-day PR boss over four years, it has been revealed.

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NHS bosses defend savings after death

HEALTH chiefs have insisted cost cutting measures will not put patients at risk following concerns over a swine flu death.

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Walk in centre death concerns paramedics

SOLIHULL paramedics are resisting managers’ calls to avoid A&E to save cash after a patient taken to a walk-in centre died from swine flu.

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0.1 per cent gave views on maternity axe

JUST 181 people gave their views on controversial plans to downgrade Solihull Hospital’s maternity unit – with most backing the move.

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26 per cent rise in depression drugs

PRESCRIPTIONS of anti-depressant drugs in Solihull have soared by 26 per cent in four years, figures obtained by The Silhillian show.

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£434k redundancy for 13 NHS workers

MORE than £400,000 in redundancy payments were made to 13 NHS workers last year, figures uncovered by The Silhillian show.

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Hospital waits increase under coalition

HOSPITAL waiting times have worsened for Solihull patients since April last year, new figures show.

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'Disappointed' NHS workers to escape redundancy

HEALTH workers have shown a ‘good response’ to calls for voluntary redundancy, meaning some will be ‘disappointed’ not to go, an NHS boss said.

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Jobs face axe at Solihull NHS

REDUNDANCIES are to be made at Solihull’s NHS authority.

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Patient dies after nose tube 'misplaced'

A PROBE has been launched into a patient death after a tube which is inserted via the nose was ‘misplaced’.

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Patient died after x-ray not followed up

HEALTH chiefs have launched a probe after staff failed to follow up a patient’s lung x-ray more than a year before their death.

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Doctor: maternity axe will bring 'improvements'

REMOVING most births from Solihull Hospital offers will deliver ‘far reaching improvements to health’ a top doctor has said.

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Solihull NHS spent £500k on management consultants

SOLIHULL NHS chiefs spent more than £500,000 on management consultants last year.

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Solihull social services in massive shake-up

A MUCH vaunted plan to run NHS and social care from one organisation is to be torn up amid criticism of services.

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NHS to report on 'successes and challenges'

THE body which decides what NHS services are provided to Solihull people is urging residents to attend its AGM.

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Back computer medical records, NHS chiefs urge

SOLIHULL health chiefs are urging residents to let them share their medical records via a computer system.

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Letter reveals NHS concerns over baby death

A HEALTH chief quizzed another over lack of staff and procedures after a baby death and other near misses that led to maternity cuts in Solihull Hospital, The Silhillian can reveal.

Ian Mather, consultant in public health at Solihull NHS Care Trust wrote to hospital boss Ian Cunliffe with concerns following two September 2008 incidents that ended with one newborn dead.

This led to concerns within the trust – which decides where NHS cash is spent – that led to plans to close the maternity unit. Bosses said lack of staff posed too much a danger.

In the first incident a woman expecting a normal birth had to undergo a caesarean at Solihull Hospital after the baby’s heart rate increased.

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Private plan for NHS services

HEALTH chiefs have shortlisted NHS services that could be run by private firms.

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Hospital spending to be slashed by a quarter

HOSPITAL spending is to be slashed by a quarter in the next two years as bosses bid to plug a £30m black hole.

Solihull Care Trust – which decides where NHS cash is spent – will stop or move services into the community to save more than £25m.

This ‘disinvestment’ will see 23 per cent less spent on hospitals. A total £26.4m will be pulled out of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust – with £5.6m put back.

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Maternity chiefs' legal action fears

HEALTH chiefs fear legal action over the impending closure of maternity services at Solihull Hospital.

Bosses are to shut the unit in the coming month to prepare for changes that will see doctor-led births removed from April 1.

A full consultation will take place in the autumn on its long-term future.

An NHS report says: “Interim closure of Solihull maternity unit pending consultation is likely to lead to significant political and possibly legal challenge.”

Solihull NHS Care Trust again warns of ‘significant reputational damage’ over the moves.

They argue the current service is putting children at risk as there is not enough doctor cover.

The report – which sets out steps in the coming year – says ‘pro-active’ communication with the press is needed.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust has set up a communications website and yesterday posted its first ‘blog’.

Yet SCT and another trust has caused controversy by spending £40,000 on a PR ‘spin doctor’ to argue the case for change.

To read the report click here and open 2010.030 Maternity PID. Click here for all maternity stories.

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