2008 News

Kingston PCT reveals that Springboard Consultation is ‘box ticking’ 4/2/2008

Helen attended the public consultation on the future of Springboard last week. Participants
were shocked to hear from David Smith, Chief Executive of the PCT, that option one [to
keep Springboard] “is not an option”. As the evening went on it became clear that the
consultation process is deeply flawed, including bias in the briefing materials, a lack of
clarity on costs and savings from the various options and confusing wording. The three
options outlined by the PCT consultation were criticised for being inadequate. Option One
is for Springboard to ‘stay at it is’. The PCT must now justify including this option in the
consultation if there are no circumstances in which this might be the outcome. If it has
already been discounted this should be made clear to the public. Option two consists of
turning Springboard into a voluntary sector organisation or social enterprise. In theory this
could be a long-term solution, but in practice the centre would be likely to struggle for
funding. The PCT has done very little to make this option viable. A commitment of
transitional funding of 50,000 for three years by the PCT, thanks to pressure from Cllr
Mary Clarke and Helen Whately, is a step in the right direction but insufficient. Option
three is to “invest in the Early Intervention Service” but when Helen Whately asked David
Smith whether the investment from Springboard’s half-a-million budget (518,395) would be
nearer 10,000 or 100,000 David Smith replied "nearer the former". It is also clear that this
investment is not aimed at Springboard’s users, as few of them fall into the age range for
the Early Intervention Service.

During the next few weeks Springboard’s users will be assessed to determine their future support needs. If the assessments indicate that substantial ongoing care and support is required, this will either need to be funded by Kingston PCT or Kingston Council. Kingston council has indicated that it does not have funds for this, and representatives from Kingston PCT suggested they do not have budget put aside. They appeared to have no idea of the likely cost of the alternative services to be provided to Springboard users, nor who will pay.

Representatives from Kingston PCT and South West London & St George’s Mental Health Trust also indicated that the move to close Springboard is being driven by need to meet national targets, rather than consideration of local needs. Helen commented on the consultation: “I was astonished when the Chief Executive said “option one is not an option” – his statement confirmed my suspicions that the PCT sees the consultation as a ‘box ticking’ exercise. “The PCT seems to be banking on saving the lions share of Springboard’s funding even though there may be ongoing costs for users’ care. They said they had no idea of how much these costs could be, suggesting they have no budget put aside. At the heart of this campaign is our determination that Springboard’s users will not be left in the lurch, with neither the council not the NHS willing to pay for their care. “PCT representatives said several times that they could not answer questions until the patients had been assessed – which begs the question of why, when they have been planning this closure for so many months, they have left the assessments so late."
“The final straw was when the PCT and Mental Health Trust revealed that failure to meet national targets is driving their decisions on Springboard; they should be making decisions based on local needs, not on national targets”.

MRSA rates at Epsom & St Helier Hospitals are the highest in England, Helen raises concerns. 5th February 2008
Recently released MRSA infection data show that Epsom & St. Helier University Hospitals have the worst infection rate in the country, ranking bottom of 170 Acute Hospital Trusts in England. The figures show a 30% increase in cases of MRSA against the same period (April to September) in 2006. This goes against the national trend which shows an average national reduction of 30%. In November Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust launched its own ‘Clean Your Hands’ campaign on the back of a national initiative that has been running since 2004. The question that must be asked is was this campaign a reaction to these dangerously high MRSA infection levels? If so, shouldn’t the hospital have made the public aware of these high infection levels and let patients come to an informed decision on whether to use it?

As Epsom and St Helier are the local hospitals for many residents in Kingston and Surbiton, Helen has written to the Chief Executive, Samantha Jones, to find out why the Trust is experiencing such high MRSA rates and whether the ‘Clean Your Hands’ campaign is working, as urgent action is clearly required. The situation at Kingston Hospital is not good, but at least not as bad as Epsom and St Helier. Kingston has a higher than average MRSA infection rate and is ranked 30th (from bottom) on MRSA infection rate. MRSA cases have fallen since 2006, but the fall has been just 22% compared to national fall of 30%, and there has been an increase in cases in the last 3 months reported (July to September 2007). Helen said: “It is a matter of grave public concern that MRSA infection rates at Epsom & St Helier Hospitals are the highest in England. These are the local hospitals for residents in the south and east of the borough and understandably, many will be extremely worried about the risk of picking up MRSA if they have to go to hospital. I have requested clarification from the Chief Executive on why infection rates are so high and what action is being taken to significantly reduce the number of MRSA cases. I would specifically like to know if their plans to combat MRSA, announced in November 2007, are having any impact. I would also like to commend Kingston Hospital for reducing their MRSA infections over the last two years but there is still significant room for improvement. I am concerned about the latest figures showing an increase in the number MRSA cases.

Save Our Post Offices 19th February 2008
This weekend five Post Offices in Kingston and Surbiton constituency have received notice of closure, subject to a brief consultation period. A number have yet to hear whether they are due to close. We are launching an immediate campaign to Save Our Post Offices, led by Helen. Helen will be protesting along with local councillors, residents and shopkeepers, all of whom are very concerned about the closures. The protests outside Post Offices are at the following times this coming Saturday (23rd February): Hook Rise PO, 311 Hook Rise South, Surbiton, KT6 7LS 9 - 10am, Surbiton Park PO, 62 Surbiton Road, Kingston, KT1 2HT 10 - 11am, Norbiton Common PO, 240 Kingston Road, New Malden,KT3 3RN 10 - 11am, Burlington Road PO, 82 Burlington Road, New Malden, KT3 4NU 10 - 11.30am, Plough Green PO, 380 Malden Road, Worcester Park, KT4 7NL 10.30 - 12.30pm. Come and help us save these vital local services.