Please sign letter of outright opposition to the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Sustainability and Transformation Plan

Please add your name to this letter if you agree with it, by putting your name in the comments box, with your campaign group (if applicable) and the town/village where you live. We shall then copy and paste them into the letter.

There is a Stop STP protest on Friday October 21st, 12 noon – 1pm, outside Wakefield CCG offices, White Rose House, West Parade, Wakefield WF1 1LT – this is the deadline for the Sustainability and Transformation Plans to be sent to NHS England. It would be good to have a lot of signatures on the letter and to hand it in then. More info about the protest shortly.

LETTER STARTS

Stop the Sustainability and
Transformation Plans

(Address redacted)

Rob Webster,
West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP Lead
NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group
White Rose House
West Parade
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF1 1LT                                                                                                                             19 October 2016

Dear Rob Webster

We cannot over-state our concern at the scale of the cuts and the dismantling of the NHS which the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Sustainability and Transformation Plan will bring about.

We are all too aware of the fact that Sustainability and Transformation Plans are designed to bring about a massive contraction of what was once a universal, comprehensive health service – to the point where they threaten the ability of Clinical Commissioning Groups to meet their statutory requirements in terms of the services they provide, and to assure the quality of services. Sustainability and Transformation Plans will involve closure of hospitals, A&Es, whole services and the general downgrading of services through staff cost reductions.

It is also clear from conditions attached to sustainability and transformation funding, and from statements by the NHS Confederation and the Director of the NHS England Strategy Group, Michael Macdonnell, that Sustainability and Transformation Plans will radically increase NHS privatisation.

The Five Year Forward View and its accelerated implementation through Sustainability and Transformation Plans are driven by NHS England functionaries who were previously employed by global American private health insurance and digital health technology companies, United Health and Cerner.

It is shocking that the Five Year Forward View/Sustainability and Transformation Plans new models of care, modern workforce and new forms of contracting are all copies of systems used by United Health and Cerner.

The American health system is one of the most costly and least effective in the world – and Simon Stevens and Matthew Swindells aim to extend its profiteering tentacles into our NHS

We object strongly to the process of turning our public service NHS into a cash cow for the corporations that Simon Stevens and Mathew Swindells worked for before spinning through the revolving door into the NHS England quango.

We deplore your participation in the process of asset stripping the NHS and turning it into a private/public enterprise that will serve corporate interests instead of the public interest – the real agenda of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

We are furious at the corruption that sees the government work for the benefit of its corporate cronies rather than for the people whose interests it is supposed to protect and advance.

Given this we can only state our outright opposition to the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Sustainability and Transformation Plan and the six locality Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

Yours sincerely,

Jenny Shepherd, Chair, Calderdale and Kirklees 999 Call for the NHS

Chrissie Ann Parker, Huddersfield

Rosemary Hedges, Secretary, Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign Group

Christine Hyde, North Kirklees Support the NHS

Stephanie Clarke, Halifax

Colin Hutchinson, Halifax

Paul Cooney, Secretary, Huddersfield Keep Our NHS Public

Katherine Horner,  Calderdale and Kirklees 999 Call for the NHS

Victoria Kennedy, Huddersfield

Phillipa Head, Calderdale

Annie Honjo, Todmorden

Lorna Goldman, Hands off HRI Campaign

Kaz Taylor, HandsoffHRI

Wendy Dyson, fighting for our NHS upper Colne valley

Jenny Tierney #handsoffhri campaign

Michael Galvin, Wakefield This process must be stopped before it goes any further. It is driven by financial and ideological considerations not from what is best for public and patients and is being progressed in an entirely undemocratic way. Barely Lip service has been paid to public consultation and engagement. A means of bringing the medical profession together with patients and public to restore and strengthen the doctor patient relationship is urgently required

Terry Hallworth, Holmfirth

Susan Hallworth, Holmfirth

Julie Roebuck. Upper Colne Valley Group, part of Hands Off HRI

Peter Davis, Calderdale 38 Degrees NHS Campaign

Andrea English (Rastrick)

Christopher Shedden (Ovenden, Halifax)

Clare Naughton, Save Our Accident & Emergency Dewsbury

Cristina George #HandsoffHRI

Cheryl Burns, Huddersfield

Charlie Gates, Halifax

Clare Naughton, Save Our Accident & Emergency Dewsbury

Sue Kitching, Linthwaite, Huddersfield #handsoffhri

Brigid Harbour, Huddersfield

Frances Taylor

Maureen Sykes Roberttown Grange RTA

Roger Dyson upper Colne valley #handsoffhri

Janet Bertola Halifax
Jenny Rivett Ipswich Green Party member

Judith Joy

I totally oppose this undemocratic plan which will mean cuts to our vital NHS services. 38 Degrees Skipton and KONP
Lizzie Fletcher 38 Degrees

Yvette Wilson, Hands off HRI