Commenting on today’s Care Quality Commission Report showing that a quarter of NHS Trusts have been identified as high risk, Christina McAnea, UNISON Head of Health, said:
“This is a shocking indictment of this governments management of the NHS. Even if these are just indicators of where there may be more serious problems, this is a very high figure.
“Individual trusts will need to take action but this should also set off a major alert in the government that their policies are seriously damaging the NHS.
“Funding cuts, job losses and the impact of major, unnecessary structural reforms have left some parts of the NHS in chaos. Staff and mangers are working hard to deliver quality care for patients against a backdrop of a government that seems more interested dismantling the NHS in England than improving patient care and safety.
“This report must not be used to deliberately undermine services. What we want are assurances that the problems that have been highlighted today will be properly investigated, understood and resolved rather than used as a reason for knee-jerk outsourcing or franchising models.”