LETTER: Supporting Our NHS campaign

I am writing to give my support to the Herald's excellent campaign, Our NHS.

With the Government’s £2million cut from its £5million public health grant to West Sussex County Council this year, there simply isn’t the money left to replace this further cut, which will have a negative impact on people in the county as practical and educational assistance on health has to be cut back.

As the latest reorganisation of the NHS, Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), which seems to be office speak for do more with less money and fewer doctors and nurses, starts to bite the Sussex and Surrey STP footprint can expect another approximate £670million cut to their funding.

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STPs are based on an American health management theory pioneered by the Virginia Mason Institute of Seattle, USA, called ‘Lean Medicine’, which was itself copied from the Japanese car industry.

Whether this theory can be transplanted to our NHS remains to be seen, but readers of a certain age who remember hospitals before the founding of our NHS will remember the flag days, collection box rattling, charities and doctors’ fees that funded private hosptals in the pre-NHS days.

I fear that, unless NHS funding is increased to the European average, our NHS and Worthing and Sussex hospitals will need all the volunteers and charity box collectors they can get.

Mike Barrett

Cranworth Road

Worthing

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