Hospital's plan to save £20million

NHS South West Essex has told Basildon and Thurrock Hospitals Foundation Trust it must make the savings during 2011/12.

Under the hospital’s plans to cut its costs, there will be a crackdown on hospital referrals, more people will be treated in their communities and hospital patients will be discharged and returned to their GP’s care sooner to prevent bed-blocking.

It comes after we reported yesterday NHS South West Essex is reducing the amount of operations it performs, including knee and hip replacements, to the removal of tonsils, gastric band operations and hernia repairs.

The money-saving measure is set to be enforced through a change of rules, so the operations will no longer be performed as a matter of course and patients will have to meet a strict list of criteria before they get the go-ahead to go under the scalpel.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said: “As an NHS organisation that has consistently balanced its books every year since first becoming a trust in 1992, we completely understand and support the need for the overall local NHS economy to reduce its expenditure to affordable levels.

“We have a duty of care to our patients and must ensure that, whatever steps are taken, our patients remain our first priority.

“However, there are patients who could be better treated in the community, patients who perhaps do need to be referred to us in the first place and patients who could be returned to their GP’s care sooner.

“As a result, NHS South West Essex plans to commission less clinical activity from the hospital in 2011/12.”

The hospital is due to make a presentation to Essex County Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee today, which will include details of the hospital’s efficiency programme to deliver the savings.

The meeting will also discuss further reductions to community health services, issues with delayed discharges from the hospital, projects achieved over the past year and future milestones.