Government Awards Hillingdon Primary Care Trust a Budget Increase of £18.2m

Local MP John McDonnell today welcomed the Government’s decision to increase funding for Primary Care Trusts over 2008-9.

All PCTs will receive an increase of 5.5%, a total cash increase of £3.8bn, bringing the total revenue allocations to £74bn. In addition, £1.7bn of non-recurrent budgets are also being issued, meaning that 82% of the total NHS revenue budget will be issued direct to PCTs. This compares to 72% in 1996-7.

In 2008-9, Hillingdon PCT will receive a recurrent revenue allocation of £351m, a cash increase of £18.2m compared to 2007-8.

Overall, the Department of Health has trebled investment in the NHS since 1997 and this announcement puts further resources into local communities.

The five priorities for the NHS this year are:

• Improving cleanliness and reducing healthcare associated infections, in particular:
  • Maintaining the annual number of MRSA bloodstream infections at less than half the number in 2003-4, and delivering a 30% reduction in clostridium difficile by 2011, compared to the 2007-8 baseline figure
• Improving access through achievement of the 18-week referral to treatment pledge and improving access (including at evening and weekends) to GP services, specifically:
  • By December 2008, no-one should have to wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred to the beginning of their treatment unless it is clinically appropriate to do so or they choose to wait longer, and PCTs need to ensure that at least 50% of GP practices in their area offer extended opening to their patients.
• Keeping adults and children well, improving their health and reducing health inequalities by tackling lifestyle diseases:
  • Cancer: going further on our existing commitments to make progress towards delivering the Cancer Reform Strategy
  • Stroke: driving up standards of care to reduce mortality and morbidity through implementation of the Stroke Strategy
  • Children: improving children’s and young people’s physical and mental health and well-being
  • Maternity: improving access as part of the wider Maternity Matters Strategy to deliver safe, high quality maternity care for all women, their partners and their babies
• Improving patient experience, staff satisfaction, and engagement
• Preparing to respond in a state of emergency such as an outbreak of pandemic flu

In a letter sent to Labour MPs, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health wrote “the allocation of £74bn to PCTs in 2008-9 I am announcing today, alongside the priorities I have also set out for the NHS next year, will ensure continued improvement in the quality of care provided by the NHS.”

Local MP John McDonnell said “Hillingdon PCT has experienced severe financial problems in recent years but is now coming out of these difficulties. This additional funding increase will greatly assist in improving health care within our area and will help overcome some of the past financial issues”.

submitted by John on 18 Dec 2007 at 10:33