As NHS cutbacks bite, meet the man standing up for patients’ rights (From Worcester News)

As NHS cutbacks bite, meet the man standing up for patients’ rights

8:11am Wednesday 8th February 2012 in James Connell

SOME very tough decisions lie ahead for NHS chiefs but at least the people of Worcestershire can count on someone equally tough to fight their corner during the troubled times ahead.

Professor Rod Griffiths will sit at the helm of a group called the “stakeholder reference board”

which, despite its grindingly dull and uninspiring title, will have a hugely important task in the months to come.

The group has been set up to make sure people have a voice during a major review of NHS services as leaders try to close a yawning hole in healthcare finances which will widen to between £150 million and £200 million in Worcestershire in the next two years unless action is taken.

Inflation, a growing and increasingly elderly population, the cost of treating people who are ill because of their unhealthy lifestyles and the introduction of new drugs and technologies mean the NHS will buckle unless something is done, and quickly, to lighten the crushing load.

When Professor Griffiths was offered this daunting position by Eamonn Kelly, chief executive of NHS Worcestershire, his response was, “why not get a judge to do it?”

Such is the labyrinthine complexity of the NHS it seems logical that a judge, aware of the legal pitfalls, might be as well equipped as a health expert to handle such a challenging role.

Prof Griffiths, a 66-year-old father-of-three from Diglis, Worcester, will be at the helm of the group, made up of representatives from the private, public, voluntary and community sector.

Dr Richard Taylor, the former Wyre Forest MP and retired hospital consultant who fought the downgrading of Kidderminster Hospital, is also on the board.

Prof Griffiths, the former director of public health for central Birmingham, qualified in medicine back in 1969, giving him more than 40 years’ experience in the health service. He is also a lecturer and professor of public health at the University of Birmingham and has been chairman of the Association of Community Health Councils.

He is wellconnected and is a friend of the flamboyant former MP Edwina Currie (they still exchange Christmas cards) and with his experience is no stranger to reorganisations of the NHS, including the latest controversial reforms, which involves abolishing primary care trusts and strategic health authorities and putting Clinical Commissioning Groups in charge of NHS budgets.

He says with a wry smile: “Every single organisation I have worked for has been abolished. You can’t say one system is best because we have had six different ones and they have all worked out okay. I don’t know why there is this obsession with reorganisation. It usually wastes a couple of years.”

One of the things he has observed is that politicians, once they have decided they want to change the shape of the NHS, often want to see those changes immediately, which is hard in an organisation as vast and complicated as the health service.

The stakeholder reference board will obtain information from the public via public roadshows, telephone and e-mail so there is effectively “no wrong door” for public and patient input.

When he asked what ideas for savings would likely come up for review he said: “I just don’t know.

They need to go in with a blank sheet.”

But he said because of the range of bodies involved – Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust which manages Worcestershire Royal Hospital; NHS Worcestershire, which pays for services; the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, which runs community hospitals and mental health services; and Worcestershire County Council – there were likely to be a far wider range of options on the table than if just one of these organisations was involved.

Prof Griffiths has health problems of his own which means he uses some of the services at Worcestershire Royal Hospital that are the subject of the review.

He said: “I go to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for several appointments a year. There is one department I go to and I have never had an appointment that started on time. It’s not a busy-looking place.

“There’s another department I go to which is like a cattle market with people all rushing about but every time my appointment is started dead on time. Those two departments have a completely different philosophy and a view of how things are supposed to be. It’s also clear the two have never talked to each other.

“That indicates we have spent too much time thinking about the technology but not enough time thinking about the patient experience. I think we could probably make it run more effectively and feel better for patients. That’s what this consultation is about.

“People in the NHS have a statutory job to consult the population if they’re going to change things. It seems you get a better answer if you have a lot more of the population engaged with the question.”

But he does say something to ease the fears about potential cuts as a result of the review after Eamonn Kelly said beds may have to be closed. He said: “In a sense everything is on the table and nothing is on the table. It’s surprising how much flexibility you can get into the system if you try. I wouldn’t necessarily expect there to be slash and burn.”

Prof Griffiths sees his role as reaching out to people in the public to make sure no one is left out.

So what will he do if he feels the NHS top brass are not listening?

He said: “I will find some way of getting their attention. I will find some way of making sure they that they know what I think and something gets done about it. I’m not going to do the job just to be ignored. I’m a man who gets things done. I don’t just put noses out of joint but I’m very good at doing it in such a way that they don’t know it’s out of joint until afterwards. I have always had a knack of being tough with people without them taking it too personally. There will be some tough choices people have to make. I don’t know what they will be but I will be surprised if they’re not given the scale of the problems emerging.”

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MARK ROADSHOW DATES

The meetings are being held from 6pm to 7.30pm on...

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Elgar Room, The Council House, Avenue Road, Malvern
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Council Chamber, Redditch Town Hall, Walter Stanz Square, Redditch
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Main Hall, Evesham Town Hall, Market Place, Evesham
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Corn Exchange, Kidderminster Town Hall, Kidderminster
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Seminar Room, St Richard’s Hospice, Wildwood Drive, Worcester
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29
Council Chamber, Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove