Routine hospital appointments delayed for Shepway patients as health authority deficit tops £100 Million

Kent hospitals are being told to delay routine patient appointments for eight weeks, otherwise they will not be paid for them, a new BBC report has revealed. The minimum period is being enforced by primary care trusts because a drive to meet government waiting time targets was costing too much money.

The strategic health authority which covers all hospital and primary care trusts in Kent, Surrey and Sussex said its forecast deficit for the current financial year was £104m.

A letter sent to all the trust chief executives said routine patients should not be seen "too promptly". It concluded that if hospitals failed to reduce the level of routine referrals under eight weeks, the SHA would "support non-payment [by the relevant PCT]".

The NHS have defended their letter saying:

"The local NHS is required to ensure that all patients are seen within the target times and, at the same time, to ensure it lives within its means."

The BBC report that Dr Gary Calver, a GP in Folkestone, Kent, saw the SHA letter at a British Medical Association meeting.

"It clearly means there is financial pressure to make sure patients aren't seen as quickly as they could be, even though doctors and nurses are able to see them," Dr Calver said.

NHS South East Coast said in a statement: "The local NHS is required to ensure that all patients are seen within the target times and, at the same time, to ensure it lives within its means."

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman Toby Philpott said:

"Once again we see the reality of the financial mismanagement of the NHS by the Labour Government hurting patients in this constituency."

"We've had so much rhetoric about improving patient care and cutting waiting lists and times over the past decade. Now we have the madness of doctors and nurses not being able to see people for financial reasons rather than due to excessive workloads. The Health Authority should think again."