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‘We are dismayed at the inadequate funding of our CCG’

29 dr jackie applebee power50 2016

Dear Mr Hunt and Mr Stevens,

We work in general practice in Tower Hamlets and wish to express our dismay with respect to the inadequate funding provided to our CCG with which to provide health care for the population of the borough.

Our population has grown by over 12.38% in the last four years while our allocation has increased by only 8.78%, meaning that our CCG has £12.5million less than it did five years ago. This is compounded by the fact that increases in population are not reflected in the allocation for two years meaning that we are looking after far more people than we are paid for. In addition, our population is very mobile meaning that many do not register with a GP, again skewing our population figures downwards.

We know that we are not alone in struggling to provide the health care that our population needs and deserves. We know that all over England the NHS, both primary and secondary care, is teetering on the brink of collapse, often only kept going by the goodwill of staff who go the extra mile due to dedication to the job.

This situation is not necessary.

We are the fifth largest economy in the world and, yet we have fewer doctors and nurses than the OECD average and fewer hospital beds. Despite this our NHS is the most cost-effective health care system in the developed world, though our lead has slipped since 2014 as austerity has bitten.

We are not asking simply for the formula to be re-designed to reflect deprivation and population mobility, though we do think that these factors are not weighted heavily enough. We do not wish to rob Peter to pay Paul.

The Government can afford to adequately fund our NHS and should do so. Patients should be able to trust that health workers are making decisions based on clinical need not on financial pressures.

Our publicly funded, publicly provided NHS, free at the point of delivery, is the envy of the world and was the number one issue in the last General Election.

The future of the NHS is in your hands.

Yours sincerely

Dr Jackie Applebee, chair Tower Hamlets LMC

Dr Shah Ali, GP and Tower Hamlets CCG board member

Dr Dilesh Patel, GP partner and commissioning facilitator, CCG Network 5

Dr Mayoor Agarwal, salaried GP

Dr Alison Smailes, GP partner at Chrisp Street Health Centre

Dr Emma Ovink, GP

Dr Anna Witt, GP

Dr Leon Clark, GP, Chair Tower Hamlets South East Locality Commissioning Forum

Dr Naureen Bhatti, GP and vice chair Tower Hamlets LMC

Dr Michael Berridge, GP

Dr Alex Bunn, GP

Dr Ameen Kamlana, GP

Beverley Fernando, Practice manager

Alison Mitchell, advanced nurse practitioner

Dr Sasha Abraham, GP

Dr Imrul Kayes, GP

Dr Mike Fitchett, GP

Dr Jo Richardson, GP

Dr JR Aiyengar, GP

Dr Archana Spahn, GP

Dr Matthew Noble, GP

Mostafa Farook, Practice manager

Susie Hannah, Practice manager

Saidur Rahman, IT administrator

Dr Rita Issa, GP registrar, BMA London Regional Council

Penny Louch, Nurse practitioner Partner

Dr Ben Hart, GP

Ian Jackson, Practice director, Chair, Practice Manager’s Forum

Dr Osman Bhatti, GP, Tower Hamlets CCG clinical board member

Dr Kathryn Basford, salaried GP

Dr Azita Shafei, GP

Dr Kirtikumar Shah, GP

Dr Kirsten Shirke, GP partner

Dr Judith Littlejohns, GP, Tower Hamlets CCG board member

Dr Ben Dougall, GP and Director GP Care Group, Chair of GP Network

Dr Barbara Roucayrol

Dr Sifot Ali, GP

Dr Kambiz Boomla, Senior Clinical Lecturer

Dr Kobir Ahmed, GP

Dr Liliana Risi, GP and clinical lead, prescribing and medicines optimisation

Mr Tahseen Chowdhury, Consultant

Dr Jim Cole, GP

Dr Savitha Pushparajah, GP partner

Gupinder Syan, Practice pharmacist

Ruth Waring, practice manager

Dr Gemma Eyres, GP Registrar

Dr Jennifer Eyres, GPST3

Dr Phillip Bennett-Richards, GP, Tower Hamlets GP Care Group chair

Dr Rosie Wellesley

Dr Shamira Bhikha

Dr Judith Main

Dr Sella Shanmugadasan, GP and chair, Locality Commissioning Group

Virginia Patania, Transformation partner, Tower Hamlets CCG board member

Dr Ashrafi, GP mental health lead for older adults

Sheila Rogers, practice manager

Dr Alison Arnott, GP

Dr Spyridon Symniakou, GP partner

Dr Naomi Beer, GP and Tower Hamlets LMC committee

Dr Tania Anastades, GP

Dr Jenny Read, GP