Hospital ReOpens Op Theatre for Patricia Hewitt's Visit

It's not often I quote a front page national newspaper article in full, but this merits it, as it symbolises what's wrong with the National Health Service and its management. It has the added benefit of showing up Nurse Patricia Hewitt for the sanctimonious idiot that she is. And if you question my use of the word 'idiot' just look at the picture to your left. I rest my case. The article's by Nick Britten and was in this morning's Daily Telegraph.

A debt-ridden hospital yesterday reopened an operating theatre that had been closed for 10 months - for the visit of Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary. The University Hospital of North Staffordshire, which plans to lay off 1,000 staff to tackle overspending of £15.5 million, carried out extra eye operations, drafted in more nurses and made a ward look busier than normal to impress Miss Hewitt. It shut one of its two eye theatres last June after losing part of a contract to carry out operations. Since then the theatre has been used about once a week for other procedures. But staff were told last Thursday that Miss Hewitt was visiting and that for the day the theatre would be doing eye operations again. A doctor told The Daily Telegraph: "We were told that because she was coming there would be two theatre lists instead of the usual one and we got a message to reopen the theatre. "We had to wash out and check all the equipment, the microscopes and the cataracts operating machine. The nurse who ran the theatre before was called back in and for the first time in almost a year the theatre was used for eye operations again. All this was so that the hospital could show Miss Hewitt that all was well and that cuts could not affect patient services, which is of course rubbish. "It was an incredibly sneaky thing to do but then the management is obsessed with spin rather than trying to run a good hospital. What Miss Hewitt won't see is that tomorrow, the next day and for the foreseeable future the eye theatre will be closed again." Miss Hewitt was visiting the hospital as part of a Government programme to promote more day surgery. As she arrived she was heckled by protesters angry at the job cuts, which include up to 350 nurses. Staff fear that the losses will be highly damaging to patient care. Miss Hewitt was shown around the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary site, including a day care centre and a ward with patients awaiting eye surgery. The doctor said: "I am sure she was very impressed with what she saw but it was stage-managed. Staff were furious when they found out what was going on." Details of the extra ophthalmology list, with about seven cataract operations, were sent to staff by e-mail from Julie Slater, the directorate manager of specialist surgery. There was also an extra locomotor list, which deals with bone-related problems. The e-mail said that she appreciated how difficult it had been to find the extra staff required and mentioned Miss Hewitt's visit. A hospital spokesman said the idea that it carried out extra work to impress Miss Hewitt was "complete rubbish". Some surgery had been moved to the ward but that was because the ward had originally been set aside for an audit. "We did not want to show the minister an empty room, so we simply swapped the audit day," he said. Miss Hewitt denied during her visit that Government policy had contributed to hospitals' debts. She said: "It is important to keep things in perspective and remember that, across the board, the imbalance is less than one per cent." She said the situation at the University Hospital was "regrettable" and "a very difficult time for staff and patients" but it could not keep borrowing to cover its overspending. As a result of the recovery plan, including the job cuts, "all the people of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire will go on getting better health care". However, members of the NHS Save Our Staff Campaign, set up two weeks ago, were highly critical of Miss Hewitt. After meeting her before her tour, Jim Cessford, the group's spokesman, said: "Our views were put across very forcefully. Unfortunately, I think she came with a set agenda in her mind. "Staff say they are already working to full capacity. They say this reduction will tip them over the edge, as well as putting lives at risk."