GP's required to cut number of patients referred to hospital

In this post from the ABC of ESA site, we are made aware of something that is even more threatening to the wellbeing of the people than the ConDem cuts put together.

GPs are to be told they must reduce unscheduled hospital admissions by a fifth by the end of 2013 as one of a series of brutal Government targets to keep hundreds of thousands of patients out of hospital each year.

Ministers have drawn up a drastic efficiency programme that requires GPs to deliver a 10% cut in A&E attendance and the flagship 20% reduction in unscheduled admissions, while working with hospitals to cut length of stay by 25%.

In an exclusive interview with Pulse, Sir John Oldham, a GP and the Department of Health’s national clinical lead for quality and productivity, said the dramatic reductions had to be achieved and that there was ‘no plan B’.

This news quite frankly scares the living daylights out of me. There are already hundreds of cases of people fighting to see specialists, of waiting for years in pain because they haven't been diagnosed properly and worst case scenarios of people dying because they haven't been referred for treatment.

If GP's are now under pressure to not refer people these cases will only get worse.

I could write more but I don't have the spoons today.