Friday, March 1, 2019

Why BHRUT need to publish this information on beds & death rates

I sent the following email to BHRUT seeking the following information to test the premise that past and any future bed cuts at King George are increasing death rates at Queens. The information I seek is crucial to discovering is this argument has merit. Email follows

Dear Sir or Madam

I request a review for the following reasons:

1 - Your point 1 refusing bed numbers, I say this must be published, the public have to right to know to important facts about what is happening in publicly  funded institutions such as hospitals, schools, prisons etc. BHRUT used to publish this information each month in their board papers to allow the public to view month what is happening with bed numbers at King George and Queens Hospitals.

Bed numbers are vital as they are linked to staffing numbers, bed occupancy and 4 hour A&E waits. I encourage you to immediately publish this key information. Anything else will undermine, in a small, but nonetheless real way, our local democracy. Cllr Zammett writes of the importance of bed numbers in the Recorder this week highlighting how important bed numbers are to the ongoing public conversation between NHS managers, elected representatives and residents. 

2- Your point 6 refusing bed occupancy for critical care beds. BHRUT used to release this information to me, it was used to campaign with elected representatives. I rely on the arguments I use in point 1 above. Withholding this information makes it more difficult for the  public and their elected representatives to campaign for extra critical care beds per the press article here. Again this information should be published immediately.

The link HERE has a story on critical care beds.

3 - Your point 8. I asked for the following:


"Your bed papers list excess deaths. Please can you send me excess deaths for each hospital site for the months of October, November & December 2018? For example where the board papers list say 'x' excess deaths for pneumonia, BHRUT supply me the information for King George and Queen’s excess deaths to arrive at the total of 'x'."

 BHRUT wrote:

"We are unable to provide this information."

This claim does not stand scrutiny.  You supplied similar information to me in the past per FOI 4318 which I attach below from 2016. Again I rely on the arguments above.

I wish to test the premise that past and any future bed cuts at King George are increasing death rates at Queens. The information I seek is crucial to discovering is this argument has merit.

Regards

Andy Walker 






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