It’s Your NHS – Don’t Waste it!
The local NHS is launching a campaign to raise awareness of how the public can help transform local services.
‘It’s your NHS, don’t waste it’, launched by the three local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs): NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, NHS Bradford City and NHS Bradford Districts CCGs is designed to get people to change how they use the NHS. These changes will help the CCGs make the most out of every pound spent on the local NHS and ensure the continued delivery of high quality services.
The campaign will be asking people to: use pharmacies for general health advice; buy medication for short-term minor illnesses over the counter from supermarkets or pharmacies instead of asking for a prescription; and to stop asking for medication that is not needed, to reduce medicines waste.
There are no additional resources available to the NHS. Savings need to be made now so that CCGs can meet increasing demand and ensure that services continue to meet the needs of local people.
Dr Andy Withers, clinical chair, Bradford Districts CCG said: “We need everyone to understand why this is needed and change how they use the NHS. Together we can ensure those that need NHS services can continue to get them. Without these changes there is a very real threat that NHS services will not be available in the future in as timely and accessible way as they are now.”
Dr Akram Khan, clinical chair, Bradford City CCG said: “The decisions we are making are tough. Our CCG has a strong record of financial management, and we need to be able to adapt and keep up with the demand for local services and make sure our population continues to receive high quality care.”
Dr Phil Pue, chief clinical officer, NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG, said: “The NHS belongs to all of us – to help it survive and achieve the required efficiencies we need to make simple but necessary changes. We know how passionate people are about the NHS and the local health services they receive so we hope they will support this campaign.”
The campaign is part of the national Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme which is all about providing real value for money while making every patient journey in the NHS count.
Nationally, the NHS is facing immense financial pressure. The national NHS savings requirement has been calculated as £22bn, to be delivered by 2020/21.
For the CCGs, there is a gap between their annual budgets and the increasing cost of providing healthcare to the people living in Bradford District and Craven. In NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG, the gap is 4.6m, in NHS Bradford Districts CCG, this gap is around £10.4m, and £2.6m in NHS Bradford City, in 2016/17.
People are encouraged to follow the campaign on social media by following / / on Twitter or / on Facebook, using #ItsOurNHS