Staff and pensioner groups to protest against rebuke for Kings College Hospital

An alliance of staff, MPs, nursing unions and pensioner groups will protest at a hospital being put into special financial measures on Tuesday.
Campaigners are demanding more funding for care at Kings College Hospital (KCH), which was effectively told it had to keep its books in order or it could be fined.
NHS Improvement placed it in special financial measures last week, a day after the chairman and former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake quit his role as chairman in protest at the poor funding there.
Now staff unions, campaign group Lambeth Keep our NHS Public, Southwark Pensioners Action Group, MPs and local politicians will unite in a protest at outside the hospital in Denmark Hill on Tuesday at 10am.
KCH chief executive Nick Moberley said in a memo to staff: “This is disappointing news after all the hard work to deliver savings and improve efficiency.
“It is worth remembering that over the past two years we have delivered significant savings and reduced our deficit by almost one third. However, we still face major financial challenges.
“I am committed to doing everything I can to lift King’s out of its current situation and stabilise our financial position. King’s is an extraordinary place full of amazing people. I am confident by working together, with the support of NHSI and the resources they will bring, we can do it.
“We must also do everything we can to reassure patients and their families that our commitment to safe, high quality care remains absolute. We all play a critical role in getting this message across.”
Staff committee chairman Irene Pilia has also written to interim chairman Ian Smith to say the special measures is likely to demoralise an already its hard-pressed staff and that any cuts would hit patients’ health and their safety.
She said: “I echo the views of Lord Kerslake and our chief executive Nick Moberley: King’s workforce is amazing.
“I challenge you to find a better, more committed, more dedicated, harder-working cohort of people.
“The care our patients experience is second to none.
“The last five years have been bitingly difficult for KCH staff. And yet they still give and go the extra mile – without being asked.
“The effort of keeping a world class hospital functioning so magnificently while being asked to pare financial costs to the bone has taken its toll. Trust-wide staff are exhausted. Stress and sickness levels are high.
“Being placed in financial measures could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. At the very least, it will futher demoralise incredibly hard-worked human beings.
“The staff look to you to ensure the health of patients and staff are prioritised over yet more cuts.
“The future lies in acknowledging King’s is experiencing a funding shortfall. This is what caused the shortfall. Further staff or service reductions would be an unrealistic recovery measure unless the intention is to risk patient safety.”