Labour and the NHS stitch-up (continued), Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire

: How watchdog that shut down first privately run NHS hospital ignored 300-patient survey backing it in favour of critical poll of just 17 people 

The watchdog which branded the first privately run NHS hospital as 'inadequate' ignored a large survey showing patients were very happy with the care they received.

A damning report by the Care Quality Commission last week gave Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire the lowest ever score for standards of care.

The report was particularly scathing of Hinchingbrooke's  A&E unit, with inspectors saying that 16 out of the 17 patients they had spoken to were unhappy with their treatment.

But new evidence has emerged showing the watchdog ignored its own much larger survey of nearly 300 patients carried out eight months earlier and published only last month.

This found patients gave it an average score of 8.4 out of ten, rising to nine out of ten for the respect and dignity patients were treated with.

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Labour's private hospital stitch-up: Shocking evidence of how the Left sabotaged NHS success story by Guy Adams & Sophie Borland, Daily Mail Story.

Shocking evidence of how Labour and union figures had the first privately run NHS hospital declared a failure has been uncovered by the Daily Mail.

There are growing calls for an inquiry into how Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire was rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission watchdog – only months after winning an award for patient care.

But the Mail has learned that:

·         Individuals who helped draw up the CQC’s damning report have close ties to the Labour Party and unions which oppose NHS privatisation.

·         The local NHS body, which suddenly slashed the hospital’s funding and imposed arbitrary fines, is heavily influenced by Labour activists.

·         The watchdog’s lead inspector, Dr Jonathan Fielden, was previously a senior member of the doctors’ trade union, the British Medical Association, and has warned of the dangers of privatisation.

·         A second inspector, Dr Nigel Sturrock, has been associated with the Keep Our NHS Public group.

·         And a doctor employed by the hospital who is suspected of briefing the CQC about its supposed failings happens to be the Labour candidate to be the area’s MP. Dr Nik Johnson is believed to have influenced the report’s severe criticism of children’s services in the A&E unit.

The inspection report by the CQC last week led to Circle, the firm running Hinchingbrooke, withdrawing its contract. The hospital has now been placed in special measures and could be closed down.

MPs whose constituents include hospital staff and patients are urging the Health Secretary to begin an inquiry into the inspection. They say the report’s findings are entirely at odds with an award last May naming it as the best performing NHS trust in the country.

David Campbell Bannerman, Tory MEP for the Eastern Region, said: ‘This is a Labour stitch-up. I wonder how many of the CQC’s other inspectors are quietly sympathetic to keeping the NHS public

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Britain In 2014 Still Has Poor Hospitalised For Malnutrition, Huffington Post Uk

"It's getting worse because people can't afford good quality food. It's getting worse where malnutrition, rickets and other manifestations of extreme poor diet are becoming apparent," he said.

The number of people needing emergency supplies from food bank charity the Trussell Trust rose by more than a fifth this time last year, it said.

Charity director Adrian Curtis told the Daily Mirror they expect similar figures this year. "School holidays are especially difficult for low income families whose children usually receive free school meals or support from breakfast clubs," he told the newspaper.

In May a letter signed by 170 members of the faculty, the leading professional body for more than 3,300 public health specialists in the UK, was sent to David Cameron pressing for action over the issue of food poverty.

Part of the letter to the Prime Minister said: "Many hardworking families in the UK are living in poverty and do not have enough income for a decent diet."

Health Minister Dan Poulter said the rise in malnutrition could be down to better diagnosis. "We want to reduce levels of malnutrition, particularly amongst frail and elderly people," Poulter told the BBC. "We are working with Age UK on a half a million pound project, which aims to tackle the issue in a range of health and care settings. We've also given local authorities a £5.4bn budget over two years to help them manage public health issues, including malnutrition, in their areas."

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