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Poorest areas lose out on NHS funding too

A primary care trust covering part of the Prime Minister’s constituency is the most under-funded in England, despite being the most deprived area of the country outside London.

Figures placed in the House of Commons library and seen by healthmatters show that Easington PCT will miss out on almost £27m of funding this year. It has a target allocation of £131m, but gets only £104m.

Set by the Department of Health, target allocations reflect population numbers, standardised mortality rates and levels of deprivation. The 20 per cent funding gap narrows only slightly to 16 per cent by 2005/06.

Easington’s MP John Cummings has written to health secretary John Reid to call for a meeting to discuss the impact of the ‘huge funding shortfall’.

Half of the 20 most deprived wards in health terms in England are in Easington. According to the 2001 census, it ranks worst in the league of long term disability out of 370 areas. Cancer and heart disease death rates are twice the national average and the incidence of serious mental ill health is 33 per cent higher.

According to Mr Cummings, community infrastructure is poorly developed in Easington, the area has half the number of district nurses and health visitors compared with neighbouring PCTs and no hospital.

He has told the health secretary that the PCT is unable to commission the same level of activity as neighbouring PCTs in Sunderland and Hartlepool, so its patients routinely waiting longer for hip replacements and cataract operations.

According to the MP, the ‘current disparity’ in access to hospital care for Easington patients was likely to be compounded by foundation hospital status.