Doctors sent on US trip

Jan 3 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

HEALTH chiefs in Northumberland have been urged to think very deeply about spending plans after sending doctors on an all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago to test new equipment for a hospital that is threatened with service cuts.

Bosses at Wansbeck General Hospital sent nine staff to the USA in October for a weekend spent looking at equipment and meeting other professionals.

The hospital has been at the centre of a campaign in recent months after fears arose that services could be affected when a new emergency care centre is opened in Cramlington.

Trust bosses have described the visit as invaluable and its £12,500 bill as cost-effective expenditure, but could give no update on any changes likely to come about as a result of the care restructuring.

Last night Brian Douglas, who sits on Northumberland County Council’s health scrutiny committee, said: “My first reaction is a sense of surprise. We operate on a shoestring budget in many parts of the county and face real restrictions in some areas.

“Like anyone else I think doctors should be given all the teaching they need, and the chance to meet other professionals and take advantage of changes in technology and medicine.

“But I really do not think this will go down well with staff in Northumberland.

“I think there are some funding issues when it comes to training all staff and you have to wonder whether this money could not have been better spent on training say frontline staff.

“It might not sound like a lot of money but surely within the NHS there are more worthy causes?”

Rosemary Stephenson, director of nursing at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has insisted the visit to the annual conference of the Radiology Society of North America was worthwhile.

The trust has ordered new ultrasound equipment which doctors had a chance to try out in America, although trust staff do not normally travel quite so far when choosing new hospital equipment.

Ms Stephenson said: “The visit was invaluable and we feel its £12,500 cost was money well spent.

“We sourced the most cost-effective travel and accommodation and our staff gave up their own time by working at a weekend and using their annual leave allowance.

“The nine staff benefited greatly from the visit and their experiences will improve the way we provide healthcare to our patients.”

Former House of Commons health select committee member Ronnie Campbell said all organisations had a duty to question their spending decisions during the economic downturn.

The Blyth MP added: “I wouldn’t want to say they should not go on these visits, but we are in a situation now where any organisation, even the NHS, has to look at all aspects of spending and decide for themselves if it is vital.

“It is not for me to say doctors should not have gone on this visit, but I would certainly expect them to think very deeply about their budgets for these conferences as we enter what will be the most difficult year this country has experienced in decades.”

But Campbell Storey, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Wansbeck, questioned the decision to send nine staff to America.

He said: “At a time when everyone is tightening their belts, this seems an unwise use of NHS resources.”

:: For more stories from the area, go to www.journallive.co.uk/ashington