THE £13 million planned healthcare spending cuts in this area is a clear example of the shambles that the Tory government is making of the NHS.

First, we might have expected that Simon Whitehouse, chief executive of the Central Cheshire clinical commissioning groups which were low rated by NHS England, to be at least a little contrite and apologetic to the people he serves.

However we got no such thing. Instead we get some ominous ‘difficult decisions’ and the banning of GPs from prescribing pain killers for their patients! The report also contains bizarre news that the CCG has increased its bureaucracy costs by appointing somebody called a ‘turnaround director’, whatever that is.

No money for essential medicines to relieve pain but thousands can be spent on a job that should be within the capabilities of the existing band of executives Mr Whitehouse is correct to point out the low per head annual money allocation for Central Cheshire. I have checked out the numbers and find, for example, that the allocation in Merseyside is 23 per cent higher than for Vale Royal.

What is going on there and why has he and, more pertinently, the MP for Vale Royal Graham Evans, not been fighting to correct this clear injustice over the past several years?

We are told that what is effectively a planned degradation in the standard of services provided to the community by the NHS in this area will be the subject of consultation.

Let us hope that it is a meaningful process.

It must entail events which will be held at venues and times that ordinary members of the public with jobs and responsibilities will be able to attend.

An evening meeting in the Memorial Court would be a good start. Perhaps even Graham Evans and George Osborne will show up and add their two pennyworth.

Liam Byrne Little Leigh