07 July 2006
Proposals to close community hospitals might be delayed after Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt told primary care trusts to adopt new methods of public consultation.
Community hospitals are popular with voters and the announcement will be seen as an attempt to gain support for the government's health care reforms.
Hewitt also met leaders from clinical professions on July 5 in an attempt to win back their support. The meeting laid the groundwork for a major health summit in the autumn, which will place clinicians at the forefront of reforms.
Hewitt said PCTs should consult with the public and not rush into the 'unnecessary closure' of existing small hospitals. Campaigners claimed 70 of the 300 existing community hospitals in England were under threat from PCTs aiming to reduce their deficits.
A guidance note issued this week insisted traditional methods of consultation, such as the open meeting, would no longer be acceptable. It highlights the approach used in the Your health, your care, your say white paper, which used citizens' juries, on-line surveys and opinion polls.
'Our guidance will give patients a louder voice when it comes to NHS community services. We expect the NHS to consult local communities when developing their plans for care outside large hospitals. Options for change must be developed with people, and not for them,' Hewitt said.
The health secretary pledged £750m over five years to stimulate a new wave of community hospitals and health centres, which will provide inpatient services and diagnostic tests.
This will build around 50 new units, and PCTs will have three funding routes – public funds, the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (a public-private partnership) or a new approach, Community Ventures. In the latter, PCTs will set up a joint venture with a private or voluntary organisation and the Department of Health, which will provide public capital.
But this might prove controversial as private companies could provide clinical services as part of the deal.
The announcements were welcomed by Barbara Moore, chief executive of the Community Hospitals Association.
'The CHA enthusiastically agrees the key to the development of community hospitals is, and always has been, the views of local people,' she added.
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