Councillors grill local NHS management

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 20th Apr 2004

Last Wednesday, district councillors had the opportunity to question local health service managers about the state of the Health Service in West Wiltshire and the problems facing our Community Hospitals.

"I am delighted that we were successful in seeking the support of councillors from all groups for this meeting to go ahead." said Lib Dem district Cllr Jeff Osborn.

"There is a crisis of confidence out there about the future of our community hospitals, and this meeting gave us the chance to make that crystal clear to the new Acting Chief Executive of the local NHS Trust." he added.

Individual councillors spoke of the particular problems affecting their towns, including Cllr Janet Repton who asked the managers what has happened to the proposals to build new facilities in Bradford on Avon.

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman, Cllr Duncan Hames, asked whether we in West Wiltshire were actually getting an increase in NHS funding after the recent government tax rise for the NHS, and asked what the Trust would do to help achieve a permanent arrangement for out-of-hours cover for our local hospitals with the co-operation of local GPs.

Finally, he challenged the new Chief Executive, Stephen Golledge, about his plans for the future for our local community hospitals:

"What I do want to know is: do you see these community facilities as an essential part of you plans for improving primary health care services?" he asked.

Observing that this was probably the most difficult question of the evening, the new Chief Executive said that there would be changes to how the hospitals work and the services they provide, but that he could not say exactly how at this point. However, he did concede that "if the public really want to preserve the hospitals, then in 5 years' time they will still be there".

"This evening was only a start in getting answers to these questions from the local NHS Trust" said Cllr Hames. "But, although we didn't like everything we heard from the Chief Executive, his straight-talking was a refreshing change and is a good sign for the future."

"We will continue to fight for a fair deal for our local NHS and for a strong commitment from local management for an enhanced role for our community hospitals." promised Cllr Duncan Hames.