The patients’ council calls on the government to think carefully about changes to the healthcare economy

Date published: 18 June 2010

The Patients’ Council calls on the Government to give careful thought to the following issues as part of their consideration of economies in the provision of healthcare across the Country and where appropriate in Greater Manchester specifically:

1. Contracts with GPs should be amended so that the needs of the patients drive service improvements and not the needs and convenience of individual GPs 
2. Improved patient care should be in the right location to meet patients’ needs and proposals for inappropriate expensive buildings should not be the driver for service improvements. If LIFT Centres are not now considered to be economically viable in the current financial climate , then if they have not been built, the Government should encourage Primary Care Trusts to find alternative cheaper local locations for these services 
3. Priority should be given to providing a system of hospital based care across Greater Manchester which achieves consistency in service provision based on the needs of patients and not the needs of organisations. Greater priority should be given to the development of Trauma Centres of Excellence, Urgent Care Centres and GP Our of Hours Services which are fit for purpose. If these services are developed we would not need as many hospitals
4. To achieve a truly Greater Manchester health service there must be a requirement for all Primary Care Trusts, Acute Trusts and Foundation Trusts to develop a joint commissioning plan within a specified time scale , which works across organisational boundaries to more effectively meet the needs of patients . We would also pose the question of asking the Government to consider whether separate individual organisations can achieve these objectives and if the Department of Health or Strategic Health Authority should look to reduce the number of Boards

Paul Mainwaring
Chair of the Patients Council