| Thursday, 29 September 2005 | |
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MP slams proposals to re-organise Dartford & Gravesham PCT Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate, has strongly criticised the proposal by the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority to scrap Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Primary Care Trust and to replace it with a single Trust covering Ashford, Maidstone, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Dartford and Gravesham.The Strategic Health Authority is recommending the change to the Department of Health as part of its response to ‘Commissioning a Patient-led NHS’ which was published by the Government earlier this year. Dr Stoate, who is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Primary Care and Public Health as well as being a practicing GP, said: “I am astonished by this proposal. It makes absolutely no sense to me to replace an organisation which is based locally and is ideally placed to respond to the particular healthcare needs of Kent Thameside, with one which covers over half the county including areas such as Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Ashford. Places like this have very little in common with Dartford and Gravesham and I cannot see how this change can possibly help to improve the way in which healthcare is managed and delivered in the county.” “Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley have similar socio-economic backgrounds and long-established adminstrative and economic ties. The area also has a population of between 200,000-250,000, which in my opinion is an ideal size for a PCT in that it will allow the organisation to achieve economies of scale whilst still being able to respond effectively to the specific health care needs of the area.” “I do not see why yet another re-organisation is necessary at this stage. Dartford and Gravesham PCT was set up only a few years ago after a major reform of way in which the primary care system is managed in the county, yet here we are again only a few years down the line facing another full-blown review: it’s absolutely ludicrous.” The MP has also questioned whether a larger West Kent PCT will be able in a position to make a meaningful contribution to the regeneration of Kent Thameside. “A locally based PCT, which is led by individuals who work in North Kent and are well acquainted with the issues surrounding the regeneration of Kent Thameside, is well placed to ensure that healthcare issues are given the priority they deserve when it comes to deciding how regeneration should be planned and managed. A West Kent PCT would not be able to give the same priority to this issue or play such an active role in helping to push forward regeneration in Kent Thameside”, said Dr Stoate. |
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© 2008 Dr Howard Stoate - Member of Parliament for Dartford
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