| Monday, 05 March 2007 | |
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MP demands urgent improvement to pain relief services Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate, has called on West Kent Primary Care Trust to take immediate action to improve the quality of the chronic pain management service on offer to Dartford patients.A chronic pain management clinic based at Darent Valley Hospital is being wound down, and local GPs are being asked to refer patients with chronic pain to hospitals elsewhere in Kent. Dr Stoate has described the situation “totally unacceptable” and has called on West Kent PCT, which commissions the service, to restore a full Dartford based service as soon as possible. Dr Stoate, who has received a string of complaints from pain clinic users and local GPs, said: “The level of service being offered to local patients with chronic pain is way below the level that they have right to expect. The clinic at Darent Valley is now only open on a part-time basis and has long waiting times and many patients are now faced with the prospect of having to travel miles out of Dartford simply to get help to manage their pain.” “I’ve made it clear to the Chief Executive of West Kent PCT that the situation is totally unacceptable. If you are experiencing chronic, debilitating pain, you shouldn’t have to wait months for help, or have to visit a hospital miles away from your home. In my view a pain management service is one of the most important services that the NHS provides for patients and we should be making every possible effort to ensure that an accessible, properly resourced service is available in every area. We certainly shouldn’t be messing around with it in the way it has been in Dartford.” Notes A decision to close the Pain Management Clinic provided by Dr Lobo at Darent Valley Hospital was taken last year. The clinic is still operating, but only on a reduced basis, and according to a letter to Dr Stoate of 8 February 2007, from the Chief Executive of Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Mark Devlin, waiting times for new and follow up patients are up to “four and six months respectively”. In a letter to Dr Stoate of 17 January 2007, the Chief Executive of West Kent PCT, Steve Phoenix, told Dr Stoate that he appreciated that the current situation “is not ideal” and said that the PCT was in the process of making alternative arrangements – possibly including a service provided at Gravesham Community Hospital. The letter added that “outside Dr Lobo’s clinic GPs are still able to refer to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Medway Maritime NHS Trust and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.” |
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© 2008 Dr Howard Stoate - Member of Parliament for Dartford
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