Health project needs energy

IN support of the campaign to finally get a new, integrated, health and social care centre for Knutsford - through the development of the site of the Community Hospital, Stanley Centre and Bexton Court - I attended a meeting of the Cheshire East Health and Care Partnership Board. I submitted four questions to the Board about why progress is

so slow on seizing the opportunity to create something truly innovative and modern for Knutsford. The experience confirmed for me that all is not well in so many aspects of health and social care policy and services. In my view, there is no individual blame to be had, just the need for stronger, more decisive direction and leadership across the whole system.

It seemed that it was very rare for the Board to attract any interest from the public, let alone questions, and yet its role is to oversee, and improve, some of the most essential, local services. The dominant item on the Board’s Agenda was to do with the re-building of Leighton Hospital, required due to the discovery of lots of RAAC; the priority given to this project is perfectly understandable, but, once again, secondary - not preventive or primary/community care - is sucking up all available money, attention, and time.

With regards the Knutsford primary care project, not only did it appear that limited progress has actually been made, but, as I feared, the social care aspects of the plan are, in my estimation, on the margins.

So, at least these three key things need to be put right:

1. Genuine public participation and accountability

2. Sustained investment in prevention and the ‘front door’

3. The ending of decades of seeing social care as the poor relation.

The Knutsford project’s Stakeholder Group is to hold a public meeting about the project sometime

in June. I urge your readers to: look out for the announcement; come along; and voice their concerns directly to those in charge.

Published today in Knutsford Guardian