March Public Consultation Meeting

Neale-Wade Community College was the venue for the March public consultation meeting on Wednesday 23 January 2002. There was considerable interest in the plans for health services in the Fenland area. The role of Doddington Hospital and the possible location of a local care centre in the area were some of the first issues raised.

The chief executive of the Fenland PCT, Audrey Bradford explained that  the plan will bring a greater range of health services to the area and avoid the need for many patients to travel to Huntingdon or Peterborough for treatment.

Concern was expressed that current population forecasts may understate the actual growth locally, particularly as further residential developments are planned in the south of the county.  The speakers were able to confirm that the forecasts being used in the plan reflected current trends for routine and emergency admissions and were significantly higher than the local population growth.

A point raised by several members of the public related to current staff shortages and how the planned expansion of services could well make the problem worse.

A key part of the health investment plan is the development of new professional roles that will make working in the area more attractive and help reduce recruitment problems. 

For example, few medical students are interested in taking on the traditional role of a GP. They would prefer to combine the job with a specialist post dealing with an area of healthcare in which they have a particular interest. 

There are several local GP specialists  who treat patients referred by other GPs and from the hospital. These new roles are proving to be of great benefit to patients and helping ease GP recruitment problems by making posts more attractive.