Sadly the decision about the location and functioning of the GP Led Health Centre is now a non-issue.
The decision as to where it will be located (at Wycombe General Hospital) has been made and its functionality has been established (the tender for the provision of the service has already been issued) - in both cases the decision was made with virtually no consultation with Patients, Carers or the Public and with minimal discussion with existing GP Practices (GPs are represented on the decision-making team by an 'independent' GP appointed by Bucks PCT!).
The co-ordination of Discharge Processes is being redesigned - the Bucks CC OSC has reviewed this process having been made aware that Bucks is failing its population in this area and has concluded that the plans in hand by the BHT and BCC Care Services are adequate to resolve these shortcomings.
They intend, sometime in 2010, to have another look at this area to see if their assumptions about the adequacy of plans in hand by the BHT and BCC Care Services have proved themselves to be accurate!
Patients, Carers and the Public have not been involved in the decision-making processes which arrived at the plans in hand by the BHT and BCC Care Services to improve the currently inadequate services nor are they involved in the task of monitoring that these plans are being implemented!
As the people of Bucks have not even been told that there are plans in had to 'ration' the Health services being provided to them it is difficult to imagine how Patients, Carers and the Public will have any input to the decision-making processes which will arrive at decisions about how the financial difficulties known to exist in the Bucks Primary Care Trust and the Bucks Hospital Trust. Bucks CC Care Services are also confronting a need to reduce costs (reduce services!) to ensure that Bucks CC does not exceed its budgets!
All in all it's not a happy situation. BPCT, BHT and BCC Care Services managers have a difficult task to undertake to realise the cost savings which they unavoidably must achieve - difficult/hard decisions will have to be made about how these will be achieved. They would be well advised to involve Patients, Carers and the Public more extensively and effectively in the decision-making processes which will be involved in arriving at these difficult/hard decisions.