Community care in
deprived areas
February 12.
Councillor David Laing, chairman of Strathclyde Regional Council's
social work committee, is reported to have questioned whether NHS trusts
will follow health board policies aimed at improving community care
services and health in deprived communities.
I am concerned at Councillor Laing's reported comments. Ayrshire and
Arran Health Board and Strathclyde Regional Council have, over the past
18 months, developed increasingly close links aimed at improving
community care locally.
The work of the joint planning forum, set up by our two organisations
specifically for this purpose, has ensured that community care is kept
at the top of both of our agendas.
The board's community health care unit, which will become an NHS trust
on April 1, has been, and will continue to be, fully involved in the
work of the forum.
The trust, I know, will be as committed to dealing with the
implications of the Black Report and the Sharpen Report as the board.
NHS trusts will also be as responsive to the needs of local communities,
including those most deprived, as the board has been.
The health service reforms have been introduced to improve the service
provided to patients. It is a great pity these reforms are being
questioned before they have had the opportunity to demonstrate their
value.
J. W. G. Donaldson,
Vice-Chairman,
Ayrshire and Arran Health Board,
Doonfoot Road,
Ayr.
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