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Public misses chance

1/ 2/2006

MEMBERS of the public were outnumbered by health professionals and officials when a public meeting was held in Heywood to explain plans for health care.

Only 40 people were at the meeting at the Civic Centre - and only half those were members of the public.

Paul Mainwaring, who has become the main public voice in the controversial Healthy Futures plan, says his fear now is that Heywood people will miss the chance to influence the kind of changes for hospitals and community health care.

"For a town the size of Heywood, I was quite shocked that so few people turned up and took the opportunity to talk to people on the panel about the options being considered," said Mr Mainwaring, who is chairman of the Patients' Council for the Healthy Futures programme.

"I was hoping to persuade the Primary Care Trust to have another public meeting in Heywood in February, when people have had more chance to study the consultation papers.

"But there seemed to be so little interest from the public, I am not sure there would be any point."

Under a range of three options in Healthy Futures, drawn up by a joint committee of PCTs, Fairfield could lose its accident and emergency and acute surgery and Rochdale Infirmary could also lose A&E and other acute services. Instead it would become a "locality hospital" with just a specialised unit for cardiac patients.

The committee has stressed, however, that its preferred option is one which would keep A&E at Fairfield. More care would be provided in the community, with a new multi-use health centre in the town centre, and centres of excellence for things like major surgery would be set up at selected hospitals such as Oldham and North Manchester.

Mr Mainwaring said it was clear from the Heywood meeting that one of the main concerns of people is transport if even a few services are moved further away than Rochdale or Fairfield.

He said: "I really hope people will pick up consultation forms from chemists, dentists, doctors surgeries and main libraries and make it clear to the decision-makers if they are not happy. Public opinion can make them look again."

• A PROTEST meeting against the baby unit plan will be at Bury Town Hall next Tuesday, February 7, at 7.30pm.