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Out of touch?
• WE write as councillors for Bloomsbury ward, whose large Brunswick Medical Practice is affected by the proposed change of management to a US company, United Health.
Thank you to the New Journal for your coverage so far on this important issue.
Our concern is that the primary care trust seem to have sleepwalked into this decision, with no apparent idea of the outcry it would cause.
It is very worrying that the guardian of our health services can be so out of touch.
The consultation carried out was clearly inadequate.
Residents we have spoken to knew nothing of these proposals until they received a letter saying the change was to happen.
As ward councillors, we were not consulted, and have not been notified to this day.
The council’s health scrutiny committee has the power to refer such a matter to the secretary of state, and should do all it can to ensure this disastrous state of affairs is remedied. We might have expected a bit more pre-decision scrutiny.
At the very least, it should call an immediate special meeting before these contracts go live.
The calculations in the tendering process seemed to give undue weight to United Health, as if they were the preferred bidder, and the calculations had been made to fit.
This is inappropriate in any area, but when local health services are at stake, it is particularly unacceptable.
What assurances do we have that, in just a short space of time, services will not change to fit their new priorities?
We wish Barbara Saunders the very best of luck in her courageous judicial review of this appalling situation. Let’s hope we can see off this proposal.
And a small postcript – United Health is being sued for fraud in California.
Is this really the right company to run services in Camden?
We think not.
CLLR PENNY ABRAHAM AND CLLR FAZLUL CHOWDHURY
Labour, Bloomsbury ward
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