Health trust told to delay future plans consultation

HEALTH trust managers have postponed a public consultation on changes to services after experts said they needed more time to conduct a review of existing provision.

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had planned to begin a three-month exercise to ask patients what they wanted to see happen in the next few years.

But that has now been scrapped after three independent teams appointed by the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority said it should be postponed.

The three review teams, which include medical experts, were called in to examine services provided at sites run by the Trust in Doncaster, Worksop and Mexborough.

They have told bosses at NHS Doncaster and the Bassetlaw Primary Care Trust (PCT), which commission services from the hospital trust, that more “preparatory work” is required before asking for public opinion.

Annette Laban, chief executive of NHS Doncaster, which was to carry out the consultation exercise along with the Bassetlaw-based PCT said: “We accept the recommendations and recognise they will take some time to implement and have therefore decided to postpone the consultation programme until a date to be determined this year.

“This will provide more time to secure the maximum benefit from the public consultation programme and also ensure the proposals link effectively with other NHS services provided across Doncaster and Bassetlaw.

“This is not about saving money it is about making sure we adopt clinically based proposals that will benefit patients,” she said.

“We will implement the recommendations over the next few months and announce the revised consultation timeframe as quickly as we can.”