Primary care strategy greeted with disappointment and funding questions (From Times Series)

Primary care strategy for Barnet greeted with disappointment and funding questions

10:47am Monday 6th February 2012 in Top Stories By David Hardiman

Health campaigners have questioned where funding will come from to implement a strategy meant to set out how to improve the standard of healthcare in north London before closures at Chase Farm.

NHS North Central London unveiled its Primary Care Strategy for the next four years last week, designed to show how GP and urgent care services will be improved before maternity and accident and emergency departments are shut at Chase Farm Hospital in September next year and services moved to Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals.

But the report, authored by medical director Dr Douglas Russell, is short on detail, envisioning ‘integrated care networks’ of GP surgeries that will between them cover all primary care services – such as x-rays, diabetes care or mental health treatment.

But no commitments are made to opening new premises or explaining how any improvements to primary care will be funded.

Dr Russell warned in November that “millions of pounds” of extra investment would be needed to get care in Enfield up to standard so that Barnet Hospital would be able to cope with patients who would have been dealt with at Chase Farm.

Save Chase Farm campaigner Kate Wilkinson said: “Over the years very few things have been funded and implemented – there’s no detail in the strategy and the bottom line is how much money has been earmarked for Enfield to fund it?”

“We’ve seen strategies come and go and promises not kept.”

NHS North Central London has put in bids to NHS London and the Government for money to expand the women's, children's and maternity services as well as the A&E departments at Barnet and North Middlesex hospitals, and is also applying for money to build a new urgent care centre at Chase Farm Hospital.

Enfield Council put plans for a judicial review of the Chase Farm downgrade on hold in December after Health Secretary Andrew Lansley gave assurances improvements to primary care would be made.

Councillor Alev Cazimoglu, who chairs the council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny panel, said: “It’s very flashy and it looks good but is there any funding to go with it? It is really just pointless without that.

“Without the money, I’m not happy until we have seen things implemented, and I’m not optimistic of that happening. We need concrete developments with money attached.”

Dr Russell said that now the overall strategy has been approved, each of the five boroughs represented by NHS North Central London – Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington and Camden – would draw up “detailed investment plans”.