Civic leaders have said people must be consulted on any plans which could fundamentally alter community hospitals. The mayor of Newton Abbot, Cllr Daphne Watts, said: 'I'm hoping that Dr Snee (chief executive of Devon Primary Care Trust) will come and talk with the town council when more information is available and listen to the views of those who represent the people of Newton Abbot.' Last week this paper reported that Dr Kevin Snee had said the public should not be 'too precious' about who delivers health care in towns across Teignbridge. His colleague, Dr Nick D'Arcy, a Kingskerswell GP and member of the trust board, was asked if private firms would be considered as potential health care providers. He replied: 'So long as they provide the same level of service, yes.' But now the trust has said it is wrong to interpret the comments as meaning anything other than some services within hospitals could be provided by organisations other than the NHS. Meanwhile, Ashburton mayor Cllr Wendy Gill said she would welcome improved services but again called for greater discussion and said she would be keeping 'a very watchful eye' on the situation. Her counterpart in Buckfastleigh, Cllr Donald Joint, said he wouldn't object to services being provided by other organisations but he would prefer it to be a not-for-profit group and Bovey Tracey mayor Cllr George Gribble was of a similar mind saying that maintaining and improving services was the main concern. But in Moretonhampstead, Cllr John Laflin said most people would probably prefer to keep the NHS as the provider although he was concerned that the promise of better facilities could prove too great a temptation to allow principles to stand in the way. 'We do feel to some extent that we are being blackmailed,' he said. The primary care trust has said it is 'sheer nonsense' to suggest that it is planning to allow the private sector to run community hospitals. But it has failed to offer any guarantees and repeated its position that improved services are the priority. In a statement, published here in full, Dr D'Arcy said: 'It is sheer nonsense to suggest that we are planning to turn our community hospitals over to the private sector. 'Our community hospitals, and the skilled NHS staff within them, are one of our greatest assets. 'What we have said, quite clearly, is that the trust is less interested in who provides healthcare services than in ensuring that those services are of the highest possible quality. 'At Kingsbridge Hospital, for example, we have a range of therapies and support groups for cancer patients – and for these we have turned to the not-for-profit organisation, St Luke's Hospice.' But the final words of his statement left doubt about who might provide what in future. 'In the overwhelming majority of areas of clinical work, the NHS is likely to provide the best service. 'We are committed to maximising the range of services that we offer in our community hospitals so that we can treat people, wherever possible, closer to their homes.' Health watchdog, the Devon Patient & Public Involvement Forum, is seeking an urgent meeting with the trust to hear first hand what its position is. Its chairman, Byron Carnell, said the forum would 'strongly oppose any attempt to privatise health services in local communities' if that proved to be the case.
