TEIGNBRIDGE Primary Care Trust, which will close its doors in October in a government National Health Service shake-up, is pushing for three trusts in Devon, writes JOHN BALMENT
Currently there are half-a-dozen, but the government wants to bring numbers down throughout the country, and following lengthy public consultation, the trust's board meeting in Newton Abbot on Wednesday unanimously favoured a Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon PCT.
The others would be Exeter and east Devon, and Mid and north Devon.
It was one of three options for the county – one had been for a care trust covering the whole of Devon and the other a north/south Devon divide.
Wednesday was the deadline for the options to be sent to the Strategic Health Authority, which will make the final decision and that will be known in a few weeks.
Brian Jones, not unfamiliar with reorganisation having been the former chief executive of Teignbridge Council, said history showed that something the size of Devon did not work, whereas something the size of Teignbridge did.
'Lumping it altogether in one will not show huge financial savings.
'Patients are going to want to go where they receive the best medical services and they will want to go where it is convenient for them to travel.
'In the south Devon option, the financial resources available would be spent in south Devon. In a single Devon option it will be available to the board officers to spend where they see fit.
'We could lose our money to parts of Devon that have not been so effectively run in the past as we have run our area,' said Mr Jones.
Agreeing, Nick D'Arcy, chairman of the trust's executive committee, said the trust was there to deliver the best service on behalf of patients.
'We need to ensure they have a high-quality service to meet their needs. We have a good record in Teignbridge and I think the option of three PCTs is the best to meet those needs,' said Dr D'Arcy.
Theresa Samuels was favoured the three splits.
'I have worked in organisations in Birmingham which were mammoth. 'In the end, staff numbers go up. 'To improve services you have to keep them local otherwise you do not get a voice. Big does not work,' she warned.
Chief executive Pam Smith said that a Devon wide trust would have a budget of £1 billion and the three trust option would have a third of £1 billion each. 'South Devon would have 1,200-1,300 staff with a value of £30 million plus,' she said.
Mrs Smith admitted that she was deliberately sitting on the fence and she added that the advice she had received from the Strategic Health Authority was that currently the options were finely balanced.
The changes will not affect the plans to build Newton Abbot's multi-million pounds new hospital at Jetty Marsh, work on which is due to begin next year. Plans of the hospital will be going on view to the public shortly.