MID Devon Primary Care Trust has told the Department of Health it would favour a reduction to three PCTs across the county in the impending health management shake-up. The view rejects the option favoured by the trust?s own patients? forum. The trust was presented with three options for reconfiguring the boundaries of health authorities in Devon: a single PCT for the whole of the county, excluding Plymouth and Torbay, or two PCTs or three PCTs along district council boundaries. Under the latter proposal, Okehampton would no longer be part of the Mid Devon area, but would fall under West Devon as part of a PCT which stretched across the South Hams and Teignbridge. Mid Devon PCT said it favoured this latter option. The Mid Devon Patient and Public Involvement Forum, set up to represent the views of patients, recommended the two-PCT option, which the trust wholly dismissed. Neil Gilmour, chairman of the forum, said contrary to the board, they regarded the second option as an ?acceptable compromise?. He said given the links between North, Mid and East Devon and Exeter, the forum plumped for that option as ?the best of a bad job?. The PCT?s formal response to the Commissioning a Patient Led NHS framework was discussed at a board meeting held at Okehampton Rugby Club last Wednesday. The PCT board felt there were ?pros and cons? from pursuing either a single Devon or three PCTs in Devon configuration. ?The first potentially delivers scale but loses ?localness?, the latter the reverse,? the board stated. It was the view of the board that either option would be workable but on balance, it would favour three PCTs. They would wish to see Mid Devon ? excluding Okehampton and Moretonhampstead ? linked solely with East Devon as one of the three PCTs and not with North Devon as envisaged in the consultation paper. The PCT board felt the two PCTs for Devon option would be a retrograde step as in geographical terms it would replicate the old health authority boundaries. Mid Devon saw this option as a ?rather uncomfortable compromise ? potentially not of sufficient scale to deliver the expectations of the strategic commissioning agenda and at the same time, not ?local? enough to reflect diversity and difference within each of the two PCTs?. Chairman of the board Bud Wendover told members he initially favoured a single PCT for Devon, but had come to view that the local accountability the three PCT approach would bring was a key advantage. The aim of the reorganisation is to save £8-million in administration which could then be spent on front line treatment. The Government says the plans will enable greater strategic commissioning, practice-based commissioning and allow health and social services work to be more closely integrated. The response will be considered by the South West Peninsula Strategic Health Authority and then by the Secretary of State for Health. A decision is expected in May and the new PCT arrangements could be up and running by the beginning of July.
