IN an open meeting held in Tavistock on April 18 we heard at first hand the pressures now facing NHS services in our area.

Local GPs and other healthcare professionals told the same story: there are already signs of treatment being restricted due to under-funding. We call on the Government to keep its promise to 'guarantee that health spending increases in real terms'.

We also heard that the Government is pressing ahead with a radical reorganisation of the NHS, at a cost of £3-billion. Under the plans, GPs will be responsible for commissioning health services. Today, our GPs act as advocates for our healthcare; in future, they may become the people making decisions on rationing. This will fundamentally damage our relationship of trust.

Competition is at the heart of the current legislation. The health service will be opened up to new providers. Private hospitals may cherry-pick the most profitable patients, leaving NHS hospitals financially unstable. Tavistock Hospital could close because of financial insolvency. Derriford Hospital might no longer be able to offer a comprehensive range of specialist services, as it competes with an influx of new private providers.

We heard from local GPs that practices in West Devon are likely to be subsumed by those in neighbouring areas, to achieve economies of scale: the needs of our area are likely to be overlooked.

Though the Government has announced a 'pause', the momentum of the restructuring continues unabated.

The Conservative MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollaston a former GP, compared the reorganisation to 'throwing a hand grenade into the NHS'. We call on our MP, Geoffrey Cox, to actively oppose the current legislation and for the Coalition Government to honour its promise 'to stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care'.

Dr David Benzie, Alison Young, Brendan Bold, Margaret Quinn, Sylvia Podmore, Derrick Lilley,

Dr Peter Brickley, Roger Catchpole, Rebecca Benzie, Bryan Podmore, Debra Hardy, Peter Hardy, Geoff Ward, Dianne Ward, Martin Young, Kevin Eady, Jackie Eady, Grahame Coker, Jan Brickley, Moira Brown, Helen Leon, Joan Gillard, David Gillard, Sue Orwin, Ian Gasper, Mike Dennis, Dr Peter Fox, Kate Young, Mike Sparling