Sir – This last week has seen the end of the four-month consultation the primary care trust has been holding over the proposed transfer of continuing care services from St John’s Hospital.

This is not just about transferring services, it is about removing 14 patients suffering serious dementia (band one continuing care cases) from their home, St John’s, a purpose- built hospital, highly respected for the quality of its care services.

St John’s is run by South West London St George’s Mental Health Trust and one would have thought the trust would have put its best foot forward when making major proposals that have such traumatic consequences.

The trust has done the reverse.

It has refused to hold consultations, though it is under the same statutory obligations to do so as the PCT.

Maybe the NHS hoped to avoid embarrassing questions on why NHS-provided services were proving so costly, on the numbers of band one cases present, past and forecast and how many of them were expected to need nursing home care.

The PCT put forward, in effect, only one option, which it dealt with at some length, transferring the services for the 14 patients to a private sector nursing home now being built in Teddington.

A second option was discounted because it would involve the mental health trust continuing to run St John’s – it is quite openly adamant that it is not prepared to contemplate cost reductions, and therefore long-term control was a nonstarter.

A third option our PCT decided was not an “option for consultation2.

This has to be challenged – it is the whole purpose of consultation to throw up such challenges.

Getting the voluntary sector to take over the running of St John’s can’t be dismissed as “unaffordable and impractical.”

It offers much, not least the 14 patients staying in their present home.

While there have been two public meetings and private meetings with groups “directly involved”, the PCT, curiously, makes no mention of the council.

Does it not expect the council to have a view, rather than being meekly acquiescent?

It should recognise that the Government is in favour of local partnerships, in which councils are the lead players.

The PCT will not be taking a decision until its board meeting in November, ample time for the council to gets its act together, either through the cabinet or the health scrutiny committee or both, and challenge the PCT to give more consideration to the third option.

FRANCIS KING
Park Road
East Twickenham