Bedford Borough Conservative Group Leader Cllr Stephen Moon has said it is ‘essential’ that the interests of local people are at the forefront of a review into health services in Bedfordshire.
His comments follow a meeting of the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) on Wednesday at which the body agreed to join the review instigated by national regulatory bodies even though there are as yet no terms of reference.
Cllr Moon said;
‘At the meeting I asked the BCCG Governing Body whether the terms of reference for the review had been decided and the answer was that they had not. This is nonsensical. How can they even consider signing up to such an ill-defined project which may not be relevant to our increasingly urgent local needs?
‘As the national regulatory bodies are financing the review the danger is that it will be driven by national rather than local priorities. The BCCG should not join the review until it is clear that it will be relevant to Bedford’s needs and concerns.
‘If the review is not relevant there will be another year wasted as there has been with the now terminated and time consuming ‘Healthier Together’ exercise.’