The current review of healthcare in Bedfordshire is not the first attempt to re-organise services in recent years. The Healthier Together review of 5 hospitals in the South East Midlands, including Bedford Hospital, was put on the scrap heap last year at a cost of £2.2m of taxpayers’ money. The review was carried out by the 4 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) which were responsible for organising local healthcare services but which have since been abolished.
Cllr John Mingay, who was Chair of the Healthier Together Scrutiny Committee, has requested information from the local PCT’s successor body, the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) for the records detailing how the £2.2m was spent. He was referred to the Department of Health which should hold historical information relating to the activities of the former PCTs. Despite issuing a Freedom or Information request and calling for an internal review, he has been told that the financial records for Healthier Together cannot be found.
Cllr Mingay, who is now Chair of the Committee scrutinising the current health review, said:
‘As Chair of the Committee that scrutinised the review I have been very keen in the interests of accountability and transparency to obtain a record of how this money was spent. I was advised by the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) to contact the Department of Health as it is responsible for keeping historical records such as this. Sadly, all I have learned is that Yes Minister’s Sir Humphrey Appleby is alive and well at the heart of government and that his civil service has not managed to locate this information despite a Freedom of Information request and internal review.
‘I find it quite extraordinary that financial information for a health review costing £2.2m can go missing. It is essential that those in charge of spending our money are held to account and it is very regrettable that this cannot happen in this instance. I hope that the current review, costing £3.2m, will fare better.’