I went to a lunch-time meeting on Friday to hear about Independent
Sector Treatment Centres, and asked the question about local control -
and cataracts in Oxford, where the PCT were forced to use an ISTC even
though there was no need: the local services had got it sorted.
Two things were clear -
1. the PCT was going to have to use the ISTC whether they wanted to or
not (the presenter said that they had said there was a problem with
cataracts: I suppose that might have been true when they said it!) *and*
pay for it.
2. The Chair felt obliged to resign over the inability of the local
health community to manage itself.
I never heard what the effects were on the rest of the health community
- particularly ophthalmology: does anyone know?
After all, the business plan included a lot of cataract work - and there
are some things you can't increase a demand for!
MaryH
--
Mary Hawking
|