THE board of Kennet and North Wilts PCT, by failing at their meeting on September 28 to make a decision on what health services are to be provided for Devizes and the community area, have left questions to which the people I represent need to have answers.
1. Do the PCT still intend to build a hospital in Devizes at Green Lane, and improve health care provision for the area?
2. If so, when will building begin?
3. Is the future of the current Devizes Community Hospital safe or is it the intention to close it on the grounds of cost and lack of facilities being provided following steady corrosion of services?
The current board has a financial balance to achieve, but that requirement means short-term financial gain at the cost of long-term healthcare benefits to a community which has experienced decades of uncertainty and delays to decision making. The time has come for the board to bite the bullet and commit to what they will provide. There is now no public confidence in an organisation with no confidence in itself to make those important decisions. Further delays mean further loss of services, as providing those services has become secondary to balancing the books.
COUN P WINCHCOMBE
Kennet District Council
Devizes
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