GOVERNMENT TO GIVE PEOPLE MORE SAY IN HOW LOCAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES ARE DELIVERED

Kent County Council today announced that the new patient group, called a Local Involvement Network (LINk), will be launched in April 2008 as required by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. Organisations who want to host and support the scheme are now invited to tender to be the ‘host organisation’.

LINks will replace the current Patient and Public Involvement Forums which currently offer the public a monitoring and scrutiny role of the NHS. The difference with LINks is that they will also be able to monitor how local authorities deliver their social services function.

Labour Shadow Leader of KCC, Mike Eddy, said: “The Labour Government is determined to set up a forum for people to have their say in whether their local health and social care providers are doing their jobs. The organisation that can host the service and ensure it is delivered effectively will be independent of both the NHS and KCC Social Services.

“It will also give the public a chance to check on how care services are planned and delivered as well as give feedback on improving them. I therefore welcome the Government’s initiative to make services more open and accountable.”

LINks will have a range of powers on how local services should improve by:

• Making reports, recommendations and asking for information from the appropriate body and getting a reply in a set amount of time
• Visiting some of the services to see what they do
• Telling elected politicians on the KCC Overview and Scrutiny Committee what they have found and getting a response
• Referring serious issues to the Secretary of State for Health.