C-DIFF SCRUTINY

Chairman of the all-party County Council Scrutiny Committee, Dr. Mike Eddy, said he was astonished council chiefs did not know the full extent of the debt situation of Kent health organisations when they offered a £5 million loan, following a damning report on Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals.

Dr. Eddy was speaking after a Scrutiny meeting examined the loan offer that was made after the report on a C-diff outbreak by the Healthcare Commission.

 “I would have thought a thorough check should have been made before the County Council’s Cabinet made the offer of the loan to the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and that it should have been established exactly what the money would be used for or indeed whether it was needed,” said Dr. Eddy.

 “It is still unclear whether the NHS could legally accept the loan and perhaps that is why it has so far not been taken up.”

County Council Deputy Leader, Alex King told the Scrutiny Committee the loan offer had been made to help restore public confidence in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals.

Dr. Eddy said it was right to work to restore public confidence in the local health service. However, the loan offer had to be scrutinised at a time when Kent County Council was complaining of lack of government funding for services.

He also expressed concern that plans to launch a Kent Healthwatch scheme had not been properly thought out and were in danger of duplicating existing procedures open to NHS patients. The Committee recommended that the County Council should put its efforts into getting a Local Involvement Network (LINk) in place rather than developing additional structures for patients to express concerns.