Herefordshire people urged to have their say on public service trust

Local people are asked to make their views known on one of the most important consultation programmes ever undertaken in Herefordshire.

A series of public meetings across the county will discuss radical proposals to bring together how the primary care trust and the council plans, purchases and designs all public services around the needs of individuals. The move aims to improve local services, provide better value for money for taxpayers and safeguard services in Herefordshire for people in Herefordshire.

The consultation runs until 31 July 2007. Already, events have taken place in Ross  (26 June) and Leominster (3 July). But the public are invited to further meetings at the Fire Station in Peterchurch, Golden Valley on 10 July; the Public Hall, Bromyard on 12 July; Lady Hawkins Community Centre in Kington on 17 July; Burgage Hall, Ledbury on 19 July and Three Counties Hotel, Hereford on 24 July. All meetings take place in the evening and start at 7.30 pm.

Councillor Roger Phillips, leader of Herefordshire Council, added: “People want and deserve the best possible public services, and this a key aim behind this groundbreaking proposal, together with providing better value for money for taxpayers and safeguarding services in Herefordshire. The views of local people are important to us in shaping the future direction of our services, I urge everyone to participate fully in this important consultation”.

Joanna Newton, chair of Herefordshire Primary Care Trust board, said: ”With increasingly common agendas to improve health and wellbeing across Herefordshire, the public service trust represents a tremendous opportunity to plan services jointly, resulting in the delivery of more tailor made services built around individual users, rather than organisations, as is experienced currently”.

In addition to the public meetings, consultation documents have been placed in libraries and info centres and information forwarded to general practitioners, pharmacists, dentists and other community health facilities. A special consultation web site, with extra information on the public service trust proposal and the means to post views online, is set up with the address: www.publicservicetrust.info.

People can also obtain a summary or full consultation document by calling Helen Playdon on (01432) 383515.
  
A public service trust arrangement would focus on commissioning services jointly for individual patients or customers, rather than two organisations doing so separately, and would require providers of services to deliver improved customer and patient care, to reduce inequalities, promote healthier lifestyles, support older people and vulnerable adults in achieving greater independence and increase choice for children and young people to improve their opportunities in life. The total amount available to the new public service trust arrangement would be £307 million. The aim would be to commission more and better services for patients and customers for that level of resource by achieving significant savings in management and other costs.

Key steps in the preparatory stages would be the appointment of a single chief executive and the formation of a single integrated management team, which would improve value for money and enable savings to be reinvested in the provision of local services.

Depending on the outcome of the consultation, it is anticipated that the new public service trust arrangements would be operational from April 2008.

Ends

Press release issued: July 3 2007