Cumbria County Council's Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee has announced it is examining an NHS public consultation on new plans for Clinical Assessment, Treat and Support (CATS) centres in the region.
CATS is a new service, paid for by the NHS and provided by the independent sector, where patients being referred for certain types of surgery will be assessed in specialist centres instead of going to hospital out-patient clinics. Centres in Cumbria are planned for Carlisle, Ulverston and Workington.
The Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee has joined with Lancashire County Council in a joint scrutiny of the proposals for a network of CATS centres across Cumbria and Lancashire. The Committee's comments on the proposals will be sent to the NHS who have an obligation to consider and respond to them.
In Cumbria, the NHS has announced a series of public meetings when the CATS proposals will be explained as part of an eight-week consultation process. These meetings will also be used to launch the Great Health Debate about the future of health services in Cumbria. All meetings will start at 7 p.m:
Thursday February 1 Whitehaven Civic Hall;
Friday February 2 Crosthwaite Parish Rooms, Keswick.
Monday February 5 Denton Home Community Centre, Carlisle.
Thursday February 8 Oval Centre, Salterbeck, Workington.
Monday February 12 Forum 28, Barrow.
Tuesday February 13 Penrith Parish Centre.
Wednesday February 14 Riverside Hotel, Kendal.
Members of the Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee will be present at all of the public meetings to help gauge public opinion. Members of the Committee have already met representatives from Cumbria Primary Care Trust and are meeting other stakeholders on 6 February. This will include the Hospitals Trusts, UNISON, and some GPs.
Councillor Bert Richardson, Chair of Cumbria County Council's Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee, said: "This is an important change in health services in Cumbria and the public need to understand its implications. We welcome the public consultation that is being organised by the NHS, and would encourage members of the public to take part. Additionally, we would welcome hearing from anyone with information they would like the Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee to be aware of when examining the NHS proposals."
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The NHS's consultation on CATS lasts for 8 weeks. It started on Monday 15 January and will end on Friday 9 March. The full Consultation Document and Public Summary are available to download from the dedicated CATS website: www.cumbriaandlancashirecats.nhs.ukor copies can also be requested from the Project Office on 01772 647 184. This has a Response Form for completion.
People or organisations wishing to contact the Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee can write to:
Scrutiny Unit,
Cumbria County Council,
The Courts,
Carlisle
CA3 8LZ
Or email:
scrutiny@cumbriacc.gov.uk
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332