Community Health and Fitness No 4 - Health Services and Context 2012 No1

Attended a day's LINk meeting recently. Whilst hearing about current projects and health services in Kent there was a seeming undercurrent of change in the air. For instance, the host body is due to disappear in 2012. Of course, legislation is awaited for this to happen: if it does not happen will LINk go on?

In fact LINk is one small cog in a "joined-up" mish-mash ((in my mind, at present) of a changing structure of the NHS context of governing etc bodies. Being a lay resident in what appeared to be a knowledgeable audience of KCC councillors and other councillors, doctors, nurses and other health and care staff, I must admit it lost me until I remembered I had made a note to re-browse through the one or two of the Bills being "processed" in the Houses of Parliament. 

The "re-browse" will be with renewed interest but I shal still wait until the Acts! (So I am still a lost one.) However, the presentations and answers at the LINk meeting tgave me a clearer picture of what is going on.

In our area (?) of Kent we are going to get the following:

• NHS Trusts with the same hospitals, clinics, dental surgeries and doctors surgeries, subject to mergers, exhanges etc;
• a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - (eight in Kent);
• Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB);
• a Local HealthWatch.

As yet I am not certain that our area is covered by one of each of the above. For example, conerning trusts; bits of Bexley's marketing segments (population) for health seem to be covered by market services/ products which are at present provided at Darent Valley Hospital. That hospital is within the merged Trust - covering bits of NW Kent, W Kent and Medway (and now Bexley)(?).

The second post of these two will look at the Bill/Act fro details of the last three bullets.