The Health Committee today publishes the above report which looks at a number of issues relevant to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill currently before the House of Commons.
The Bill effectively proposes the abolition of Patients Forums (which themselves partially replaced many of the functions of Community Health Councils) and their replacement with new looser organisations known as “LINKS”.
Doug Naysmith MP, a member of the Health Committee, said “there has been too much change too rapidly in this area of public and patients involvement in health provision.  Although Community Health Councils were patchy, some of them were doing really valuable work before they were abolished – the same is about to happen, unnecessarily, with Patient Forums.”

“Constant change is unsettling – the new bodies “LINKS” must be given adequate resources, time to settle down and some sensible guidance about what they are expected to do.  Much of the Department of Health advice so far is too vague and wooly.”
“The Committee believes it would be a good thing to transfer the current volunteer members of the Patients Forums to the new LINKS organisations, rather than just abolishing them or starting anew.  And crucially, the new organisations must retain the visiting rights to NHS units which they currently have.”