Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
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2003 (and previous) press releases
MP Reveals Community Care Cuts
Local MP Norman Baker has criticised "clandestine" changes to the local out-of-hours community care service which mean that, between 11pm and 8:30am, patients in the Ouse Valley area will no longer be able to call upon a team of qualified nurses to help with overnight medical care.
This cutback, caused by the withdrawal of a service agreement with South Downs Health NHS Trust - the same organisation that provides an overnight care service to Brighton residents - means that patients and their carers will have no option but to try and contact the on-call area doctor for all their medical queries.
Norman has discovered that the public at large had been neither consulted nor informed and only a minimal level of consultation had taken place among NHS staff before this change was implemented. Nor was the final decision formally announced.
He says:
"I think it is wrong that my constituents should have to endure a lesser standard of care simply because they live in Lewes rather than Brighton. The out of hours community nurses may not have been heavily used, but they provided a vital resource for many people, particularly those with long-term illnesses who wish to remain at home rather than go into full time care.
"What I find equally shocking is the lack of consultation that took place before this cutback was implemented. The public and community nurses themselves should always be consulted before fundamental decisions like this are taken. Otherwise we risk a public health service that is wholly unaccountable to the people it serves. I am therefore asking the Primary Care Trust to reconsider their decision, and undertake a proper and thorough consultation"