County-wide trust plan criticised

A merger of primary care trusts (PCTs) to create a Suffolk-wide PCT could damage the care provided in part of the county, a report has warned.

The Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambs Strategic Health Authority (SHA) is looking at a major re-organisation of the PCTs in the region.

One plan put forward is to merge the three PCTs: Suffolk East, Suffolk West and Waveney.

But Waveney in a report to Suffolk County Council criticises this plan.

A spokesman for Waveney PCT calls instead for the option of merging Waveney, which covers Lowestoft in north Suffolk, with its neighbouring Norfolk trust Great Yarmouth PCT - PCTs that already strongly co-operate on services.

'Risk to health'

The report, to the council's children, schools and young people's services scrutiny committee next week, says the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth area face the same sorts of problems of deprivation and so are well-suited to merge.

The report adds that a Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT is the option favoured by the majority of people in the area.

It says services for young people would also receive a boost from a merger.

The report concludes: "There are significant risk to the health and consequently social care of the Waveney population from the creation of a Suffolk-wide PCT.

"Integrating a stable, effective and well performing PCT into a larger and financially challenged Suffolk-wide PCT will create instability and insecurity about the future direction of community services."