QUESTIONS REMAIN ON HEALTH PARTNERSHIP

6.38.57pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 9th Aug 2007

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson on Cambridgeshire County Council has expressed concerns over agreements between healthcare providers and the County Council.

These agreements, called Section 31 agreements, were formally agreed by the Council today and set out how partnerships between the County Council, Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Trust will work in partnership.

Councillor Heathcock commented:

"It's obviously very important that the County Council works closely with health providers in order to deliver good services for people in Cambridgeshire. There are also several services like those for older people and those with learning disabilities that we deliver jointly so it is crucial that we work together.

"I'm very worried that the major questions have not been resolved. If the Primary Care Trust's financial problems continue, what sort of an impact will this have on the County Council's budgets? How will we monitor whether services are being delivered properly?

"These are uncertain times for healthcare in Cambridgeshire and so we need answers to these questions. We have considerable concerns about what impact on service users if budgets run into trouble."