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Health Care (Sutton)

I beg the hon. Gentleman's pardon. I am sure that he will encourage his constituent to make a formal complaint, if they have not already done so. We have an independent, robust complaints system in place, and it is important that Members of Parliament encourage constituents who have such cases to take it up, not least because hospitals' performance is judged not only on the number of complaints that they receive, but on how they respond to them. The hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam also raised the issue of the provision of mental health services, and mental health beds, in his constituency. The London SHA informs me that the number of mental health beds has gone down in his area, as investment in community services has risen across west London. That pattern is replicated across the country. The four PCTs in the five boroughs served by the South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust have recently started work on a joint strategic plan for in-patient services across all care groups. That includes plans for Sutton hospital and mental health in-patient services. Sutton and Merton PCT is leading on that work, which is likely to lead to consultation on a range of options in the spring of 2009, with decisions expected next summer. Those options are likely to include some that retain mental health beds in Sutton and others that transfer them to other boroughs. I encourage him to be closely involved in that consultation process so that he can be reassured that his voice is heard.