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Health Care (Sutton)

The hon. Gentleman is right that any organisation of services has to take access into account, and national guidelines will be laid down to ensure that that happens. However, the decision as to how best that is done on the ground is taken by the local health service. If there are fundamental and comprehensive changes to how services are organised in any particular area, it is open to him, or to the local councillors in that area, to raise objections through the overview and scrutiny and independent reconfiguration process, and I encourage them to do so if they are concerned about it. As the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam knows, the issues to do with the provision of these services are for his local health trust to resolve, and I encourage him and other hon. Members with an interest to engage in that process. The hon. Gentleman raised a problem in part of his constituency about density as regards the provision of GPs. I will have a word with the primary care trust about that, but I urge him to maintain the pressure on it. It is important that PCTs take GP access seriously to ensure that no members of the public are disadvantaged by a shortage of GPs in a particular area. As I am sure that he will appreciate, overall investment in primary care, as in all health services, is increasing year on year. That is the responsibility of PCTs, which will now be measured and ranked, not least on how they provide these services to deliver them in a proper and fair way. I hope that this debate has gone some way towards reassuring the hon. Gentleman that the proposals for Epsom and St. Helier, and for local care developments as part of ““Better Healthcare Closer to Home””, are moving forward. NHS London has advised me, in response to another question that he raised, that ““Better Healthcare Closer to Home”” and the local needs, local health review are unrelated. One does not depend on another, the first being about service development and the second being about organisational management arrangements. The local needs, local health review should have no significant impact on any aspect of ““Better Healthcare Closer to Home””. I am meeting the chief executive of NHS London tomorrow, and I will ensure that she is aware that this debate has happened. Matters are still ongoing in relation to the local needs, local health review. Any decisions taken about the future of Epsom and St. Helier, whether it remains as one trust or becomes two separate trusts, will be subject to consultation, and, as the hon. Gentleman asked, the views of local people will be considered before any final decisions are made. Question put and agreed to.