'Pretty serious negligence' to blame for lack of funding for primary health care says South West Beds MP

A Bedfordshire MP has claimed that “pretty serious negligence” on the part of former local NHS organisations has led to insufficient funding for primary health care.

The MP for South West Bedfordshire, Andrew Selous, shared his views at Central Bedfordshire Council’s Social Care Health and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee today (Monday, February 13).

Committee chair, councillor Mark Versallion (Conservative, Health and Reach) had told committee members that there had been a “comparatively sensible and very well attended” meeting in Leighton Buzzard the previous week to discuss primary health care capacity in the area.

Referring to that meeting, Mr Selous said: “[This is] a follow up question to the ICB [Integrated Care Board] following on from Thursday night’s meeting when we found out that there was only £88,000 of section 106 money for Leighton Buzzard.”

Section 106 funding is paid by developers and is used towards the costs of providing community and social infrastructure.

“And while I don’t have the figure to hand for Houghton Regis, I think it’s a similarly small amount,” he said.

“Just reflecting on that information over the weekend, it does seem to me that proper due diligence was not undertaken by the predecessor health authorities in requesting sufficient section 106 money for increasing primary care capacity and both Leighton Linslade and Houghton Regis at the time.

“Given that there was inadequate attention paid to that, and not enough money was asked for by the predecessor health authorities, my question really is what obligation that now puts on the integrated care board to remedy what I consider to be, I’m afraid, to be pretty serious negligence on the part of the predecessor organisations,” he asked.

Nicky Poulain, BLMK ICB’s chief primary care officer, said because it’s not a straightforward answer she would submit a formal response.

Mr Selous said he looks forward to the response in writing.

“But the point was made by the leader of Central Bedfordshire Council that the section 106 money has to be bid for by the health authorities,” he said.

“And if it’s not bid for, the money isn’t there to provide additional primary care for 6,000 new houses in one town, and 8,000 houses in the other.

“To my mind I’m afraid that does then provide a significant obligation on the current health authority to remedy that lack of foresight by the predecessor bodies,” he said.

Ms Poulian said: “Can just say for the record that is the [MP’s] perspective, I just want members [to know] that’s not necessarily fact.

“But we will work it through and I just do also like to mention that Felicity Cox and Dr Rima Makarem were there with the leader of the council.

“So there was an absolute commitment, that’s the important thing, there’s an absolute commitment to do the right thing for the residents,” she said.