Decomissioning of Tier 4 Diabetes Outpatients appointments

April 2010

NHS Hounslow is planning to decomission Tier 4 Diabetes Outpatients appointments from West Middlesex University Hospital.  In future, patients will have to see their GP or another GP (with a special interest in diabetes) instead of seeing their Hospital Consultant. 

Our chief Executive Officer Colin Stacey raised issues with NHS Hounslow regarding their decommissioning of these outpatient appointments.  He had particular concerns over whether:-
  - there has been adequate consultation, involvement and engagement with local users
  - there were enough GPs sufficiently trained to provide the healthcare needed.
  - there was a properly costed Business plan
  - there would be parallel running of services to ensure that there would be an interrupted level of services

He took these issues to NHS Hounslow but received inadequate assurances.

He then referred the issues to the Hounslow Local Involvement Network (LINk)

We believe that the LINk has referred the issues to the Adults, Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel.