An action group set up by people hoping to save the Corby Urgent Care Centre has begun a judicial review over the CCG’s lack of consultation. The review, made by the Save Our Urgent Care Action Group, says residents have not been lawfully involved in any planned changes to healthcare or the potential closure of the Urgent Care Centre, run by Lakeside+.
Lakeside’s contract is due to expire on September 30 with no other bidder ready to take on the contract, which the operators say doesn’t offer enough money. Earlier this month the CCG agreed to try to negotiate an extension but there has been no announcement on these discussions. Now the residents have launched a judicial review, saying the CCG would be acting unlawfully if it made changes to services at the Urgent Care Centre without consulting patients.
They also say it would be acting unlawfully if it refuses to extend the contract without an alternative service in place, or procures for a new contract without taking into account feedback from any consultation. The review document reads: “In order to be lawful, consultation on specific options about the centre should have been conducted prior to the extraordinary meeting, rather than a simple survey. “No such consultation has been undertaken at a formative stage, given the decision to either close the centre or change the contract to a ‘caretaker’ contract would have already been taken.
“This means patients would have been unfairly deprived of the opportunity to influence the CCG’s decision-making process. “Without proper consultation on specific options, the CCG has not fulfilled its commitment, as it claims in the executive summary, to carry out a proper dialogue with the public to ensure it has genuine insight into the options, wishes and concerns of the people of Corby.”
The CCG has previously said it could not comment on the situation due to the threat of legal action. MP Tom Pursglove has called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to intervene and force the CCG to provide answers.
Article originally appeared on Northamptonshire Telegraph
