Health chief gives personal commitment to expanding healthcare facilities in Leighton Buzzard

The Minister for Primary and Social Care has given a personal commitment to expanding healthcare facilities in Leighton Buzzard.

Neil O’Brien told a meeting of health groups last week he was confident there would soon be progress on an additional GP facility in Leighton-Linslade along with a separate but unspecified healthcare facility in the town centre.

Mr O’Brien, joined a remote meeting with Andrew Selous, North West Beds MP, the town's three patient participation group and local councillors.

Mr Selous said: “It was very good to be able to facilitate a meeting between the three patient participation groups in the town and local councillors with the primary care minister, Neil O’Brien last week.

“The Minister gave his personal commitment to seeing through the expansion of healthcare facilities in Leighton Buzzard, and also committed to make sure that Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes integrated care board listen well to local people and communicate proactively and transparently.”

The Health Provision Group (HPG) presented the Minister with a summary of the Patient Healthcare Survey which received more than 5,000 responses. The Minister learned the survey revealed priorities including at least one additional GP surgery to accommodate a rapidly growing population and an urgent treatment facility centrally located in the town.

Mr O’Brien complemented the HPG on the comprehensive survey of patient care needs in the area and on the exceptionally high response rate from residents.

The Minister explained he recognised that Leighton-Linslade had healthcare shortages which the Group had rightly taken up with the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB), as the funding body for primary and secondary healthcare, and with Central Beds Council which also has responsibility for healthcare provision.

He said he had already taken up the needs of Leighton-Linslade with BLMK ICB and Central Beds Council Leader, Cllr Adam Zerny, and stressed funding would have to come from the BLMK ICB and CBC – potentially from the sale of a plot of land in Vandyke Road which had been held by the Secretary of State for Health since the 1980s.

Councillor Zerny said: “It is clear there is great demand for more healthcare facilities in the town and I am eager to work with the group to ensure their views are properly considered before any decisions are made."

But the ICB has been criticised by the Health Provision Group.

A spokesman for the group, said: “Despite numerous assurances from the BLMK ICB that they wanted to work collaboratively with local residents, the HPG has had no contact from the ICB since they were given the survey presentation five weeks ago.

“This lack of response and urgency is extremely disappointing. The Minister agreed with this and undertook to instruct the ICB to engage fully with the HPG and residents. He also agreed that the ICB should utilise the wealth of material from the survey to inform all proposals for improved healthcare in future in the town.”

The ICB has been approached for comment.

> The HPG will be running a new ‘Leighton Buzzard Health Matters’ feature on the first Tuesday of each month in the LBO. It will cover developments in the campaign for improved healthcare and topical health matters.