HOT ON HEALTH

10.03.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 20th Sep 2004

The new Health Centre at West Byfleet opened in July 2003 is now hot on heart failure thanks to the generosity of the Busenhart Morgan Evans Foundation which donated a state of the art echo-cardiogram machine costing more than £60,000. Anne Lee (Woking Liberal Democrat's Parliamentary Spokesperson) was shown around the centre by Doctors Philip and Annette Cummin and learned how West Byfleet and Woking patients now have rapid access to checks for heart failure and other heart conditions using the new echo machine at the Centre. The scanner is also used by a visiting consultant radiologist to carry out abdominal scans. The funding for this is met by regular donations from The Friends of West Byfleet Health Centre.

"I was told how helpful it would be if we could have more specialist services locally available" she said. "There are 28,000 patients registered at this Health Centre, that is one quarter of the whole of Woking constituency. Whilst it is possible to do minor surgery now, it would be helpful to have funding available locally for more work, for example dermatology and pain clinics. It makes such a difference when patients can come to their local surgery rather than have to travel miles to Ashford St Peters".

Local needs such as parking, walk-in clinics and what level of surgery inspection would be appropriate were also discussed.

The GP's also discussed with Anne the distorting effect of the NHS targets that are imposed nationally.

After the visit, Anne promised that she would fight the expansion of this distorting 'target culture' in the NHS.

ENDS