A NEW primary care trust (PCT) for Redbridge has been given the go-ahead from April.
Health minister John Hutton has agreed plans for the new organisation, which will be bigger than its predecessor, incorporating Wanstead and Woodford and matching the borough boundaries.
Wanstead resident Edwin Doyle, a civil engineer with extensive experience in the public sector, has been appointed chairman of the new PCT.
He is currently a non-executive director with Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT, and will replace Clive Myers, the Redbridge PCT chairman since the current organisation was established.
Chief executive of the current Redbridge PCT Tom Easterling said: "Patients and staff will both benefit from this change. It will pool services and resources currently spread across three organisations.
"What this change does is to bring us into line with the rest of London. We have been the only area without PCTs matching borough boundaries and it will greatly help the planning and running of local services."
The new PCT, matched by an equivalent PCT for Waltham Forest, follows public consultation in late 2002 which showed widespread support for the proposals.
It will mean that Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT will cease to exist from April 2003.
Over the next few months, the structure of the new organisations will be agreed, and staff in the current Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford PCT will prepare to transfer to the most appropriate borough PCT.
January 28, 2003 09:30
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