Government plans to give patients more say over how their local health services are organised have been welcomed. Health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, announced last week that patient forums could be replaced by new Local Involvement Networks (LINKS), which will look after both social care users and NHS patients. The new LINKS will work with existing community groups, including council scrutiny committees. The LGA’s community wellbeing board chair, Cllr David Rogers, said: ‘Health and social care are two sides of the same coin, and giving people more control of both sides is a victory for common sense.’ But David Janner-Klausner, from the Democratic Health Network, said: ‘If these new bodies have fewer powers to investigate local providers, they could be less effective and less attractive to individuals, who might have sat on patient and public involvement forums.’
