RESEARCH has revealed that almost half the board of the newly-created Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which replaces Community Health Councils, is to be comprised of active Labour supporters.

Labour's scandalous treatment of the CHCs and its staff is now plumbing new depths.

Abolishing CHCs and establishing this new Commission was done with the supposed intention of encouraging patient feedback and involvement in the NHS. However, the real reason behind these changes -- a tactic frequently used by this Labour Government to remove opposition, -- was to create a body which would put the aims of the Labour Party first, rather than those of the public. When will the Government take steps to ensure that proper public scrutiny and input is involved in NHS decision making? The staff and members of Bolton CHC have done a tremendous job in representing the public of Bolton, why mend something when it doesn't need fixing? It is another attempt by this ever more controlling Government to silence anything or anybody that could highlight its many failings.

Andy Morgan

(Councillor Hulton Park Ward)