(2) when he expects the East of England Strategic Health Committee to start its public consultation on proposed changes to the treatment of cardiac emergencies in East Suffolk.
I respectfully decline the request to meet the volunteers at the moment.
We would encourage the volunteers who ran Suffolk Air Ambulance to discuss directly with Suffolk Primary care Trust their role in proposed arrangements for dealing with cardiac emergencies in East Suffolk.
We have been advised that the East of England Strategic health Authority (SHA) did consult on the proposals for heart attack services, as part of ‘Towards the best, Together’. This consultation took place from 12 May to 4 August 2008 and directly involved more than 7,000 people across the region. It included a structured public opinion survey of 2,500 people, 86 local meetings, a structure sample survey of 1,000 staff and 77 detailed submissions form stakeholder groups.
In addition, a half-day meeting on the acute care proposals took place with the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 9 July 2008.
East of England SHA has asked Professor Roger Boyle CBE, National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, and a team of experts to review the plans for the introduction of a new Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention service in Suffolk.
If, after this process is complete, representatives of the volunteers still wish to meet me then I will see them.