Local charities left smarting as health contracts go elsewhere

By John Plummer, Third Sector, 2 July 2008

Local charities should have been awarded more contracts in a Government initiative to give citizens a stronger voice in health services, local councils for voluntary service have claimed.

The Department of Health has awarded local authorities £84m to replace patients forums with new groups called local involvement networks. The groups, known as Links, are intended to give people a bigger say in their local health services. The networks are being established between April and September this year, and...