OVER the Christmas period I visited an innovative health practice based within the accident and emergency unit of Torbay Hospital.

Devon Doctors has an office and consulting room where anyone attending A&E who would be better managed by a GP can be seen, taking pressure off and saving costs of the acute accident and emergency facility.

Many people visit their A&E simply because they are not registered with a GP, or are visiting the area from elsewhere, or because it is out of hours for their own GP surgery. All place pressure on an A&E service which is primarily for people suffering an accident or requiring emergency treatment.

The decision as to who Devon Doctors see is taken by the A&E reception staff and the DD claim last year to have prevented almost 10,000 inappropriate self-referrals by simply seeing the patients at their point of perceived need.

Consequently, waiting times for all patients in A&E are reduced as are some of the treatment costs.

In other hospital A&E reception areas, all such primary care patients are referred to the junior doctor or nurse practitioner seeing minor injuries. In other hospitals this group of patients can be a considerable strain on the health service budget.

With so many changes taking place in our health service it is important that we don’t lose some of the successful and innovative schemes that we have on our doorstep.

We can be very proud of the services we have seen developed across South Devon and Torbay in recent years, from small but significant initiatives such as Devon Doctors, to large scale delivery of integrated services through the adult care trust.

IN THEORY, high speed rail is a great idea, offering a greener and more efficient alternative to air travel, a less stressful experience than driving, and a much more practical use of time for the person who wants to work while travelling.

In practice it is very, very expensive and given the size of our country compared to others and the comparatively modest journey times between most of our cities, the benefits can be overstated.

The map for the new infrastructure shows that £33billion will be spent speeding up journey times between London and most of the rest of the country, but not the South West.

The South West’s connectivity, already the slowest and most expensive in the UK, will fall further behind the rest of the country if this plan goes ahead.

For a fraction of the capital investment proposed for this project we could have through duelling, new passing points and a couple of station improvements, create two competing faster rail lines into the South West from Paddington and Waterloo offering more choice, increased freight and passenger capacity, and as a consequence of real competition, cheaper fares.

The issue the Government claims to have identified is how best to help regions regenerate themselves. I question this top-down proposal when regions, including those on the map for high speed rail, would benefit more from being given real fiscal powers and freedoms to determine their own priorities.

REFORM of social care — and the dignity and independence of older people — is an urgent priority, and not just because of demographic changes and financial pressures on state spending.

Designing a new system which is both affordable and fair to all older people won’t be easy, which is why we need all the political parties to put their differences aside and come together to agree a way forward.

The coalition has now commenced cross-party talks, and has been engaging with social care organisations since September.

Working in partnership the Government will, hopefully, be able to bring forward a white paper and a progress report on funding reform in the spring setting out plans.

Thanks to Liberal Democrat pressure in the coalition, there is an extra £7.2billion for social care over the course of this Parliament, and this month the Government announced an extra £150million for social care to help people get care at home and relieve pressures on the NHS.

SHOULD we have a vote on Scottish independence? That was a question posed by one MP in response to the Prime Minister’s call for an early referendum on whether Scotland should leave the union.

Frivolous though it may be, and I strongly believe this is a matter for the electorate of Scotland and no one else, it does bring into focus the difficulties the rest of the UK has when confronted with the possible break-up of the United Kingdom.

Were we to be involved in such a vote, what would happen if the Scots voted to stay in the UK, and the rest of us voted for them to leave? Answers on a post card, please.

Saturday, January 21, 10am to 11.30am, The Windmill Centre, Pendennis Road, Hele, Torquay.

Friday, January 27, 4pm to 5.30pm, Paignton Library, Great Western Road, Paignton.

Advice line: 200036. Web: www. adri ansanders.org Email: sandersa@par liament.uk Also on Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.