PATIENTS may be left without an adequate voice on health issues after plans to abolish community health councils (CHCs) were delayed until December.

The Government intended to replace CHCs, the public’s watchdog in health matters, with new patient forums and advisory services in September.

But the new services will not be ready in time, so CHCs will remain in place for another four months, leaving patients and employees in limbo.

Each NHS trust should set up a patient advisory and liaison service (PALS) to deal with customer care and a patient forum to be the voice of patients and an independent advocacy service.

In Lewisham, an advocacy service is being piloted and there is some form of PALS, but as yet no patient forum. Greenwich has no patient forum, but its PALS service is running and its advisory service is being piloted by the CHC.

Erith and Thamesmead MP John Austin, a member of the House of Commons Health Select Committee, says Health Minister David Lammy was warned that new services should be in place before CHCs were abolished.

Mr Austin added the minister now accepted he had got things wrong.

He said: “The problem is the decision has come too late, as many CHCs have closed and staff moved on.”