THE lack of NHS dentists and concerns about the future of GP services were both key issues raised at the first public meeting of a new health body.

Inequalities in services across Morecambe Bay were also discussed at the Patient and Public Involvement in Health forums meeting in Kendal this week.

There are two forums, one each for Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust, and Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust, and part of their function is to hear concerns from patients and the public and investigate aspects of health care.

One of the key challenges for the forums, the meeting was told, would be to help to ensure the NHS involved patients and the public in every aspect of healthcare.

During a public discussion, Janette Jenkinson told the meeting that there was a lot of concern about access to GPs, and that family doctors were not coming forward to work in the area.

It was an area which the PCT's forum would be able to look into, said chairman Jim Bradley: "We see the working arrangements with GP services as one of our priorities to get involved with and understand."

Anne Beattie, of the Furness Cancer Support Group, wanted to highlight the differences in support that cancer patients received when they left hospital, depending on where in the Bay they lived. Patients in the Kendal and Lancaster areas fared much better than those in the Barrow area, she said.

Access to NHS dentistry was mentioned as a concern. Leigh Griffin, chief executive of the PCT, told the meeting that he knew this was a problem, and that a lot of effort was going into trying to improve matters.

The forums were set up last year and are one of a number of organisations that have replaced the former community health councils. They have powers to require information of health trusts, and can also inspect health premises.