A LEADING GP has warned that South Lake-land faces ‘five years of drought’ in local health funding.

Dr Hugh Reeve spoke of the challenges facing local doctors as they take more responsib-ility for the area’s healthcare budget.

The Grange-over-Sands GP is a leading member of the Westmorland Primary Care Collabor-ative, a group of 21 South Lakes medical practices, which are in charge of an £86m bud-get for delivering health services.

He believes that by letting the public have their say on the future of healthcare, prior-ities can be made clear and help make the service a success for generations to come.

Dr Reeve, 53, of Nutwood Surgery, said: “What is important to note is that the money we will get over the next five years will not increase. We have had five years of plenty and now, in terms of fund-ing, we will have five years of drought.

“However, what it now means is that doctors across the service are more aware of the cost of their actions and realise that the easiest most expensive option may not be the best option for the patient.”

South Lakes has a population of 110,000 people and Dr Reeve is only too aware of the pressures the increase in the elderly popul-ation will put on the local health service in the future.

He said: “We as GPs are learning that we need to consider what is best for the patient and what is cost effective. It is often the case, we are learning, that the cheapest option is the best for the patient.

“If we do not send somebody to hospital we can save thousands of pounds every time, which is put back in the pot to be spent on some-thing else.

“There is obviously going to be a larger pop-ulation in the region in years to come, of which a significant proportion are elderly. This will have a huge impact on the health services, so that is why we are keen to act now to help.

“Due to the ageing population we will see a rise in chronic disea-ses, such as dementia and cancers. That is why certain services at Westmorland General Hospital have been put in place and more will follow to help deal with the problems first.

“We already have two community wards there which combine health workers with social workers so that we can help keep people close to or in their homes for treatment.”

Dr Reeve is hopeful groups like South Lakes Health Action (SLHA) can bring the public closer to the GPs.

He added: “What we are now trying to do is engage the public to decide what the people of South Lakeland bel-ieve are the priorities. By holding meetings with groups such as SLHA, we can achieve this and ensure every-body has an input.”