by political editor Paul Francis

Calls for Kent County Council to scrap its patient watchdog service, Healthwatch, have been rejected after a fresh political row over its costs.

The round-the-clock telephone service allows people to register their complaints about any aspects of care they have received by the NHS and to flag up wider concerns about care, including social services.

The scheme will cost £200,000 to run this year, about £100,000 less than the costs in its first year.

County council leader Cllr Paul Carter said the scheme had played a part in preventing a repeat of the kind of health scandal at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, where patients died as a result of C-difficile infections.

The Conservative party nationally says it may extend the concept across the country if it forms the next Government.

But Cllr Carter admitted more needed to be done to market and promote the scheme and accepted there was resistance to it.

"HealthWatch has not been supported by the health service in Kent and we have to convince them it has a radical part to play. We have to work on it and make sure that we market it and that the NHS opens up and allows us to market it in GPs’ surgeries."

Opposition Liberal Democrats argued the scheme should be scrapped because of the costs.

Lib Dem leader Cllr Trudy Dean said that each caller to HealthWatch cost the council several hundred pounds. Speaking during KCC’s budget meeting, she said: "For every £100 spent on answering calls, £25 is spent on promoting the service. If there is any shred of commonsense, we should scrap HealthWatch now. We are taking just over one call a day."

Labour also called for the scheme to be scrapped. Spokesman Cllr Les Christie said the money would be better spent on supporting Citizens Advice Bureaus.

"It is time to recognise that it has been a failure and like Kent TV, it is time to pull the plug."