KENT County Council plans to spend £300,000 on a “health watch” scheme for NHS patients have been criticised by opposition parties.

Kent County Council wants to set up the watchdog to allow patients and others to bring complaints or concerns about the care they have received in hospitals to the attention of an independent organisation. This would be overseen by county councillors.

But Labour says the investment is unnecessary as it will duplicate Government plans for a similar initiative to give patients a way of raising concerns about the NHS.

These proposals involve the creation of Local Involvement Networks (LINks )to provde a forum fo people to influence health and social care services in their communities.

Opposition Labour leader Cllr Mike Eddy said: “Health Watch will be a stick to beat the NHS with. We should not be spending money on a piece of fatuous nonsense.”

The Government’s plans went beyond KCC’s scheme because they would include social care as well as health, he added. “The Conservatives have decided to go ahead and spend £300,000 doubling up on what the Government’s already doing,” he said.

County council leader Paul Carter (Con) stood by the plan, saying that had Health Watch been in place earlier, it could have saved the lives of some of the patients who had contracted the killer bug MRSA at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals.

“What we are trying to create here is an independent health watchdog which will measure the number of complaints made about any hospital in Kent. I think had we had Health Watch then, it would potentially have helped to save a significant number of lives,” he said.

If £300,000 meant lives could be saved, it would be “an extraordinarily valuable service,” he added.

Labour unsuccessfully called for the money to boost grants to voluntary organisations at the annual budget meeting.