NEW official watchdogs keeping an eye on the NHS in Basingstoke will be run by an offshoot of the Scouts.

The contract to run three of the new Patient Forums affecting north Hampshire has been awarded to Scout Enterprises (Western) Ltd.

The new organisations, coming into being on December 1, will replace Basingstoke and North Hampshire Community Health Council which is being abolished on the same date after nearly 30 years of existence.

Alan Beavis, programmes development manager for Scout Enterprises, told The Gazette he has enough experience to run the new organisations, which will be made up of volunteers.

He said: "We are quite used to it. Our role is to provide administrative support and to get the forums up and running. Members will pick up the local issues and decide on what to do."

He said Scout Enterprises has been involved in a variety of employment initiatives with the Government, including Job Clubs and work access programmes for the disabled.

In Basingstoke, three forums will be set up by Mr Beavis and each will monitor an individual health trust.

The CHC's job of handling patients' complaints has been passed to the new PALS organisations, already in operation.

Mr Beavis, who said he will appoint a co-ordinator for the Basingstoke forums, has set up office in Grazeley and will be in charge of six forums in total, including Reading and Slough.

The abolition of CHCs has been a political hot potato at Westminster.

Basingstoke and North Hants CHC chairman Frank Rust, who has met NHS ministers to discuss the proposals, said the key point will be the money provided in the contract.

He told The Gazette: "I'm pretty sure there is not any great amount of money available. It's crazy really. But I think people from the CHC will volunteer for these new bodies. They are all active people."

The local forums will themselves be monitored by the Guildford office of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health.

A spokeswoman for the CPPIH told The Gazette that the new organisations will have statutory powers to inspect hospitals, GP surgeries and other premises. They will also have the power to refer changes in services to the Secretary of State for Health, but only via the new health-oriented overview and scrutiny committees of local authorities.

The spokeswoman claimed that with a greater number of forums than CHCs, the chances of the public becoming involved were greater. However, she admitted there is still a need to recruit volunteer members.

Anyone interested in joining should call 0845 120 7115 or visit www.maketimeforhealth.org