THE long-awaited public consultation into the future of health care in Worcestershire is expected to start in the first week of December.
Health chiefs are awaiting final approval of their plans from NHS England, expected on November 21, which should bring with it £29million of investment to improve and expand a range of services, including car parking, operating theatres at the Alexandra Hospital and more beds at Worcestershire Royal.
Once this is given it is anticipated the consultation period will stretch over Christmas and beyond into the new year with a likely completion date sometime in February 2017.
The measure has been some five years in the making and its delay has been blamed by health chiefs for a number of ills at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
These include uncertainty over its future leading to a high turnover of staff and staff shortages, which in turn has led to rising wage bills as the authority is forced to employ expensive temporary replacements to fill the gaps.
The main proposed changes which members of the public will be asked to comment on are:
1) Separation of emergency and planned care to improve outcomes and patient experience.
2) Creation of centres of excellence for planned surgery.
3) Urgent care centre for adults and children at the Alexandra Hospital.
4) A&E remaining at the Alexandra Hospital (adult only) with robust arrangements for managing a seriously sick child if they arrive unexpectedly or their condition deteriorates and they need an inpatient stay in hospital.
5) Centralisation of inpatient care for children at Worcester with the majority of children’s care remaining local.
6 ) Centralisation of consultant-led births at Worcester with ante-natal and post-natal care remaining local.
7) Centralisation of emergency surgery.
