Top doctor concerned over how sustainable health services will be at the Alexandra Hospital

A top local doctor has voiced concerns over how sustainable health services will be at the Alexandra Hospital.

Dr Jonathan Wells, the former chair of Redditch & Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), says the current public consultation document issued by the county’s three CCGs and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) fails to tackle key outstanding issues.

In his submission to the Redditch borough council health commission he says these include:

1) Staffing problems in Accident and Emergency at the Alex. With more services going to Worcester it will be hard to attract talented staff willing to work in what would be an environment with fewer specialities. It is still not known if a full time adult A&E at the Alex is sustainable in the long run.

2) There is no capacity in place elsewhere for pregnant women to have a choice where they give birth.

3) The proposed Urgent Care Centres for children and adults at the Alex and Worcestershire Royal are still at the planning stage.

Full story in the Bromsgrove Standard, 6 February 2017