PLANS being put forward by NHS England cluster Worcestershire Health and Well Being Board with Herefordshire’s have sparked alarm across the county.
Members of the authority’s Health and Well Being Board heard the news on Tuesday (January 26) and said the proposal did not appear to be based on any logic for patients, the health economy or the wider system and place.
They requested that when the local Clinical Commissioning Groups submit the proposal they highlight the lack of proper discussion on the issue, the vast differences between the two counties, the fact that there is already established a successful Adult Social Care Transformation programme in Worcestershire, the problems of travelling between the two counties, and that Worcestershire devolution discussions do not include Herefordshire.
They added that while similar challenges and failing performance exist across the two acute trusts, the greater benefit in terms of a cross-border footprint must surely come from pairing a failing trust with a more successful one.
They added that the county’s Health and Well Being Board desired to work across a number of borders including Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and into Birmingham.
The leader of Redditch borough council, Councillor Bill Hartnett, said: “I cannot see the benefit of these proposals for clustering Worcestershire with Herefordshire.
“I want what is best for Redditch and I will be writing to express my objections to these plans.”
Jo-Anne Alner, Locality Director for NHS England in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said: “We support the view of the NHS Trust Development Authority, that we fully expect local trusts to work together where there is a benefit in terms of patient care. Discussions will be taking place around strategic planning and the potential for closer working between trusts across a wider footprint to support this.”
