CONCERNS are still growing among politicians for the future of The Alexandra Hospital and the safety of the town’s residents.
Redditch MP Karen Lumley joined Redditch Borough Council leader, Bill Hartnett, in a meeting with Dale Bywater of the Trust Development Authority (TDA) on Tuesday (February 9) at the Houses of Parliament.
Joining them were Councillor Chris Saint (Stratford on Avon District Council leader) and Margaret Sherrey (Bromsgrove District Council leader), who joined on a conference call.
Also present were representatives from Sajid Javid MP’s office and Nadhim Zahawi MP’s office.
The meeting was called as a follow-up to update Mrs Lumley and the respective council leaders on the situation regarding Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) – which covers the town’s Alexandra Hospital – and is in special measures.
Council leaders, along with Mrs Lumley, told Mr Bywater they are particularly worried about financial and clinical sustainability, the capacity at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital site and patient flows and patient choice.
Also on the agenda were discussions regarding the upcoming consultation plan and its apparent lack of a transport plan along with the proposal to group the trust together with Herefordshire.
Speaking after the meeting, Coun Hartnett said he explained to the TDA that Redditch wanted safe accessible services at the Alex and the borough council was ‘not satisfied’ with the current situation with the Worcestershire Acute Health Trust.
Mrs Lumley added how important it was to provide safe, accessible services at the Alex.
“We pressed the TDA to look at alliances with other trusts and they said they would go away and look at that option,” she added.
“I will meet with the Secretary of State and other Worcestershire MPs in the next few weeks and the Head of NHS Improvement to see how we improve the future of services in Worcestershire.”
