Wychavon quiz NHS

Councillors in Wychavon quizzed NHS Worcestershire (the Primary Care Trust) this week about their proposed changes to how community health services are run. 

These include community nursing, therapy services and the community hospitals.  In future these services cannot be provided directly by the PCT but will be commissioned (or bought) by NHS Worcestershire, which is proposed to merge with the Mental Health Trust to create a new organisation.

NHS Worcestershire has to submit formal proposals to the Strategic Health Authority by the end of March.

Aspects answered by Simon Trickett from NHS Worcestershire included whether any consultation on the proposals could be meaningful, the scale of savings to be made by the Trust generally, how the Community Hospitals will run under a new organisation, and the role of GPs in providing the services.

Councillor Rob Adams, who chaired the meeting, said: “It was a constructive and informative session for Councillors and I hope for NHS Worcestershire too, as they find out what issues concern the communities of Worcestershire and Wychavon in particular.”

Councillor Judy Pearce, Executive Board member for Planning, Housing and Health, indicated she will also be putting a wide range of questions to the Board of NHS Worcestershire at its meeting next Wednesday (17 March). 

She said: “There are so many aspects of this process that are vague and unknown.  For example, the proposals assume the NHS will continue to provide services rather than efficiencies being sought by going to competition. Residents value the community hospitals and they provide essential services to our more rural areas where people can be cared for close to home.  Yet the changes seem to sideline these.  We haven’t seen an evaluation of the present way of delivering services before the NHS is pitched into another review alongside having to make savings locally of about £60m.”