NHS Next Stage Review

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 12:32 pm on 4 July 2007.

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Photo of Julie Kirkbride Julie Kirkbride Conservative, Bromsgrove 12:32, 4 July 2007

The Worcestershire Hospitals Acute NHS Trust will shortly come forward with proposals, which we expect will include the axing of maternity and paediatric services at the Alexandra hospital, which serves my constituents and those of the Home Secretary. Bearing in mind that the cuts are very unpopular locally and could lead to future questions about the hospital's accident and emergency unit, and bearing in mind that the cuts are motivated by the fact that the Alexandra is an NHS hospital, and the Worcestershire Royal hospital is a private finance initiative hospital that cannot be touched, may I take it from the Secretary of State's statement that if such changes are proposed in the near future, they will be put on hold while the review is undertaken?

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Helen O'Donnell
Posted on 5 Jul 2007 12:40 pm (Report this annotation)

I agree that the possibility of losing the maternity services at the Alex will locally be an unpopular decision, but do the local people understand what the proposals are and why the maternity unit at the Alex is considered for closure?

I live in Bromsgrove (so am local to the Alex and had my first two babies there), I am, though, only concerned about maternity services (not my financing, upset locals, or by politics... I simply care about maternity services). My understanding is that neonatal nurses and paediatricians don't want to work at a small consulant led unit such as the Alex as it does not enable them to keep their skills up, favouring instead the larger consultant led units (such as WRH), where they are able to practice fully and keep their skills up-to-date.

I also understand that there isn't a staffing shortage at present, all vacancies have been filled, but that the real issue is staff not wanting to work on a small unit.

I also understand that there is to be a strategic meeting regarding the maternity units in Warwickshire before any decision will be made regarding the maternity unit in Redditch going to Consultation. So for example, if the maternity unit at Warwick hospital will close, it may be that the Alex's unit will have to remain open and be invested in so as to serve that geographic, and that the WRH may lose it's large consultant led maternity unit.

There may be a difference between NHS hospitals and private finance initiative hospitals but in my consideration that won't be driving the decision about which hospital will have the consultant led unit and which hospitals will have the midwife led units in Worcestershire.

Helen O'Donnell
Bromsgrove