A REVIEW into the future of vital hospital services in Worcestershire is set to rumble on well into next year, it has been announced.

The process has already been subject to several delays and it had been hoped that members of the public would be able to have their say on plans to reshape the way acute hospital services are delivered this year.

But yesterday, health chiefs announced a public consultation on the future of Worcestershire hospital services will now be delayed until after the General Election next May.

The review of the favoured clinical option for the future of services at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust will now not be finished until December, so consultation could not take place until the spring of next year at the earliest.

But restrictions in the run-up to the election means that will not be possible, so the consultation will not start until at least M a y.

There has been fears the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch would lose its A&E department as part of the shake-up. But this was ruled out in January.

The proposed clinical model would see more planned surgery being undertaken at the Alexandra Hospital including the development of Worcestershire-wide centres of excellence for orthopaedics and urology together with a specialist upper gastro- intestinal surgery service. However, overnight children’s services and consultant-led births in Worcestershire would be centralised at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester.

Detailed work on the proposed clinical model has been undertaken by three task and finish groups whose membership included GPs and hospital clini - cians from bothWorcestershire and further afield. The West Midlands Clinical Senate will not be able to complete a review of the proposal until December.

A statement released yesterday by Worcestershire’s three clinical commissioning groups, the organisations which pay for NHS care, said: “We are conscious of the General Election next May and the impact this might have on when we start the consultation. It is expected that the NHS will have to adopt the ‘purdah’ convention that major consultations on policy change are not made in the period immediately prior to the election.”

Jo Newton, independent chairman of the Programme Board, said: “We have planned a series of public and patient engagement events and will continue and will continue to listen to comments raised.”

Former MP, retired hospital consultant Dr Richard Taylor, Parliamentary candidate for Kidderminster for Health Concern and co-leader of the National Health Action Party, said any changes to hospitals services were a “political hot potato”.

He said: “It is a very, very worrying and difficult time. They should have got on and decided it months and months ago. I’m afraid the uncertainty at the Alex does mean that staff have been leaving and staff will continue to leave. Every delay does mean people (in the NHS) unfortunately find other jobs and leave. It’s not good.”

Neal Stote, chairman of the Save the Alex Campaign, said while it was “disappointing” for staff the delay gave the opportunity for the West Midlands Clinical Senate to do a proper clinical review of what has been proposed.

He said: “It helps to make sure the decision being proposed is correct.”