Redditch MP concerned over 'knock on effect' of trauma move

The decision aims to keep beds free for surgery at Redditch, bosses said

An MP has raised concerns about the "knock on effect" of removing the majority of trauma care from Redditch's Alexandra Hospital.

West Midlands ambulance crews will instead be diverted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the change will help keep beds free for planned surgery in Redditch.

Redditch MP Rachel Maclean has called for greater clarity for patients.

Redditch MP Rachel Maclean said she is concerned about the "knock on effects"

Ambulance crews were notified that there will be no ability to admit patients to hospital with trauma injuries, other than major trauma, at the Redditch site from Saturday.

In September, 622 ambulances waited more than an hour to discharge their patients at Worcestershire Royal.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has already been diverting patients from Kidderminster Hospital to Redditch to alleviate pressure on Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

In an open letter to the trust's chief executive, Matthew Hopkins, Ms Maclean posed a number of questions about the decision.

Ambulances will divert to Worcester from Saturday

Speaking to BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, she said she understood the "pressure" on everyone in the system but was also "acutely aware" of the pressures at the Worcester hospital.

"We know that there are delays with ambulances trying to discharge patients for emergency admission there so I'm just concerned about the overall knock on effect this will have and basically I'm concerned about the treatment people in Redditch are going to be getting," Ms Maclean added.

People in Redditch, she said, need "clarity" over where they will be seen.

Paul Brennan, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at the hospital trust, previously said an emergency trauma service would continue at Redditch and the decision helped develop an inpatient trauma unit at Worcester.