West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has offered her support to proposals by local health chiefs to re-configure services across the county hospitals. The planning process, which has now been running for more than five years, will see some services such as emergency paediatrics moved permanently to Worcestershire Royal Hospital and more elective surgery carried out at other sites in the county. Harriett has backed this ‘preferred option’ which has now been agreed by clinicians and the plans are backed by a bid for extra funding from the Department for Health to improve both hospitals. All three county Clinical Commissioning Groups today voted to support the reorganisation at a joint board meeting held in Bromsgrove. Harriett commented: “The very long delays getting to this decision have been unsettling for everyone and it has made it much harder to recruit staff while these plans have been developed. “While a lot of the conversations have focused on the future of the Alexandra Hospital, most of my constituents and those across south Worcestershire, have supported a solution which offers the best possible care for the whole of Worcestershire. “I have also been keen to encourage the Acute Trust to deliver more services through local community hospitals and have already supported the bid for additional funding to make these changes possible. “I am pleased that the plan has a commitment to look at transport links for patients getting to and from Acute hospital trust sites as it will be a challenge for those not able to use private transport. “The good news is that adopting this new model will deliver more than £4 million in savings each year and I am keen that this clinician-approved solution should now be implemented paving the way for better healthcare across the county.”