"SOME people may not want to hear this, but I know that the acute trust have worked extremely hard to get to the position they are now in," says Redditch MP Karen Lumley. 

The controversial statement was made following a public meeting with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, members of the Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group and staff at the Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday, September 28).

More than 400 residents attended the public meeting which discussed the future of the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

Mrs Lumley said: "I was delighted to see so many people there, all with relevant questions to ask, and second, I was extremely grateful for the time committed to the meeting by those consultants and staff at our hospital.

"Caragh Merrick, the newly-appointed chair of the Trust, said at the meeting that she was very aware that the Acute Trust had not engaged with its community sufficiently in the past, and that she intended to put that right. I commend that standpoint and I very much look forward to working with Caragh and her team in the coming months and years.

"There have been rumblings and rumours of changes, and indeed changes to services that have taken place at the Alex in the 25 years and more since it was built. But we are where we are now, and we have to secure the best that we can for the people of Redditch.

"The children's and maternity wards were moved the Worcester due to a lack of staffing. As I said at the meeting, this is not about money, but a national inability to recruit the necessary staff to run specialised services across all hospitals."

She added that she "welcomed" the forthcoming consultation on the clinical model that has been put forward by the trust for the running of the hospital services. 

The consultation is set to begin in November and run for 12 weeks, during which time community and other interest groups can make their points to the trust board.