A SENIOR health boss has slammed the continued delays to the extensive project revamping hospital services in Worcestershire.

Speaking at a meeting of the governing body of NHS South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on Thursday, March 26, lay member Rob Parker said progress on the project, which began in 2012, had been “like pulling teeth”.

The project, which will redesign where and how services are delivered at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, was expected to be complete by the end of 2014, but has been beset by delays.

A public consultation, originally planned to be held last September, has been held up until the West Midlands Clinical Senate presents its independent report into the plans, but last month it was announced this would not be released until after May’s General Election.

Speaking at last week’s meeting at Evesham Community Hospital Mr Parker, who holds responsibility for overseeing audit and governance within the CCG, said: “The progress on this is like pulling teeth.

“I understand the larger issue around the General Election but the whole thing doesn’t seem to have a drive behind it.

“Given the safety issues and the financial issues it seems to me there should be a lot more impetus on getting this moving along.

“Getting past the General Election what are we and the acute trust doing to get a real head of steam behind this?”

The CCG’s chief clinical officer Simon Trickett said the large amount of organisations involved in the plans – including Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the three sites, NHS England and the CCG itself – was at least partially to blame for the delays.

“Before we can go to a public consultation we have to get NHS England approval and that has been a barrier,” he said.

“Our expectation is there are going to be large aspects of this reconfiguration there is not going to be much contention around.

“The challenge is going to be emergency services. As time goes on events can overtake.”

Among the proposals being examined are to set up a networked Major Emergency Centre at the Royal where the most seriously ill or injuries patients will be taken, but keeping the Alex’s A&E department open for less serious incidents.

It has also been proposed to centralise consultant-led maternity services at the Royal while setting up a stand-alone midwife-led birth centre in the north of the county.

For more information on the project visit www.worcsfuturehospitals.co.uk.