THE much-maligned revamp of hospital services in the county has been slammed by top hospital bosses in Birmingham.

In a damning letter to Redditch Council leader Bill Hartnett, the chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) Dame Julie Moore, and chair and former Redditch MP Jacqui Smith, say they are "not convinced" an agreement on a new model in Worcestershire will ever be reached.

They say it is very frustrating that after four years there still remains a lack of agreement on the reconfiguration of hospital services and points out in that time Worcestershire Acute Health Trust (WAHT), which runs Redditch's Alexandra Hospital, the Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital, has suffered in terms of financial performance.

A lack of engagement and yet to be consulted upon centralisation of key services, under the guise of safety grounds, is also mentioned.

The letter said: “I am still not convinced that any agreement on a new hospital model for Worcestershire will be reached as the underpinning rationale of the review has been to focus solely on a new model that delivers a financially viable WAHT in essentially its current form.”

It goes on to say that it is disappointing that an earlier option, one championed by campaigners and MPs, to look at services at the Alex Hospital being run by another provider, was rejected.

"This decision was disappointing as I do believe that UHB could have developed an exciting and innovative proposal for the Alex Hospital and its local population," the letter said.

Even if an agreement is made, Dame Julie said that people will still continue to choose Birmingham over travelling to Worcester.

The letter also reveals that UHB has seen a "significant" increase in people from Redditch and Bromsgrove choosing to go to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and admit they are worried about the impact on capacity at the hospital.

It says: "The growth experienced to date has already placed significant pressure on our local Birmingham population as well as increase in elective waits for those patients (including Worcestershire residents) who require specialist treatment including cancer surgery."

Cllr Hartnett said he welcomed the letter.

"I advised the council at its last meeting at the end of July that I intended to write to UHB as part of the work on the councils health commission on the future of acute hospital services in Worcestershire, unfortunately the start date for that consultation has been delayed," he said.

"I reported to council that we had a reply to our letter and read extracts from the letter which I welcome, the letter will I am sure be very useful for our work on the health commission as it contains valuable statistical information about recent increased patient flows and extra work going into Birmingham from Redditch and Bromsgrove areas, and also comments on proposed models going back as far as 2012 and finds it frustrating as I do the length of time this process has taken.

"I was pleased to read that UHB agreed with this council's concern about the emergency change in paediatric inpatient services."

He added: "I was interested and I am following up the paragraph where it stated that Birmingham City Council's chair of overview and scrutiny had written to their counterpart in Worcestershire County Council.

"I would welcome seeing a joint review between the two councils, and have urged the borough council's representative on the county health overview and scrutiny to pursue and get agreement for the task group to be set up."

A spokesman from pressure group Save the Alex said: "This letter backs up everything we have been saying since the very beginning.

"What we have always said about people travelling North for their health treatment, about the more convenient transport options from Redditch to Birmingham, not to mention the difficulty WAHT is having in coping with the influx of patients from Redditch and Bromsgrove.

“Why would people in Redditch opt to travel to Worcester when they have leading specialist hospitals on their doorsteps in Birmingham? With specialist children’s, women’s and trauma facilities in Birmingham it is no surprise that people would choose that over travelling further afield to Worcester where the services are less specialised.

“That a top NHS leader such as Dame Julie Moore would admit that she does not believe an agreement will be reached for a new Worcestershire hospital model speaks volumes about the state we are now in.”