LONG-awaited report into the future of Redditch's Alexandra Hospital is set to be released next month, it can be revealed.

The Future of Acute Hospital Services in Worcestershire programme (FoAHSW) was originally slated to be fully complete by the end of 2014, but has been beset by delays.

Last year the West Midlands Clinical Senate was asked to put together an independent report into the project, and earlier this year it was announced it would not be published until after the general election.

The organisation’s chairman Dr David Hegarty admitted the report was still not fully complete but that it will be done by the middle of June.

“We recognise that the publication of the West Midlands Clinical Senate report is eagerly awaited,” he said.

“The report provides independent clinical advice on the long-term planning for hospital services across Worcestershire.

"The report is still in draft form and there is now a process to follow to finalise the report, before it is released to the Future of Acute Hospital Services Worcestershire programme board.

“This process includes a requirement to check the draft report for factual accuracy and for the programme board to consider the findings and contents of the report, and produce their response to it.

“We expect this to take approximately four weeks."

He added: "The programme board will publish the final report and their response as soon as they are available.”

The project involves a dramatic restructuring of the county’s three acute hospitals, Redditch's Alex, Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and Kidderminster Hospital, run by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT).

Fears have been raised it could result in the closure of the A&E department at the Alex.

Neal stote, from Save the Alex pressure group, said that the report will give a view on whether the clinical model put together by WAHT/FoAHSW, which involves the creation of a networked emergency centre at the Alex and the centralisation of maternity services at the Royal, is safe, sustainable and deliverable.

However, he said given what local GPs said in a damning letter last September and what the four A&E consultants said in an open letter on when they resigned, it was hard to see the senate giving the plans the go ahead, due to safety fears.

"Part of the reason for the report taking so long to be made publicly available is so the review programme board can consider what do about its findings,” he said.

"If the report concludes the clinical model does not work and WAHT are unable to bolster it to make it work, things really will be back up in the air in terms of looking at alternate providers such as Universities Hospitals Birmingham."

Recently rumours have circulated that following the review, the hospital will stop accepting bookings from expectant mothers by August and by Christmas maternity services, particularly deliveries would cease altogether.

The trust have denied this, stating that services are operating as normal and that expectant mothers expecting to give birth at the hospital should continue with this plan.   

They added that plans to centralise all consultant-led births in the county at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital had been considered for many years and that this would form part of the FoAHSW report.

A trust spokeperson said:  “Under the plans all other aspects of maternity care including antenatal and postnatal appointments, scans, monitoring and community midwifery would continue in the same place as now. 

“Only the place of delivery would change.  A public consultation on the proposed changes is due to take place later this year.”

Mr Stote said: “Taking the opportunity to quash the rumours it is good news for parents expecting to use the Alex this year.”

But he added that some decisions appeared to be being made behind closed doors, drawing attention to a governing body meeting due to be held on May 21, when officials will consider moving mothers who go into labour before 32 weeks, or those expecting twins, to be cared for at Worcestershire Royal.