REDDITCH residents are facing a 40mile round trip if they want to question local doctors at their next Governing body meeting.
For the first time doctors from the county’s three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are to hold their governing body meetings in common at the same time and in the same place – in Pershore.
The news is likely to raise concerns that the three – NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove, NHS South Worcestershire and NHS Wyre Forest – might eventually amalgamate, and losing a degree of local accountability as a result.
However the CCGs are insisting that they remain as three separate organisations with responsibility for planning and paying for local healthcare services within their respective areas.
They will all have local clinical representatives at the meeting to help to inform local commissioning decisions.
The meeting is on Wednesday, May 23 at 9.30am in the Committee Room, Pershore Civic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, WR10 1PT.
It means people from Redditch will face a 40minute car journey just to get there, while access by public transport is close to impossible.
Members of the public who do make it will have the chance to ask doctors questions about local healthcare services.
Questions can be submitted in advance by email to [email protected], however, there will also be an opportunity to ask any questions at the end of the meeting following discussions that have taken place.
The three CCGs share a common Accountability Officer and doctors say future meetings will move around the county on a rotation basis.
The agendas can be accessed by visiting the website of each individual CCG.
