Fears for the future as children's services leave Redditch's Alexandra Hospital
A mother has told of her fears for her young son as inpatient paediatric services at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch shut down due to critical staffing shortages.
As of tonight, all children who need to be admitted will go to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital - and all ambulances carrying children will be diverted there too.
Video report by ITV News reporter Charlotte Cross:
The move was announced last month as bosses said there were simply not enough doctors to provide a safe service.
But for Zoe Price and her son Oscar, it means the quick 10-minute trip to the hospital in an emergency has become a 40-minute drive.
Born with a hole in his heart, Oscar had open heart surgery at just a few weeks old - and with ongoing gastro-intestinal problems too, he was given an open pass to the children's ward at the Alex.
Now, he has to get to know a whole new set of staff.
Campaigners have echoed Zoe’s fears.
Maternity services at the Alex were closed at the end of last year - and that too was billed as a temporary measure due to staff shortages. But without any public consultation, it has become a permanent move.
Neal Stote, from the Save the Alex group, says he’s worried it's becoming a pattern - and urged health chiefs to take into consideration the families of children who now not only have to travel further in an emergency, but to visit them on the wards.
“To do this without the scrutiny of any public consultation is unforgivable,” he said.
“Personally, I feel physically sick. Yesterday, there was a hospital nearby which could look after my poorly child - today if my child gets ill, it’s a 40-minute drive away at least.
“The single biggest failure of this review has all been about ‘how can Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust survive?’ It has not been about ‘how can the NHS best provide services across Worcestershire and the surrounding areas’?”
But the Trust, which runs the Alex, insists moving to the Royal really is the best way forward - and says it will mean the children using the paediatric services will be safer.
Fears for the future as children's services leave Redditch's Alexandra HospitalMr Tidman said there will be a public consultation over the changes in time - but until then, families like Oscar's will spend less time together - and more time travelling to get the help they need.