Written question asked by Peter Luff (Conservative) on Monday, 6 June 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 June 2005. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Thursday, 9 June 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Evesham Community Hospital

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely impact of proposals to close two wards at Evesham community hospital on (a) capacity in the Worcestershire health service and (b) compliance with her Department's policy on giving priority to local wishes in developing local services.

Answer: Decisions about the configuration of local national health service services are taken at a local level.South Worcestershire primary care trust (PCT) is considering a number of options for the configuration of services across South Worcestershire in the future. The PCT will be entering into wide and detailed discussions during the coming weeks with key individuals, groups and organisations including the overview and scrutiny committee.West Midlands South strategic health authority is working closely with South Worcestershire PCT to ensure that the views of the public are sought and taken into account in developing the proposals and that any changes are in line with ““Keeping the NHS Local””.

Secondary information