Closure fears over hospital merger

The hospital merger has raised fears over A&E services

Health officials in the West Midlands are backing the proposed merger of two hospital trusts amid concerns that an accident and emergency department may close.

Managers at the City Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell General in West Bromwich said the merger was vital for the two hospitals to survive.

There are concerns that joining the two could lead to the closure of departments and that A&E at one unit could be the first to go.

But trust chiefs have promise that there will be no closure of accident and emergency or intensive care facilities at either hospital.

They also promise that no jobs will be lost.

Managers insist that services will not be cut

After six years of working closely together medics urged managers of the City Hospital NHS Trust and Sandwell Healthcare NHS Trust to push ahead with the merger.

The neighbouring hospitals did not cover a large enough area to provide a full range of specialist services.

Under one management a single trust would serve 500,000 people in west Birmingham and Sandwell.

West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson said: "I give the move a very cautious welcome.

'Pooling services'

"All I would say to the directors of both trusts is that the bottom line is that the A&E department at Sandwell must stay because people in Sandwell want it to be retained."

Martin Lee, medical director for the City Hospital, said: "It is necessary for a modern hospital to serve a population of at least 500,000."

"There isn't any intention to lose any services but there is a danger that both hospitals could lose services if they stay as they are.

"The intention is to keep and improve services by pooling the services of both hospitals."

Public consultation will now take place over the plans with a merger in April 2002 if the Department of Health agrees.