THE leader of Redditch Council has called for an urgent meeting with hospital bosses following another damning report into the scandal-hit trust running the town's Alexandra Hospital.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been told it must make urgent changes following publication of a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Cllr Hartnett admitted the report did not make for comfortable reading.

He said: "Although the CQC say, because the service is in such a shocking state, they will make yet another unannounced inspection soon I fear that by then, the required improvements will not be have been made by the trust – and what will this mean for our residents and health provision across the county as whole?

"I have called for an urgent meeting with the chairman and chief executive of the trust and the chief operating officer of Worcestershire's three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to discuss what the issues are, and what they are planning to do to address them.

"I have also invited the MP as we know the secretary of state for health has said this is one of the trusts he has concerns about - but what will he do?"

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England's chief inspector of hospitals has told the trust that it must make urgent improvements to the quality of healthcare following an unannounced inspection in April.

Inspectors visited the Alex Hospital, as well as Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and Kidderminster Hospital and Treatment Centre.

They looked at areas of previous concern in the emergency department, medical care, surgery, maternity and gynaecology, children and young people and the minor injuries unit at Kidderminster.

Inspectors found there had been no tangible improvement in performance since the previous inspection in November and December last year.

They said staff caring for patients in the corridors in the emergency department had become standard practice, and patient’s privacy, dignity and effective care remained compromised.

The trust’s chief executive, Michelle McKay admitted they have continued to let down patients, families, and carers, but said they are working hard to address concerns.

Cllr Hartnett led a health commission and made several recommendations on a much-maligned consultation into the future of health care in the county which recently saw all births across the county moved permanently to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Five years in the making the governing bodies of the CCGs, which hold the purse strings of NHS care, approved the proposed clinical model unanimously.

Cllr Hartnett said: "I still cannot understand why the CCG consultation, which took five years to report, was agreed by the CCG, which have also recently been given an “inadequate” rating.

"The trust is still in special measures and still running a deficit which is counted in the tens of millions of pounds.

"The trust have downgraded services at the Alex. We saw the town's MP take a ride on the hospital hopper bus only to see the same bus withdrawn, which leaves the residents, patients, and visitors isolated with very poor transport links to Worcester.

"This cannot be fair or reasonable."

He added: "Even so, I want to offer once again the help and support of the council by continuing the drive to improve the quality of life for the people of Redditch."

The hospital trust, which has been in special measures since December 2015, is currently rated as Inadequate overall.