UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of an extensive revamp of hospital services in Worcestershire after five A&E consultants quit en masse last week.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was left reeling after five emergency consultants – including the entire team at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital – resigned on Friday, February 13.

The shock resignations have thrown into doubt the future of an extensive independent review of hospital services in the county, which some have feared would mean the closure of the Alex’s A&E.

Although the acute trust, which also runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital, has no control over the review, which is led by the county’s Clinical Commissioning Groups, pressure group Save the Alex has said the five consultants resigned due to concerns around how the hospitals were being managed.

The group has announced it will call for a vote of no confidence in the board at its next monthly meeting, which will held at Kidderminster Hospital on Wednesday, February 25, although it has no actual power to enforce this.

Although all five vacancies are being advertised this week, Save the Alex chairman Neal Stote said the resignations made the board’s position “untenable”.

“It is hard to see new consultants rushing to take up jobs with this trust whilst the current management remains in place given five consultants felt the need to take the unprecedented action of resigning on mass,” he said.

“We are calling for a proven NHS trust to come in and salvage the situation which the current management have created.

“I believe that trust needs to be University Hospitals Birmingham.

“This trust has already said it will keep a consultant led A&E at the Alexandra Hospital.”

Although MPs for the north of the county Karen Lumley and Sajid Javid are due to meet health secretary Jeremy Hunt next week, the trust has repeatedly said work was being put in to ensure patients got the best possible care.

A spokesman said: “We are working with partners locally and across the region on a solution to maintain A&E services at the Alex in the future.

“We are pleased to have already received offers of support from other trusts.

“The future of acute hospital services in Worcestershire has been under review for more than three years.

“The commissioner-led review aims to ensure services across Worcestershire’s three acute hospital sites remain sustainable in the light of national shortages of medical staff in a number of key clinical specialties – A&E being one.

“The ongoing delays in moving forward have been a source of frustration for all parties and there was a recognised risk that staff could leave for other posts in the event of continued uncertainty.”

The resignations came at a fraught time for the trust – which runs the Alex along with Worcestershire Royal Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital – which has found itself struggling under extreme demand throughout the winter coupled with financial shortfall predicted to hit £27.6 million by April.