HOSPITAL services in the north east of England are being promoted by Wyre Forest's MP as revealing the return of blue light services to Kidderminster is possible.

The New Hexham Hospital, which is 16 miles from Newcastle and serves a population of 70,000, is being hyped as the blueprint for Health Concern' next goal.

It contains a 24-hour urgent care centre, staffed by senior A&E doctors and nurse practitioners during the day, while A&E doctors and nurse practitioners provide cover across the whole hospital overnight, with other consultant advice available on call.

Dr Taylor said: "I've drawn attention to the Hexham model because it is exactly what should be provided here."

Other features of the facility include 100 beds and close, effective integration between medical specialists and A&E doctors with a "physician of the week" scheme, whereby a consultant physician is present, or on call, to help with medical emergencies for a week at the time.

Dr Taylor went on: "We've got twice as many people in this district, we're just about the same distance away from a major centre and they cannot argue the geography is different because even if Hexham went and you lived halfway between Hexham and Carlisle you'd be 30 miles away from a major centre - and we have people beyond Cleobury Mortimer who are certainly up to 30 miles away from Worcester."

He added: "This Hexham model has an urgent care centre, which means it takes accidents and medical illnesses and is staffed by doctors and, as well as that, they have significant medical additions."

He went on: "The challenge for the future is to keep up the pressure so we maximise what we have here and the Hexham model shows it is possible to have a great deal more than we have, which is just a treatment centre and minor injuries unit without a doctor in it.

"Newcastle is a huge city but the population that relies on Hexham is precisely 70,000 and the population that relied on ours was 110,000 from Wyre Forest and at least another 25,000 from South Shropshire and South Staffordshire, so we've always quoted our catchment as about 125,000 - which is twice that of Hexham."