Peering through the spin and fog

Accusations of frightening people out of their wits with our coverage of the county health debate have been levelled at us by those who say Kidderminster Hospital is a dead story, no pun intended.

Perhaps it is connected with a possible General Election around the corner, but we also stand accused of biased reporting and failing to maintain a balance to our coverage. So it is time to put the record straight.

This newspaper, like most local newspapers up and down the country, has always taken a watchdog role in reporting the shortcomings of public services - or any other service for that matter.

The reason why we are currently publishing more health-related stories of this nature is quite simple. There are more instances being reported to us than ever before.

Parents, the elderly and even hospital staff have telephoned this newspaper in tears with their experiences. There are others who write to us in heart-rending detail. We are only able to highlight a few.

We always endeavour to put the establishment view. But balance does become difficult when statements are shrouded in spin and fog and on occasions do not answer our questions.

The health authorities and their supporters, political or otherwise, have had their say in our columns, despite argument to the contrary.

But it would appear they have failed to convince the wider community of the perceived merits of the changes.

We do not think this newspaper should take the blame for that, especially when thousands upon thousands of pounds have been spent on public consultations and flashy brochures which, we would point out, were totally biased.

Politicians limbering up for an election and others with wide-ranging agendas are adding to the mist with petty point-scoring and bandwagon jumping.

The Shuttle/Times & News stance on the health shake-up has been consistent - unlike some of those involved in this sorry issue - and we make no apologies for continuing to publish the views of those who feel excluded from the debate.

We have endeavoured to give a voice to the communities of Wyre Forest and South Shropshire whether they are for or against the changes.

Those against dominate our mailbag and they have the distinct impression - as we do - that no-one is listening to them. We give them their say and hope that someone takes notice.

Some of their letters and opinions are tinged with emotion. Some are based on experiences. Some are from those working in the medical profession.

Some are from those who have retired from the medical profession and, in contrast to those who tell us they are out of touch, we believe they have an important contribution to make to the debate.

It is a shame when we are told they are yesterday's people, consigned to some kind of human scrapheap from where they barred from having an opinion on life in the community they served.

We would argue they have a wealth of experience in health matters and it could be said their contribution to the current discussion carries more validity than that of politicians.

The Shuttle/Times & News broke the original story in October 1997 when the Accident and Emergency department at Kidderminster General Hospital was first under threat and our petition to try and save it attracted 66,000 names in just 31 days. Then 12,000 people marched through the town to protest at cutback plans.

That gave us a good indication of the value people placed on their award-winning hospital - one which has had millions of pounds spent on it in recent years.

We could be persuaded that centralising some health services may bring financial and operational advantages and, in some instances, these services may be improved.

We also accept the current mess is not an indication of whether the county shake-up will work or not because, due to circumstances that should have been foreseen, the implementation of the plan had to be brought forward when the system became fragile due to recruiting problems.

This should not have come as a surprise to anyone and suggests forward planning has been at a premium - a serious worry when the proposal as a whole requires a large element of forward planning.

We will only know for sure after the completion of the new Worcestershire hospital in 2002.

But the Shuttle/Times & News has always believed - and still believes - that a catchment of 130,000 people needs a proper A&E in its midst.

Remember 80,000 of those people live within a five-mile radius of the hospital. A good number work in industries in which accidents will always occur and swift treatment will be needed.

We have not been convinced that these people, along with road accident and heart attack victims, will be better off travelling 18 miles for treatment at Worcester along a road with a history of serious congestion.

We believe a Kidderminster A&E unit is essential - and we believe it could be a reality if the will of the Government and the health authority was there.

It is true there are difficulties in providing the necessary back-up services.

But surely in the 21st century - with the hordes of bureaucrats and politicians who already have their fingerprints all over this plan - these difficulties can be overcome.