SHUTTLE/TIMES & NEWS readers are being given the opportunity to have their say in a major debate on the state of the National Health Service in Worcestershire.

The newspaper has teamed up with its sister papers and BBC Hereford and Worcester to stage Your Health Your Future, a two-hour live radio broadcast in a bid to create a better understanding of the crisis facing the county's NHS Hospitals Trust.

The authority has announced more than 700 job cuts to try and slash its spending by £16 million to start plugging a £30 million funding gap.

Kidderminster Hospital, downgraded in 2001, again finds itself in the firing line, along with Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

Hospital trusts across the country are facing similar crises, and all at a time when the Government has been pumping billions of pounds of extra money into the NHS.

So why are we in this situation? And what does the future hold for local health services in Worcestershire?

Audiences in the Your Health Your Future debate in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester will consist of health professionals, experts, retired consultants, politicians and patients - those who actually use our health services.

The Shuttle/Times & News will be a central part of the debate, and readers are being invited to contribute questions and comments which will form part of the discussion on radio and online.

Editor Clive Joyce said: "We want our readers to have a direct input into this vital debate.

"We want to hear people's views and we want them to share their experiences with us, be they good or bad."

Some of those submitting questions or experiences will be invited to take part in the broadcast on Thursday, June 22 from noon until 2pm.

BBC Hereford & Worcester will broadcast the debate from three locations - Kidderminster College, University of Worcester and North East Worcestershire College in Redditch - and it will also be carried live online at the radio station's website, and televised in a live webcast online, at bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester.

The debate will be followed by a live web discussion hosted by bbc.co.uk/worcester, when it is hoped key players such as health ministers and NHS executives will answer questions from members of the public.

BBC Hereford & Worcester managing editor, James Coghill, said: "The future of local health services is arguably one of the most important issues facing us today.

"This exercise across four media platforms - local newspapers, local radio, local online and local television - will be the biggest and most significant attempt to create clarity and understanding, and to provide answers.

"We do not intend it to become some sort of blame game. We're more interested in what's going to happen to our hospitals and other health services, not just in a year's time, but in 10 or 20 years."

If you have a question or an experience to share, write to NHS Debate, Shuttle/Times & News, 6 Towers Buildings, Blackwell Street, Kidderminster DY10 2DY, or email editor Clive Joyce at clive.joyce@midlands.news quest.co.uk by Thursday, June 15.