ELDERLY patients will suffer most from changes that will see orthopaedic patients in Worcestershire having to travel to Gloucestershire to receive treatment, says a county MP.

South Worcestershire's health chiefs have announced that GP practices in Evesham, Pershore, Broadway and Bredon will refer their orthopaedic patients to Cheltenham General and Evesham Community Hospital.

The changes will come into effect today, but trauma and emergency patients will still be treated by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust.

Mike Ridley, chief executive of the South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, insisted it would mean an improved service for county orthopaedic patients.

He said: "We are extremely keen to reduce waiting times for all South Worcestershire orthopaedic patients and so we have commissioned more out-patient consultations and operations from the Cheltenham orthopaedic service for the GP practices nearest to that hospital."

He said most patients would be seen by specialists at the out-patient clinic at Evesham Hospital and day case surgery would continue there for routine operations.

But patients needing more complicated surgery, such as knee and hip replacements, would be admitted to Cheltenham General Hospital.

Mr Ridley added: "The added benefit of this move is that for some patients who have their operation at Cheltenham they will be transferred, when clinically appropriate, to Evesham or Pershore Hospitals, making better utilisation of local services."

He said patients could expect waits for out-patient appointments to be reduced to a maximum of 13 weeks and hospital operations to come down to nine months or less.

But Wyre Forest MP Richard Taylor, who is also chairman of Health Concern, the campaign to restore emergency health care at Kidderminster Hospital, called the news "extremely upsetting".

He added: "This means those having elective surgery - most likely to be the elderly - will be having to travel further and will not only find it distressing but hugely inconvenient.

"No doubt it will have a knock-on effect on their relatives, who may also be aging."

Malcolm Cooper, vice chairman and treasurer of Health Concern, added: "According to this Government, all health care should be available locally to people. But the health authorities in Worcestershire are working to achieve the exact opposite."