NCT Watch

Tony Baldry has laid down an EDM congratulating the North Oxfordshire Independent Reconfiguration Panel on its decision that services in paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology and the

special care baby unit (SCBU) should continue to be provided at Horton Hospital. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel submitted its findings to the Secretary of State in March and recommended that he reject the local Trust’s proposals to concentrate these services in Oxford. It reported that the PCT must develop a clear vision for children’s and maternity services within an explicit strategy for services for north Oxfordshire as a whole and publish a plan outlining how the recommendations of the IRP are to be implemented within one month.

The IRP carried out a review at the request of the Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, following a referral to him from the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The decision is a success for the local communities who fought hard to retain the services provided at Horton Hospital.