Julian Knight says "I just wanted to remind you I am chairing a landmark public meeting into the future of both Solihull's walk-in centre and Accident and Emergency service. This meeting will give the people of Solihull the chance to put questions to Dr Patrick Brooke who heads up Solihull's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which is responsible for the planned changes to the NHS in Solihull. Dr Matthew Cooke will also be attending the meeting, and a representative of Healthwatch will also be answering questions. I am very conscious that we are undergoing the biggest changes in a generation to the NHS in Solihull, and this is a chance for the people of Solihull to put their questions in an open public meeting.
When : Monday, 10th March 2014, 6.30 prompt
Where : Solihull Moors Football Club, Damson Park, Damson Parkway, Solihull B91 2PP
If you would like to attend, and places are limited, please reply to this email or call the office on 0121 711 2955 to book your place. You are welcome just to turn up on the night, but to let me have an idea of numbers and to guarantee your place, an email or phone call to the office would be appreciated.
The CCG plans to relocate Solihull's successful walk-in service into the main Solihull Hospital building and extend its opening hours. In addition, the Accident and Emergency will morph into a new urgent care centre. There are however, no plans to reduce the medical care offered at Solihull Hospital.
However, a recent official report into the state of Solihull's Accident and Emergency sparked controversy when it was revealed that the current set up didn't have a full scale A&E facility.
Solihull NHS has been running a series of roadshows and other meetings in order to let the public know of the planned changes to urgent care provision in Solihull. However, I felt that the CCG needed to step up its consultation and so I asked Dr Patrick Brooke to join me for a public question and answer session.
I am delighted that the CCG have agreed to come along to this public meeting. This will be the largest public meeting of its type during the consultation process so I urge anyone who wants to know more about the planned changes and wishes to put their question to the CCG to join us on 10 March. As many of you will know, I have been spearheading the fight to keep walk-in services at Solihull hospital for the past year and now is an opportunity to see where we are at and where we go from here. I know there has been some controversy over Accident and Emergency in Solihull, but the important thing is that we have a clear roadmap of where we go from here."