"SHOW me the money!"

That's the loud and clear and very simple message to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust from Redditch councillor Bill Hartnett.

Speaking at a council meeting earlier this week Cllr Harnett raised a notice of motion, which asked three things of the crisis-hit trust.

Those are; what improvements have been made in the trust since the consultation ended in April 2017; how much of the much talked about £29m has actually been paid to the trust; and how much of it has been invested in the Redditch Alexandra Hospital site.

Cllr Hartnett said that he supports the NHS and the staff, but answers are needed.

Redditch Advertiser:

"We have not had a health update given at the council in months, barely a meeting passed when I was leader without a reference to, or an update about, the Alex and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WHAT).

"Redditch Borough Council were the only council in Worcestershire to hold a health commission with public hearings and received presentations from the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) and the trust.

"We the council did not approve of the CCG proposals for the review of acute services, the CCG gave strong indications, if not even firmer words, that if their proposals were agreed large sums of money (£29M) would be forthcoming to reform and improve the service.

"That was April 2017 - almost 18 months ago. We want to know where is the money and show us where the service improvements are.

"The trust is still in special measures, we still hear regularly about ambulances queuing outside the hospital, Worcester Royal Hospital being on divert, and long waiting times and patents in corridors."

He added: "I had regular meetings with the CCG and trust officers and they gave assurances they would have dialogue with us and work closely with us. That partnership working in my opinion has not been forthcoming."

The notice was agreed by all members and has been sent to the trust and the CCG.