WYRE Forest’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is one of the four NHS organisations in Worcestershire to have taken on a review into the future of acute hospital care in the county.

The county’s three CCGs - which also include South Worcestershire and Redditch and Bromsgrove - will work together on the “future of acute hospital services in Worcestershire programme”.

The project - previously run by NHS Worcestershire and called the joint services review - had threatened Kidderminster Hospital with downgrading when it launched in June last year but it is now unlikely the town will lose any acute care and may even gain some services.

There are now two options, one could see University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust take over the running of Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital.

In the other, the Worcestershire trust continue to run an “amended range of services” across its three hospitals which also includes Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Worcester.

The review drew criticism from politicians, patients and the public because it was supposed to be completed by last December.

The six options originally drawn up were eventually scrapped in February without any sign of a promised second engagement event and full public consultation.

Bosses say the new approach will put GPs at the heart of the work to “provide safe and sustainable services for Worcestershire’s patients”.