The Draft Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Hereford and Worcester is a consultation document put forward by the various groups responsible for delivering health care in these areas.

At the moment, they include ideas and suggestions for how these services may be delivered in the future and what the focus and aims will be in changing times.

One of the reasons Liberal Democrat politician, Lucy Hurds, is concerned about the STP is because she knows what the system is like now. Her mother has dementia and Lucy is believes she is given a very good level of care at the moment. However, she said: “I need to be with her when she deals with those putting her care package in place or she tells people that she can so do all sorts of things which she used to be able to do, but can no longer.”

Lucy told the Gazette that there are big problems when patients are sent home from hospital. It is good to talk about new ideas as there may be a better way to do things than the way it is done now but at the moment the NHS does not have enough staff, they need to deal with training and recruiting issues before making any changes.

She said: “Of course people would rather stay in their own home than be in hospital or a care home but there will always be a need for stopgap beds.”

She added that the priority of the STP should be about what is best for the individual patient, not just the cheaper option. She said: “I have a personal understanding of what happens and each person has a different experience.”

Lucy believes that those responsible for compiling the STP need to talk to service users.

She told the Gazette that supporting Julian Utting’s petition in support of Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital was not scaremongering. She said: “We are starting a conversation, letting the Trust know how important Ross Community Hospital is. “We needed to do the petition now so that they are aware of people’s feelings. They may need to re-prioritise their plans. We need to give our opinion now so that they can look at other options.”