THE south Worcestershire community has had a week to digest the proposed changes to their health services.

The fate of community hospitals has triggered angry talk of "selling off family silver" and well-intended promises of new facilities - but that's not the most worrying move.

South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust's "review of skill-mix" has shown too many highly qualified nurses work in the community hospitals - so that will change.

It means a sparkling new Pershore Community Hospital will be little consolation to patients being cared for by less experienced nurses.

Then there's the plan to scrap counsellors, an unnecessary service in the eyes of health chiefs, we presume.

Not if you're a patient who'll have to rely solely on medication to conquer your problems if that happens.

And let's not forget funding for social workers attached to general practice.

They'll either be met by the county's cash-strapped social services or withdrawn entirely. GPs says that loss would be "disastrous", and they're just as worried about the proposed cut in health visitors.

No wonder they believe they'll join the region's acute hospitals on red alert if the cuts go through. It's probably more a case of "when" than "if".

Trust chairman David Barlow is adamant savings and a better health service can be engineered. But it's hard to believe. How can they save £5m a year and not affect patient care?

What is needed - and needed urgently - is a rapid and substantial input of cash from Government coffers.

All agree, we are short of beds and short of the money to service the ones we have got.

Only when we get both will we get the health service we both need and deserve.