THE fight to restore emergency services to Kidderminster Hospital has been buoyed by a Government promise to keep an open mind on health service changes.

Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor was optimistic after a House of Commons debate on the hospital downgrading.

Health minister Hazel Blears vowed to be open to new studies by the Royal College of Physicians covering ways smaller hospitals can retain emergency services for common conditions.

Kidderminster Hospital lost its blue-light A and E and in-patient services in the county health shake up last year.

Dr Taylor highlighted the unfairness of Kidderminster's situation in the debate stressing it was the only hospital with a population of more than 100,000 that does not have an accident and emergency department within 18 miles.

Afterwards he said to the Shuttle/Times and News: "I am very optimistic. If the studies prove it is possible to retain emergency services in local hospitals then at least we have got the minister's promise to consider it.

"This is another step in the right direction. I have always said our argument was obvious and it seems to have convinced the Royal College of Physicians."

Ms Blear said of the review: "I am greatly interested in the outcome of that.

" It is important not to close our minds to a range of ways in which services can be provided.

"The work is relevant across the country and, in particular, in rural areas that sometimes do not have access to the type of centres that are available in urban ones.

"Everyone should have the right to receive the best possible services in the most appropriate clinical setting."

During the debate last Thursday, Dr Taylor, elected on a 17,630 majority against the Government's decision to downgrade Kidderminster Hospital, reminded the health minister of her vow in the consultation document on patients and public in healthcare.

In it she said: "The culture within the NHS needs to change, so that the views of patients and citizens are not only valued but listened to and acted upon as well."

He said: "If this is carried through to its logical conclusion, they will have to listen to us.

"The debate also gave me the opportunity to expose the flaws in the consultation process.

However, Ms Blears stressed no "compelling evidence" had been produced to convince the health community or ministers it would be safe to provide a blue-light A and E at Kidderminster.

She said: "The decision to remove blue light services from Kidderminster was a clinical one, based on real concerns about maintaining high standards of clinical safety where three accident and emergency departments were fairly closely situated.

"Our overriding duty has to be to put the safety of patients first."