A HEALTH chief is being challenged by Evesham hospital supporters over promises they claim have not been kept since he made them a year ago.

John Calvert, chairman of Worcestershire Community Mental Health Trust, maintains, however, that an unforeseen imminent shake-up in primary care groups have superseded pledges he made to the League of Friends of Evesham Community Hospital.

Mr Calvert was the guest speaker at the Friends' last annual meeting when he said he was going to set up a project team to consider the future strategic direction of the hospital.

It would include members of the hospital management board, GPs, Friends, Primary Care Group and the local authority to ensure that the community was constantly informed and consulted.

He also agreed to give a breakdown between administrative and management versus direct care costs and seek to ensure information on trust board meetings was sent to local councillors. Friends chairman Frances Smith said at this year's annual meeting on April 11: "Nothing has come back to us. He promised us that these things would be done and absolutely nothing has happened."

Dr Geoff Burton, new president of the Friends, is to write to Mr Calvert reminding him of his promises and asking why nothing has happened.

Mr Calvert said: "I spoke to the AGM last year and gave an update on the situation as we saw it at the time and that hasn't changed at all.

"I had no timescale for when the working parties would be set up."

He went on: "That promise holds good."

Mr Calvert added that over the past year, primary care groups, such as that serving Wychavon, were being transformed into primary care trusts, which would become active from April next year, a scenario no-one had been aware of when he addressed the friends' meeting 12 months ago.

He said that if members of the Friends felt they had not had adequate responses from him over commitments he had made, they should contact him "immediately", adding: "They're not normally backwards in coming forwards in contacting me."