A LEADING district doctor has told patients to have faith in county health services after seeing "significant improvements" since the downgrading of Kidderminster Hospital.

Dr Jim Goodman said the catalogue of problems such as patients being kept waiting on trolleys and cancelled operations have reduced since doctors expressed concern over the early closure of services at the hospital in September.

And patients were receiving more effective treatment than they previously would have had at Kidderminster.

The Wyre Forest General Practitioners chairman said he had been "pleasantly surprised" at improvements in patient care since September when A&E was downgraded and in-patient services closed at Kidderminster.

And he was optimistic about the future of healthcare for Wyre Forest patients.

Dr Goodman spoke after confirmation of a multi-million pound ambulatory care centre for Kidderminster Hospital and the Government go-ahead for a primary care trust, which will give doctors more power over health care decisions.

He said: "There have been many problems but these are reducing significantly and a lot of them have been dealt with effectively.

"We are really seeing some genuine improvements in the quality of care our patients are receiving."

Dr Goodman, who represents Wyre Forest doctors, said he acknowledged the medical admission unit at Ronkswood was "challenged" by the number of patients it had to cope with.

He said some patients were still waiting too long for treatment. However, those in need of "effective, urgent intervention" were receiving treatment rapidly and were better cared for at the specialist units in Worcester.

He said the high level of specialist care ranging from nurses and doctors to physiotherapists meant patients were receiving a far better level of treatment than they would have done at Kidderminster.

He said: "Once they get into the hospital sector it is quite clear that panic teams are able to deal with respiratory illness and cardiac illness. And wards dedicated to these particular conditions improve and enhance the treatment provided.

"People can be treated by experts at all stages which makes a huge difference."

However, the GP stressed there were still problems and urged patients to let GPs know of any difficulties they may face.

He said: "We all have to work together. Communication has improved between ourselves and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Worcestershire Health Authority. We are having an important dialogue with them to make sure that problems are ironed out."