THE closure of Kidderm-inster Hospital would be "nonsensical", the county's health boss has revealed in an exclusive interview with the Shuttle/Times and News.

John Rostill, chief executive of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust said, in his opinion, the idea was a non-runner.

His comments followed a meeting with worried staff in which he sought to reassure them the hospital had a bright future, with an increase in elective surgery.

Mr Rostill denied that last month's publication of a pre-consultation paper listing options for cuts to claw back a £20 million overspend had backfired when it sparked a vigorous campaign in Redditch against an option to strip the town's Alexandra Hospital of services, including accident and emergency cover.

The subsequent suggestion to close Kidderminster was made as "a result of discussions with groups of staff, including clinicians, working elsewhere in the county," said Mr Rostill.

He added there was a view in Worcestershire that there were too many health care facilities and that overheads could be cut if there were more beds on fewer sites.

He stressed, however, that no decision had been made and that to prove the trust was open and transparent, all views had to be considered.

Mr Rostill went on to explain the importance of Kidderminster in helping the trust deliver efficient county-wide services.

He said the only way it could reduce the number of elective surgery cancellations was to make more use of Kidderminster, where the number of beds was protected because there was no A&E to add to the pressures.

At the Alexandra and Worcestershire Royal, there have been 384 cases cancelled since April 1, representing 1.5 per cent of all elective surgery carried out.

The Strategic Health Authority average is below one per cent and one of the trust's central objectives is to better this figure.

"The number has gone down considerably over the last two or three years but it's still not low enough, so any suggestion that you do not need this place (Kidderminster) to deal with elective work is nonsensical," said Mr Rostill.

He moved his main office to the Bewdley Road hospital in July as a "signal" of his belief in its future and he wants to see the number of elective procedures increase from 12,000 day surgery cases to 20,000, including some short-stay cases.

Mr Rostill added it was important that Kidderminster should benefit from the millions of pounds which had already been ploughed into the hospital and any move to break the independent treatment centre's five-year contract would have legal complications.

It is hoped that tomorrow's meeting of the trust's project board will throw out cost-cutting measures discredited as "non-runners".

A range of options to be considered will go forward for further analysis before a final options document is put together for public consultation in the new year.

Mr Rostill added it was hoped to bring renal services to the county in the near future and the trust had already started to repatriate cardiology to avoid having to send patients out of the area.

"We are not just re-configuring services to save money," said Mr Rostill, "We need to close the gap by both increasing income and making savings."