WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones has slammed Cheshire and Merseyside NHS for conducting “an unfair and totally unaccountable” process before deciding to relocate a Vascular Services hub at Chester rather than Warrington Hospital.
Correspondence from the NHS group responsible for overseeing the future of vascular services revealed that during the process, rival bids from Chester Hospital and Warrington and Halton Hospitals were only scored against criteria after 
the decision was taken to locate services at Chester.
Ms Jones (right) said: “It is outrageous that no proper appraisal was done on the day the Trusts made their presentations on the grounds that “it would have been artificial and would not have served any useful purpose at that meeting.
“I know of nowhere else in either the public or private sector where a decision would be made on that basis. It is not good enough to decide the future of our health services based on a general feeling. Proper analysis is necessary.”
The MP said that, after asking questions about the process she had received a set of scores against various criteria which had been done after the decision was made.
She added: “I am told this paper was approved as an “accurate summary” of the basis for the recommendations, it cannot be. Scoring is only accurate if it is done at the time and everyone participates.
“This smacks of a concocted justification for a decision made in advance. Warrington has never had a fair hearing.”
MP slams NHS over unfair process
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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Just wondering if the NHS actually made an estimate of those people in the Chester area and the Warrington area who currently need vascular treatment and those who might need it in the future. Such information, should, I would suggest, be the determining factor as to where the provision is sited.
Yet another example of members of the public being treated with absolute contempt. Why is it these days that public bodies of all descriptions are afraid to consult with its public? Mrs Jones is right when she says that this was process was justification for a decision already made.
Ironically, serious vascular cases referred to Chester are then referred to Broad Green hospital in Liverpool. So it would seem Chester Hospital does not have the full extent of expertise