EXPERTS, researchers, acedemics, think tanks and members of the public are being invited to help health bosses design ways to run services at Banbury's Horton Hospital.
The eyes of the country are on Banbury to see how Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) will formulate a model of care to overcome changes in working hours that threatened to downgrade the hospital and move major services to Oxford.
It is a year si
nce Health Secretary Alan Johnson rejected hospital bosses' plans and gave two years for a solution to secure the long-term future of key services to be found.
Now at the half-way mark the PCT – as part of its Better Healthcare Programme – has launched a 'competition' to pick the brains of people in different fields who may be able to offer ideas not mooted before.
Spokesman Ally Green said: "We are hoping fresh eyes on the subject may see anew and we're very optimistic and excited about what may come out of this invitation to innovate.
"The idea is to cast our net as wide as possible to get ideas about how models might look for the future and how services could be organised in Banbury.
"We would like to hear ideas that can be developed to ensure services, in particular maternity and paediatrics, are retained and developed at the Horton General Hospital.
"We are looking at all the old ideas again too and we are going to talk with other hospitals about how they manage.
"We want to hear from anyone – they may be in the voluntary sector, retired business people or other NHS staff.
"People may think the interface between primary care and the hospital might be changed so it's a chance for local clinicians to get their thinking caps on."
Visit
www.oxfordshirepct.nhs.uk to download an application form and for more details. The closing date is April 30.
