REMOVING the majority of acute and emergency services from either Lister or the QEII will seriously jeopardise the quality of care to the public. That is the concern of Hertfordshire county councillors, underlined in a five-page letter by leader David Bea

REMOVING the majority of acute and emergency services from either Lister or the QEII will seriously jeopardise the quality of care to the public.

That is the concern of Hertfordshire county councillors, underlined in a five-page letter by leader David Beatty to Anne Walker, chief executive of the Hertfordshire primary care trusts.

Cllr Beatty urged the East and North Hertfordshire PCT to take into account the "overwhelming public opposition" against its plans to centralise acute and emergency services at either Lister or the QEII.

He also asked for clarity on the financial and business reasons given by the PCT and wanted to know about the impact on county council services, in particular adult social care and children's services.

In his letter, he wrote: "We are now faced with a situation that acute services are being considerably reduced before replacement services in the community have been put in place. Such a move will seriously jeopardise the quality and availability of care to the public, with the potential for serious outcomes."

Cllr Beatty also said the superhospital in Hatfield remained an "integral" part of the vision for a modern health service provision in the county.

He wrote: "The new hospital at Hatfield was in our view a significant part of the Investing In Your Health strategy and a part of the core vision for modern hospital services which would be both leading edge and 'future proof'. We are therefore aghast that [there is] a very significant shift in approach and implementation of the strategy without the new hospital at Hatfield.