MAJOR plans to overhaul the NHS in Oxfordshire were called into question yesterday by concerned committee members.

Members of Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) called for another public meeting ahead of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) decision on its health and social care plans.

Unsatisfied with the negative public responses arising from a 12-week consultation on phase one of the Oxfordshire Transformation Plan, coupled with a lack of key reports, members said there was not sufficient time to assess all new information before the decision will be made on August 10.

Newly elected chairman of the HOSC, Arash Fatemian, said: “That is a lot of work we have still yet to receive and a lot of reports to come but I am concerned about how much time we have to look at them.

“To me it seems with reports coming in at the end of July that is not long enough to digest all that work.

“I think committee members are pleased that work is on going but I’m concerned about the process and the timescale.

“There is a concern that when a decision is made on August 10, it will be an irreversible process and any decision by HOSC will be useless.”

Oxfordshire county councillor for Wantage, Jenny Hannaby, said the decision date should be pushed back completely, to allow for proper scrutiny.

She added: “I think the decision meeting on August 10th should be abandoned and another one set up in its place later on.

“No one will have the time to go through all those reports and scrutinise them properly in the short space of time we have left before this decision meeting.

“We still do not have the integrated impact assessment, which is supposed to be telling us how these proposals will impact the public.

“That is a crucial document and I don’t know how you can make a decision without having the proper time to consider it.”

More than 10,000 people took part in the CCG’s consultation on the plans to reshape the way health services are delivered in Oxfordshire in response to a growing, ageing population and limited finances.

Considerable criticism was directed at the health body over the consultation process and document, including concerns about it being split into two phases and allegations of ‘leading questions’.

Universal concerns were also expressed over the future of maternity at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, which was downgraded to midwife-led status last October, as well as ‘strong support’ for keeping urgent and emergency care there.

But in general respondents agreed with proposals to centralise acute stroke care in Oxford and increased outpatient care at the Horton.

Speaking at the meeting chief executive of the CCG, David Smith, said it would be ‘happy’ to comply with the committee’s wishes of an additional meeting.

He said: “We have not made a decision on the plans as it will be made on August 10.

“We have said we will look again at some of the issues raised from the consultation and we will look at issues you have raised.”