Bosses of a debt- ridden Midland hospital trust are to face worried residents at a protest meeting over a proposed £20 million savings plan on Saturday.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust's suggested cuts include the downgrading of the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch - by moving A&E and axing maternity and children's units.
Other 'big ticket' services, such as cancer surgery and critical care, could be moved to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester.
Julie Kirkbride, MP for Bromsgrove, has called on the trust's chief executive John Rostill and chairman Michael O ' Riordan to answer questions about the cuts.
She said: "The scale of these cuts is savage and makes a mockery of the idea of a local health service.
"The A&E units at both Redditch and Worcester are hardly able to cope as it is, families do not want a 50 mile round trip for maternity and children's services, and nor do cancer sufferers want to travel further for chemotherapy."
The meeting, at the Artrix Centre in Bromsgrove, will be preceded by a protest at 9.30am.
Residents fear the multi- million pound cost-cutting exercise could also lead to the closure of the Princess of Wales Community Hospital in Bromsgrove.
The trust hopes to make the cuts by next April
Board members unanimously agreed to go ahead with a detailed analysis of its findings before producing the final proposals.
A 12 - week public consultation exercise is set to begin in early next month.
