CHILDREN and A&E services at Horton General Hospital are no longer under threat after the second phase of a controversial overhaul of the county's hospitals was scrapped yesterday.

The Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) board has unanimously agreed to 'rethink' the unpopular changes, which last year led to the permanent downgrading of the maternity unit at the hospital from consultant-led to midwife-led as part of phase one of its Transformation Plan. That decision has since been brought back under review.

Louise Patten, CCG chief executive said at the meeting, held in Banbury Town Hall, that any consultation would in the future be 'place-based' and a new joint scrutiny committee was being created to consider how decisions impact patients outside the county.

The new measures, which also confirm there will be no change to Horton's emergency and paediatric departments, were prompted by a government review of the first phase consultation.

The CCG was condemned in a report published earlier this month by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) – the expert review body on NHS service change.

The IRP criticised the two-phase consultation saying changes in phase one would inevitably affect changes in phase two and had led to ‘confusion and suspicion’.

Ms Patten said the goal was to have the joint scrutiny committee up and running by the end of May, though upcoming local elections could cause delays.

Speaking after the vote, she added: "I am delighted that we have made this decision and that we can start to plan a new approach for engaging communities on the issues that affect them locally. "

The decision has been welcomed by campaign group Keep the Horton General.

Chairman Keith Strangwood said: "It is one more step forward and now we just need to keep fighting to return the full maternity unit so we have all our services back." A judicial review into phase one measures was dismissed in December but is being considered for appeal.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Dr Bruno Holthof said the trust was 'delighted' with the decision, adding: “Our clinicians and our trust board have always been clear that there is a demonstrable need to maintain and enhance the provision of urgent care in North Oxfordshire by developing the Emergency Department at the Horton General." He added closing or removing Horton's emergency department were 'never viable options'.