Another healthcare u-turn: A history of Milton Keynes' numerous reviews over the last five years
The most ambitious scheme was Healthier Together, which aimed to combine five different hospitals – Bedford, Kettering, Luton & Dunstable, Milton Keynes and Northampton. This was scrapped in 2013, but only after costing £2.2million.
At the same time there were proposals to merge both Bedford and Milton Keynes hospitals into a single trust. This too was scrapped in 2013, but it coincided with various senior figures moving from Bedford to MK, including chief executive Joe Harrison.
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Hide AdIn recent months Bedford Borough Council has independently launched its own health review, aimed at staving off any services being closed as a result of pooling resources with Milton Keynes.
And the team behind the current MK and Bedford Healthcare Review were forced into a humiliating climbdown in June, after announcing plans to close Bedford’s maternity unit – only to backtrack days later.