THE final plans to reduce duplication in health services across Herefordshire and Worcestershire will be revealed within the next two months.

A draft plan for a joint Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) in the two counties was submitted to NHS England during the summer, and following review a full plan will be submitted.

After the submission health bosses will be able to reveal more in late October or early November.

Health services across the country are working together in 44 STP areas to implement the NHS Five Year Forward View.

The idea is to help make sure the NHS is safe and sustainable for the future.

Gary Young, spokesman for the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, said the plan will aim to reduce duplication and make services easier to navigate and access.

He said it could mean potentially travelling further for more specialist services so they can ensure that the services are safely and appropriately staffed with the right level of expertise.

He added: "Wherever we can we want to put the voice of patients, service users, families/carers and our communities at the heart of any changes.

"While there may be constraints on what is possible, we will always try to ensure proposals reflect what people tell us is most important.

"The proposals based on STP priorities will then be developed with the public over the course of the year."

To support this work they have created the #YourConversation initiative, which will develop discussion points and encourage feedback from the wider community and will launch in the next week.

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP has a large geographical area, with a relatively small population of 785,000 people.

Herefordshire has one Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) responsible for buying health care services, and one acute hospital trust. Worcestershire has three CCGs and one acute hospital trust.