CONTROVERSIAL plans to reshape NHS services are set to come under the microscope this week.

Members of Darlington Borough Council’s Health and Partnerships Scrutiny Committee will be inspecting the draft Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) put forward by NHS chiefs.

The NHS in Durham, Darlington, Tees, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby draft report sets out its vision for 2016-21.

Campaigners from across the town have being fighting to protect services at Darlington Memorial Hospital which could be under threat as part of the wide-ranging investigation into making improvements around the country.

The town’s MP, Jenny Chapman, has been at the forefront of the campaign to protect the hospital services.

While campaigner Jo Land, one of the key organisers of the Footprints March for the NHS and a founder member of national campaign group 999 Call for the NHS, made an impassioned plea to councillors, at a meeting in November, calling for them to carefully scrutinise the plans.

Sue Jacques, chief executive of the Durham and Darlington Trust, is one of seven people on the STP executive tasked with drawing up the plan for Darlington, Durham, Teesside, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby, which is being submitted to NHS England.

The aim is to tackle a potential £281m health and social care deficit in the region by 2021 with the contentious change programme envisaging a shift from hospital-based treatment to increasing NHS services in local communities.

The meeting takes place at Darlington town hall at 9.30am on Friday, January 6 when Ali Wilson, the chief officer of Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group, is expected to present the draft report.

Ahead of the meeting, she wrote: “The plan describes our ambition for the future and focuses on four areas of improvement including Preventing ill health and increasing self-care; Health and care communities and neighbourhoods; Quality of care in our hospitals; and the use of technology in health care.

“Whilst the plan encourages an approach to improvement across a large geography where services span a broader population base, it is also consistent with and supports the local engagement and development work currently taking place as part of the Darlington Vision and Blueprint.”

For further information about proposals visit www.darlingtonccg.nhs.uk