Health services have been ordered to draw up 44 "sustainability and transformation plans", or STPs, which were submitted to NHS England last month, in order to redesign services and tackle financial problems across the NHS.
The cuts are being made in an effort to reduce the £2.45billion deficit. However, so far just nine have been made public – despite calls from Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth to end the secrecy.
The areas to publish STPs include Devon, Dorset, Birmingham and Solihull, Merseyside and Darlington and Teeside, with each area facing cuts that could lead to patients being forced to travel further and wait longer for treatment.
The plans suggest that hospitals, maternity units, A&E services, mental health departments and GP surgeries are threatened with closure.
Mr Ashworth said: "We are going to see more of this going on across the country. It’s going to mean less services, less treatment, longer waits, travelling further for services – pressures on the system at every turn."
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