NHS Harrow has been accused of failing to invite residents to a meeting on the future of urgent care.

The organisation, formerly Harrow PCT, has to cut £32 million from next year's budget if it wants to balance its books and is carrying out a review of spending.

Urgent care centres, which provide low level emergency treatment, at the borough's polyclinics are under threat and the organisation last week held a meeting with medical staff and voluntary groups.

The event, at Harrow Civic Centre on Wednesday, was open to members of the public but none were invited.

Jack Welby, of Merlin Crescent, Edgware, took part in the workshop and told the Harrow Times he thought patients should have been asked to take part.

He said: “I don't think the public have been given a chance to take part. They said we've got all these various groups present and members of the public but it wasn't advertised that this meeting was taking place.”

He said out of around 40 people at the meeting virtually all were either doctors and nurses or representatives of voluntary groups.

The PCT said the meeting was a “fact-finding exercise” involving “expert stakeholders”.

Rahul Bhagvat, a spokesman for NHS Harrow, said: “Should a formal consultation exercise around these proposals prove appropriate at some point in the future, we are fully committed to transparent engagement with the public.

“We will ensure that all relevant dates, events and documents are appropriately communicated in order to maximise community awareness and participation.”

He added: “Our vision for these services is that patients should be treated by the most appropriate clinician, at an appropriate time, in the most appropriate care setting.

“The aim of this review is to determine the extent to which our services in Harrow meet this vision, and to consider options for change which will help us to move towards achieving it.”

Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West, was a supporter of the borough's first polyclinic, Alexandra Avenue Health and Social Care Centre, in Rayners Lane.

He said: “Before any decision is made to reduce hours, or worst of all close the polyclinic, one would hope there would be a proper consultation.

“We fought long and hard to get a polyclinic in place under the last Labour Government and we intend to fight equally hard to retain it under this Tory Government.”