A patients representatives urged health and social care commissioners to find a way of keeping their voices heard after they cut back the number of people at meetings.

The first meeting of the joint leadership of NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and NHS Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent was held in Stafford this week.

Around three dozen people were at the meeting on Thursday (January 29) where there was agreement that this is far too many. The plan is to cut back from 37 to 16.

Lynn Cawley, chief officer of patient advocate Healthwatch Shropshire, is one of the people who could lose a seat on the board.

She said the organisation had been pleased to be able to "have the opportunity to raise our hands and bring in public voices."

She urged members to consider how the commissioners demonstrate they are "listening to the public if we are not at the table."

She said Healthwatch has been able to "escalate issues to the board".

She said it was now about "understanding how concerns can come to the board and are being discussed and addressed."

Joint board chair Ian Green said he wants to see a shared commitment made at the next joint board meeting in March.

Among those set to be chopped off the lists are chairs of NHS hospital and community trusts, leaders of councils, and other non voting members.

Andrew Morgan, who chairs both The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust is among those set to be chopped.

"That is not a board," he said referring to the large number of people at Thursday's meeting. "That is a very large collection of people.

"There has to be another way of having our engagement."

Mr Morgan provoked laughter when he said he "enjoyed attending" board meetings.

The two boards , which are heading for formal merger in 2027, say that "maintaining local engagement is of paramount importance to the Integrated care board leadership."

The meeting was told that the moves are being driven by the Government's NHS Reset programme, which aims to cut running costs by 50 per cent.

The integrated care boards have been tasked with evolving into one strategic commissioner across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.

Ian Green OBE, the "cluster chair" of both ICBs said: "There is a commitment to ensure that a wide range of voices are heard as we continue our strategy.

"We do not want to lose the richness of that."

Discussions were set to continue in private session after the press and public were excluded from the meeting.