Hospital beds could be saved

5:10pm Friday 14th March 2008

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Hospital campaigners are hoping health trust bosses will do a U-turn over bed closures in Chippenham at a meeting on Tuesday.

Wiltshire PCT has said it will reduce the number of beds at Chippenham Hospital from 43 to ten but following a Gazette petition that collected more than 11,000 signatures, an angry public meeting and a letter-writing campaign the PCT has been forced to think again.

GP Nick Brown said he was at a meeting today where trust chief executive Jeff James told health managers that the trust would make an announcement about a revision of the decision on the beds at its meeting on Tuesday in Devizes.

Dr Brown said: I think Jeff James must be feeling very uncomfortable about the protests that have been made.

We don't know what the announcement will be but we have heard rumours that the Royal United Hospital could be moving ten of its beds to Chippenham. That would mean 20 beds at Chippenham. It is not what we want but it is a step in the right direction.'' The RUH at Bath is also thought to be planning to move four acute beds to Chippenham, which would mean 24 beds at the hospital, still six short of the 30 beds that were promised when the PCT originally consulted the public on changes to services in its Pathways To Change document.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray has increased the pressure on the PCT by securing an adjournement debate on the changes to Chippenham Hospital.

The debate is bound to focus on the wisdom of axing beds and replacing them with neighbourhood teams to care for people in their own homes.

Hospital campiagners have tabled the question below to the trust for Tuesday's meeting:

Written Question to Wiltshire PCT Board for the meeting in public Tuesday 18th March: From Dr Nicholas Brown : GP in Chippenham with admitting rights to Chippenham Hospital rehabilitation beds, Ex PCG Chair for North Wilts and Kennet and founder member of Chippenham Hospital Action Group.

Dr Nicholas Whyatt Retired GP, Chippenham league of friends and founder member of CHAG.

Gill Stafford : Ex Non-exec North Wilts and Kennet PCT Ron Crook: Ex Non-exec North Wilts and Kennet PCT We would like to ask the Wiltshire PCT Board whether it will be reviewing its controversial and unpopular decision taken in January 2007 concerning the number and configuration of Community beds in Wiltshire.

If this is the case, and if the Board is making a decision concerning the precise number of these beds, would it not be wise to reconsider Option Three of the Consultation Process Taking the next step: modern and affordable healthcare for all' which has provided the only option for the siting of elderly rehabilitation beds at Chippenham which has been fully and properly discussed and subjected to an exhaustive public consultation exercise? (Whilst option 1 suggested the total abandonment of the Community Hospital inpatient general Rehabilitation model , both options 2 and 3 specified a total of 74 Community hospital rehabilitation beds (not the 54 currently agreed) of which 30, in option 3, would be sited at Chippenham.) Is the Board is intending to approve the establishment of a fully resourced and representative Commissioning Working group to examine the function, configuration, management and finance of elderly person rehabilitation services, particularly with regard to the Chippenham hospital site?

If this is the case, then would The Board consider it more appropriate , in the light of recent difficulties with the implementation of Neighbourhood teams, the continuing bed shortages over the winter and the recent request by both GWH and RUH to increase their number of on site in-patient beds, not to pre-empt the view of this important group with regards the optimum number of Community Hospital beds but to wait until it has received the considered conclusions of this group?