THE NUMBER of beds at Malvern Community Hospital could be reduced under new long-term plans drawn up by health chiefs.
Worcestershire’s Community Hospitals face a 44 per cent cut in the number of beds it provides as part of a new five-year strategy to meet a £250 million funding gap.
The Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) has been commissioned by NHS England to try and find ways in which the resources across Herefordshire and Worcestershire’s health service can best be used.
Unveiled by Worcestershire Health and Care Trust, the 83 page draft local plan suggests that it will make less use of the county’s community beds in favour of wider investment in home care.
The county’s community hospitals in Malvern, Tenbury, Pershore, Bromsgrove and Evesham have a combined 324 beds in total at the five, which aim to keep people away from A&E at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch
But plans are to reduce the number of beds across all five sites to 182 by 2020/2021.
The Worcestershire Health and Care Trust say the reduction will lead to a number improvements including seeing less patients admitted to acute hospitals, meaning they can receive care
closer to home and remain in more familiar surroundings and patients who require emergency care from acute and/or mental health specialists will be quickly assessed and streamed into the most appropriate management, with fewer delays.
The Friends of Malvern Community Hospital told the Observer the plans were of concern but it was too early to say what impact it would have on the Worcester Road site.
Treasurer Alan Stephens said: “In essence there is no evidence at the moment to say Malvern Community Hospital or any other hospital will actually lose beds. It’s just that it could happen.
“It is a case of wait and see – I don’t think anything is going to change for several years.”
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin called on Malvern residents to speak up over the plan.
“Malvern’s hospital is only a few years old, Pershore is relatively new and Tenbury’s hospital has had some new wards added – I favour more use of these community assets closer to home at a time when pressure on the Acute hospital is showing no sign of abating,” she said.
“I have always said that we should make more, not less, of these resources, including encouraging Acute Trust consultants to visit their community hospitals and carry out treatment there.
“It is now vital that local people have their say and make sure they feed into the consultation exercise. We need to show just how highly-valued community hospitals like Malvern, Tenbury and Pershore really are to local people.”
Visit www.hacw.nhs.uk/yourconversation/ to take part in the consultation. A discussion event will take place at Malvern Community Hospital on Wednesday, December 7 but a time is yet to be confirmed.
