A PROTEST about the possible loss of 20 beds at West Mendip Community Hospital in Glastonbury will take place on Tuesday, August 19, at 12.30pm.
A group of local councillors and residents will be demonstrating outside the hospital, and hope that others will join them to illustrate the depth of concern about proposals by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
The trust is consulting on proposals to close, relocate or re-purpose inpatient beds, with more emphasis being placed on “pathway beds” to get patients out of acute hospitals and being able to receive further treatment at home. The hospital at Shepton Mallet could also be affected, along with other community hospitals around the county.
Wells City Council has expressed its concern, saying: “Despite the scale and significance of the proposed changes, no public consultation has taken place, and the business case has not been published. This lack of transparency has caused considerable concern within the community, particularly as the implementation is reportedly scheduled to be finalised just two days before the next Somerset Council Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee meeting on August 21, whose role it is to challenge such decisions and implementations.”
The city council has agreed that the Mayor or Wells, Councillor Louis Agabani, will represent the council and Wells residents at the Somerset Council Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee meeting “to express views and concerns associated with the changes”.
Town Clerk Haylee Wilkins was also going to write to Somerset NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of the council to express concerns and seek further details associated with the proposed amendments, timescales and expected impacts and mitigations.
Councillor Claire Sully, Vice Chair of Somerset Council’s Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee, has been calling for transparency and accountability. She said: “As a councillor and Vice Chair of Adults and Health Scrutiny at Somerset Council, my role is to listen to local residents. If they are worried about their local NHS services being taken away, I take that seriously. When NHS Somerset’s narrative differs from what staff and residents are experiencing, it raises serious questions. The key issue is: why are services being cut without a clear plan? And if there is a plan, it must be effectively communicated to those it affects.”
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