WORRIED health chiefs have reassured residents community hospitals such as Evesham’s will continue to play an important role in the future delivery of health care services in Worcestershire.
The hospitals, which are run by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, provide some outpatient clinics and short-term inpatient care for people who can’t stay at home, but do not require a specialist acute bed.
The recently released Sustainability and Transformation Plan appeared to suggest the role of community hospitals would be downgraded in the future.
A trust spokesperson said there were no plans to close any of our community hospitals, but they could be used a bit differently in the future to provide more care in people’s own homes.
“We have heard consistently how people want outpatient clinics and ‘same day’ treatments to be provided closer to where they live and so we see community hospitals doing a wider range of activities than they currently do,” he said.
“Over recent years we have seen more out-patient or ‘same day’ treatments which may traditionally have been provided from the acute hospital being moved to a community hospital, such as blood transfusions, and we want to look for more opportunities as we move forward.”
Sarah Dugan, chief executive of Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said: “We see community hospitals having an important part to play in the future, in some cases doing much more than they currently do.
“We have no plans to close any sites in Worcestershire and believe they have a key role to play in providing some of the more routine care and treatment in the community closer to where you live.
“If demand for beds goes down because more people are getting what they need at home, then the number of beds available in community hospitals could change, but we would like to reassure people that the sites remain an important part of the future of health care in Worcestershire.”
Visit www.yourconversationhw.nhs.uk for more on health changes within the county.
