NHS bosses urged to explain cuts
Beds could be lost in plan
AN URGENT meeting to discuss plans to reduce the number of beds at Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital has been called by the borough council’s health champion.
Councillor Amanda Wright (Con, Burbage: Sketchley and Stretton) is to meet with health bosses after proposals to halve the number of inpatient beds at the Ashby Road hospital were revealed in a new report by West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
The Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) also reaffirmed plans to close Hinckley and District Hospital on Mount Road.
Cllr Amanda Wright said: “To say I am disillusioned with the STP is an understatement.
“This essentially seems to pose a ‘ done deal’ in terms of the health plan for Hinckley and the attitude seems very much to be one of ‘like it or lump it’.
“I understand there will be a consultation in January 2017, although given the prior delays this is very uncertain.
“The consultation will not consult on the fundamental issue of Mount Road cottage hospital though and it’s hard to see how such a process can even be termed a consultation when no substantive choices or options will be offered to the public.”
She added: “The CCG needs to now stop hiding behind the pretence of a consultation and explain to the people of Hinckley and Bosworth why it is making the decisions it is.
“The public are not stupid and explanations are needed before any faux consultation is launched.
“I would also respectfully suggest to the CCG that some truly public meetings take place on this in short order.”
The CCG say the Mount Road hospital is not “fit for purpose” to provide modern health- care - in particular cancer screening and piped anaesthesia gas - and it would be too expensive to it to bring it up to date.
Instead, it proposes moving X-ray services and ultrasound departments to Hinckley health centre, which will be refurbished to add extra clinical rooms, and building a new endoscopy and day-case surgery suite at the Ashby Road site.
This would “enable services to be extended and expanded to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population in Hinckley and the surrounding areas,” the CCG says.